Safety in CTE Programs

The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association published a free, downloadable book that provides research findings on teacher and student safety training, school district safety policies, facility safety and accidents in CTE and STEM programs with the purpose of helping educators advocate for better safety practices. The authors studied educator responses from the 2020 Technology and Engineering Education – Facilities and Safety Survey to learn the following:

• About one-third of respondents did not receive any form of safety training in their undergraduate teacher education coursework.
• Only 32% of educators received safety training from their school district upon being hired.
• Over half of respondents were unsure about or stated their school district did not have an annual safety audit.
• While 57% of educators indicated their largest class had 25 or more students enrolled, only 26% said they had a facility large enough to hold this number of students.
• More than half of the teachers in this study reported that lab stations or workbenches were not wheelchair accessible.
• Around 80% of educators experienced one or more minor safety-related accidents in the 2019-2020 academic year, and 12% experienced one or more major accidents.
• Respondents reported student behavioral issues as one of the top causes of accidents.
• 24% of teachers reported not requiring student safety testing before conducting a hazardous activity or using a hazardous item.

The above is just a sampling of the wealth of findings included in this book, which also touches on findings about safe use of specific equipment such as table saws, soldering and welding tools, and 3D printers as well as data on specific injuries and the activities most associated with injuries. 

The report concludes with recommendations to provide a safer teaching and learning experience when facilitating CTE and STEM activities including developing a school district lab safety policy, providing mandatory teacher and student safety trainings, conducting annual safety inspections, sanitizing personal protective equipment, creating accessible workspaces for students with disabilities and ensuring proper air ventilation.