THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE CURRICULUM EDUCATE TO CHILDREN FOR ROAD SAFETY

Abstract

This research aims to examine the traffic road safety curriculum which is the extraordinary curriculum for children in Thailand. This educates about traffic road safety to children based on traffic engineering knowledge. The entire content of the curriculum is based on case studies that depict both hazardous and safe situations. It covers all road users, including pedestrians, intersection rules, private vehicle users, and public transportation users. In this research, animations are used instead of actual crash recordings to minimize the negative impact of severity. As this curriculum is new and not a part of the standard curriculum for children in Thailand, ensuring an effective curriculum and learning processes is crucial. Therefore, assessing the curriculum from actual users is one of the approaches to check and maintain the effectiveness of the curriculum. Direct assessments, both formative and summative, are conducted to evaluate children's learning abilities regarding traffic safety before and after training. Statistical analysis of the data reveals that the fundamental knowledge of traffic safety in children increases by 20.28 percent after training. The study shows that students are more likely to change their behaviors towards increased safety, with an average change of 34.30 percent. When evaluating satisfaction with the traffic safety training activities, most participating students express a high level of satisfaction with the teaching materials and lesson contents. It is evident that the curriculum is highly effective in enhancing learning skills while providing an enjoyable and participatory experience. Ultimately, the ones who benefit from this curriculum are the teachers who implement it and the children who will come to learn and absorb the knowledge and practices related to safety. The hope is that this curriculum will help increase awareness of safety among children and have a positive impact on their road usage behavior, making it safer in the future.