Probing Physical Sciences Teachers’ Chemical Laboratory Safety Awareness in Some South African High Schools

Abstract

There is a scarcity of studies that focus on how South African high school physical sciences teachers are grappling with chemical laboratory safety (CLS). This is despite the fact that the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements in the South African school system increased emphasis on laboratory activities in the physical sciences. Department of Basic Education authorities have increased the supply of resources, including chemicals, in schools to ensure the successful implementation of the practical component. This quantitative study investigates physical sciences teachers’ levels of CLS awareness through a conceptual framework developed by the United States National Research Council aimed at promoting chemical laboratory safety in developing countries. A laboratory safety survey questionnaire for teachers was administered to 72 physical sciences teachers from 72 schools in one province. The questionnaire consisted of 14 statements with a four-point Likert scale. Teacher CLS awareness was found to be generally suboptimal, especially concerning awareness of safe chemical storage and waste disposal, and emergency laboratory safety procedures. Results from the computed Pearson chi-squared tests for statistical significance suggest that teachers from better-resourced schools and those who had majored in chemistry had greater awareness than those from less well-resourced schools and those who had not majored in chemistry. Authorities could consider safety awareness training to accompany the provision of resources to schools and target those teachers who may not have majored in chemistry. Such training could include, but not be limited to, online laboratory awareness courses that exploit the use of multiple virtual tools.

Keywords:

• Chemical laboratory safety
• hazardous chemicals
• physical sciences
• inquiry-based learning
• laboratory activities

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) for sponsoring the study on which this article is based.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.