Road Safety Education: A Paradoxical State for Children in a Rural Primary School in South Africa

• Published in: Journal of Asian and African studies (Leiden) 2013-04, Vol.48 (2), p.209-228
• Main Authors: Joubert, Ina JC, Fraser, William J, Sentsho, Mpoye L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Child safety; Children; Community; Education; Pedestrians; Primary schools; Qualitative analysis; Rural areas; Safety education; South Africa; Study and teaching; Traffic safety
• ISSN: 0021-9096; 1745-2538
• DOI: 10.1177/0021909612449125

The study explores the response of rural primary school children to road safety education programmes. In this qualitative research project, we employed an interpretivist paradigm to investigate and understand children’s responses to road safety education in one school in the Moloto Village, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Drawing on various participatory activities done by the child participants, as well as non-participant observation by the researchers through ‘photo voice’, the researchers posit their findings. The key finding is that the children theoretically know what to do when using the road as pedestrians but that they do not apply road safety rules as the community’s unsafe road use behaviour undermines all road safety skills the children have learnt at school. The paradox between what the literature on road safety education prescribes and what the national curriculum of South Africa promotes regarding road safety, and what the children apply in their daily lives, is apparent and noteworthy.