Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university ...

Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university educationOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOintroducing practical, active learning methods for OSH in a learning environmentdominated by theoretical learning methods;how to address large class sizes;lack of university-level teaching staff with OSH expertise and/or active andparticipatory education skills;sharing of educational resources where there is a strong tradition of guardinginformation in a culture of intellectual ownership;the length of time it can take for changes to be made to a syllabus;lack of funds for developing and providing OSH education at university levelcompared to school level, including funding for pilot projects;developing new links at Ministry level where different Ministries cover schools anduniversities; andthe continued need to improve health and safety culture within universities.E u r o p e a n Ag e n c y f o r Sa f e t y a n d He a l t h a t Wo r kContextual factors that facilitate integrationCertain contextual features were found that appear to facilitate the mainstreaming ofOSH into university-level education.Mainstreaming activity is more likely:OO in areas where national OSH legislation places specific responsibilities on certainprofessionals such as those involved in civil engineering projects;OO where training requirements for safety technicians are specified in law and includeuniversity-level study;OO where there is an academic department on site that is engaged in OSH. Thisappears to be more likely in technical universities;OO where the OSH authority or work insurance body has a training role that couldinclude providing assistance to universities; andOO in those areas where the university has specific OSH duties, for example, for studentsafety during laboratory sessions and practical work.Success factorsThe cases suggest certain ways and means to approach mainstreaming OSH intouniversity-level education. For example:OOStart by finding and engaging some receptive individuals and institutions towork with.O O Work in cooperation, do not be prescriptive.O O Be sensitive to competing curriculum demands and the pressures onundergraduate time that already exist.OOLimit OSH teaching to certain key aspects.O O Embed OSH issues within courses rather than as an add-on, especially if there isvery limited opportunity for additional modules.OOProvide suitable OSH educational materials which are relevant to the study areainto which they are being embedded and the way that topic is taught.OOUse real cases and look for ways of introducing problem-solving methods, activelearning etc.OOProvide assistance to academics in how to make effective use of the materials.7