How to mainstream to the changes in the world of work: Analysis of the European educative curriculum programmes about health and safety

Abstract

Integration or “mainstream” of safety and health in the school curriculum is a priority for the European Union, specifically, from the publication of the Community Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health (2014–2020) published like document titled “How to adapt to the changes in society: a new community health and safety strategy”. In this sense, fostering a culture of prevention in students will develop responsible attitudes in both personal and professional life. This article analyses, in a comparative way, different strategies and processes of integration of safety and health in school curricula in European Union countries (United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and other countries.). The methodology is qualitative (content analysis) using the “AQUAD Five” software. The sample is the set of institutional campaigns and educational programs applied in the various European education systems. In definitive, promote safety and health in the school curriculum with success and quality assurance in the education of our students must be made from three perspectives: (1) towards a safe and healthy school: “holistic” approach; (2) safety and health as a transversal subject at school: “curriculum” approach; (3) transition from school to working life: “workplace” approach. Our proposal is: to offer key guidelines to improve the educational and organizational performance in the process of teaching and learning (Primary and Secondary Education) and integrate safety and health at school (curriculum) in order to reduce accidents of our future workers.

Keywords

• occupational safety and health culture
• school curriculum practices
• qualitative research