'n Kernkurrikulum vir verkeersveiligheidsopvoeding

Abstract

Statistics regarding road traffic collisions show that thousands of road users die annually on South African roads. Over and above the death toll, injuries and the accompanying trauma as a result of road traffic collisions are the order of the day. This distressing situation requires immediate and pro-active strategies and action. Education plays an indispensable role in the relief of this. Effective and meaningful traffic safety education will contribute to equip young road users with the relevant knowledge, appropriate skills and a positive attitude in order to accomplish collision-free traffic participation. Countries confirm this premise where a decrease in collision statistics through compulsory traffic safety education in schools is accomplished. Traffic safety education as such can not take place without a comprehensive, structured curriculum. For this reason this study tries to develop a core curriculum for Traffic Safety Education by means of which continuous traffic safety education can be accomplished. Because of the limited extent of this research the core curriculum will only focus on the pre-primary and primary school phase. In order to realise the above-mentioned, terminology and related terminology regarding curriculum development as well as traffic safety education, the elements of the curriculum process and a number of curriculum models were studied. Outcomes based education as well as Curriculum 2005 were also investigated because traffic safety education belongs to the learning area, Life Orientation, with the focus on education in Life Skills. A thorough study, in which the developmental features and accompanying limitations regarding road usage were identified, followed. Through this a number of traffic safety themes for inclusion in the core curriculum were selected. The teaching of these themes has the .,,purpose of making young road users aware of their limitations so that safe traffic behaviour and participation can follow. The curricula of a number of countries were studied regarding the purpose and content thereof in the different school phases. Common goals, modus operandi and themes were identified by means of this. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and parents of learners in grade 0, the foundation and intermediate school phase in schools in the Potchefstroom educational district with the purpose of determining respectively the extent of traffic safety education that learners received as well as their exposure to traffic situations.

The information which as acquired, was associated and integrated with themes that were identified on the grounds of the target group analyses and the investigation into international curricula with the purpose of the inclusion thereof in the core curriculum for Traffic Safety Education. The research has highlighted certain themes for the teaching of traffic safety education to learners in grade 0, the foundation and intermediate school phase. A core curriculum for Traffic Safety Education was developed on the basis of which young road users would be equipped for collision-free traffic participation. In this way a harmonious traffic milieu will be accomplished to the welfare of fellow road users and to the glorification of the Creator of our beautiful country, South Africa!