Schools’ self-preparedness barely meets the legal minimum

PRESS RELEASE

A new research publication titled “The safety culture of a school organization based on evaluation of self-preparedness – a multi-case study in comprehensive education schools” was published on December 13 in Administrative Studies.

The study aims to generate new insights into the level of safety culture in comprehensive schools from the perspective of self-preparedness. Identifying the current state of safety culture is essential for its development. The study was conducted as a document analysis of self-preparedness assessment reports from ten comprehensive schools. These reports, prepared by a rescue services professional, examined schools’ safety management, risk management, safety documentation, safety competence, fire safety, and accident preparedness. The study seeks to answer the question: What is the level of safety culture of comprehensive education schools from the perspective of self-preparedness and prevention measures?

The findings indicate that, in terms of self-preparedness, the safety culture in comprehensive schools is, on average, just at the legal minimum level. The best- and worst-performing schools in the assessment differed notably in the area of safety management. The weakest aspect of schools’ self-preparedness was identifying accident risks specific to their operational environment, while safety documentation proved to be the most consistent area across schools. The study highlights that schools require support in developing their safety competence and safety culture. This development work calls for proactive measures and operational models that consider the school environment. To strengthen the importance of foresight and expertise, safety culture content should be integrated into both initial and continuing education for teachers and principals.

The study was conducted as part of the Success in school safety project (ONNI), which involved 20 comprehensive schools: 15 pilot schools and five control schools. The participating schools included primary schools, lower secondary schools, and comprehensive schools (grades 1–9). Of the schools involved in this study, three were primary schools, four were lower secondary schools, two were unified comprehensive schools, and one was a school for grades 5–9. The number of students per school ranged from 400 to 800, while the number of staff members varied between 40 and 80.

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