Teaching health and safety: problems and possibilities for learner-centered training.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Health
• Adult Education

Background:

• A consortium led by the University of Massachusetts at Lowell developed participatory training for hazardous waste workers.
• Four New England occupational safety and health (COSH) groups collaborated on this initiative.
• The training targets hazardous waste site workers and emergency responders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the goals and applicability of a participatory health and safety training method.
• To examine the successes and failures of the developed training curriculum.
• To explore the wider implications of this pedagogical approach for worker empowerment.

Main Methods:

• Development and delivery of a participatory, learner-centered health and safety training curriculum.
• Curriculum designed for hazardous waste workers, accessible to non-specialists.
• Utilized workers' own experiences and knowledge as educational resources.

Main Results:

• The training successfully imparts technical knowledge and skills in a positive environment.
• The consortium's goals and the training's applicability were examined.
• Successes and failures of the training method were identified.

Conclusions:

• Participatory training is an effective method for delivering technical health and safety knowledge and skills.
• The extent to which this training is truly empowering for workers is less definitive.
• The pedagogical technique offers a rewarding atmosphere for learning.