Safety Issues In Agricultural Education Laboratories: A Synthesis Of Research

Abstract

The objectives of this investigation were to synthesize research related to safety in agricultural education laboratories and to identify areas of deficiency in laboratory safety-related research. Findings showed that research in this area is primarily a mixture of descriptive, survey, and experimental research. Most laboratory research has been focused on agricultural mechanics laboratories. Studies revealed that agricultural education laboratories are potentially hazardous places for both work and study. Due to the nature of these laboratories, the potential for injury and subsequent litigation exists. Both teachers and administrators should assume a more active role in monitoring laboratory safety and in the procurement of necessary safety equipment and materials. Generally, teachers appear to be remiss both in their knowledge of local, state, and national safety laws, and in their performance in providing a safe environment for themselves and their students. Future research in this area should be directed toward determining the relationships between teacher attitudes and quality of instruction, identification of effective teaching strategies, determining ways to motivate students to practice safety techniques, identification of hazardous safety practices, determining inservice needs of teachers, identification of characteristics of students who are safety risks, and safety effects of laboratory instruction on teachers.