Safe learning environments
In the last post, an informal discussion led to an overview of first responders work, how personal lives are impacted and some potential solutions were considered.
In this post we will go on to consider 'duty of care', and what it means to provide a safe learning environment. Policies will be generalized in regards to institutions, and thought about in terms of first responders from different services.
Safe learning environments will similarly be viewed without mention of specific healthcare organisations but expanded on to examine andragogy (teaching and training of adults), to think about what adults need to feel safe in a learning environment.
We will then go on to examine what we mean by safety, broadening the discourse, thinking about gendered attitudes to safety and what this looks like in real terms (This may form its own post it could be quite broad and extensive).
In the last post we raised some intial questions...
Can immersive trauma training feel safe for the novice?
Can we protect against vicarious trauma?
Can early career first responders acquire emotional/psychological resilience?
Duty of care: wellness
Duty of care, in regards to training and education means having a legal and moral obligation to protect learners health, safety and well-being. It requires providers to actively prevent harm, ensure proper supervision, provide a safe environment (Both physical and psychological) and act in the student's best interests, balancing their needs with those they work with or care for.
It involves risk assessment, implementing safeguards, and ensuring students work within their competencies, while also empowering students to report concerns.
- Protecting from Harm: Ensuring students aren't exposed to abuse, violence, harassment, or undue stress, and that the physical environment is safe (fire, hygiene, etc.).
- Reasonable Supervision: Providing appropriate oversight for tasks, recognizing that unsupervised work depends on the student's skill and experience.
- Acting in Best Interests: Promoting the student's welfare and supporting their development, even when facing difficult situations.
- Competency & Training: Ensuring students only perform tasks they are trained and competent to do, and facilitating learning within safe boundaries.
- Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating potential risks to students during placements, rather than preventing every conceivable risk.
- Reporting Concerns: A duty for both providers and students to report issues like poor conditions, abuse, or inadequate training.
Students need to :
- Work within their knowledge and skills.
- Seek supervision and ask for help.
- Follow placement policies and guidance.
- Take responsibility for their own learning and feedback.
Safe Space - Safe learning environments
The training and educational institution likely (and certainly should) have a policy that sets out what a safe learning environment is.
- Respect and feeling valued: Learners are treated with dignity and their contributions are heard, which helps build confidence and a sense of belonging.
- Positive identity: Learners are easily identified and viewed positively, with recognition of their individual identities and protected characteristics.
- Wellbeing: Emphasis is placed on physical, emotional, and psychological safety, with access to support services and opportunities for reflection and debriefing.
- Raising concerns & speaking up: Learners feel empowered to speak up about concerns, knowing they will be supported through robust, accessible processes.
- Placement induction: Comprehensive induction processes prepare learners for their roles and the specific environment, helping to settle anxieties and create a positive foundation for learning.
- Communication: Clear pathways for support are established between education providers and placement areas, ensuring learners know who, when, and how to get help.
- Flexibility: Learner wellbeing is supported by flexible working and learning practices that consider the demands on their time and personal circumstances.
- Supervision: Learners are supported by positive role models and appropriate, consistent supervision that builds trust, confidence, and proficiency.
- Teaching and learning needs: Supervisors are adequately prepared for their role and recognise learners as supernumerary trainees, providing varied opportunities to develop knowledge and skills.
- Time and space for learning: Learners are allocated time for reflection, receiving feedback, and accessing necessary learning facilities, including IT.
Andragogy
Andragogy emphasizes that adults are self-directed, bring rich life experiences to the learning process, are motivated by a need to solve problems, and learn best when the subject is immediately relevant to their lives.
It differs from pedagogy, the teaching method for children, because it recognizes that adults need to understand the "why" behind learning, want to be involved in their own instruction, and are primarily motivated by internal factors like self-esteem and curiosity.
- Self-concept: Adults see themselves as self-directed and responsible for their own learning.
- Experience: Adults bring a wealth of life experience that serves as a foundation for new knowledge and should be used in activities like discussions and problem-solving.
- Readiness to learn: Adults are ready to learn when they see a clear and immediate need to apply the knowledge to solve a problem.
- Orientation to learning: Adults are more problem-centered and want to apply new knowledge to real-life situations, rather than being subject-centered or focused on abstract knowledge.
- Motivation to learn: Adults are primarily motivated by internal factors such as self-esteem, curiosity, and a desire for self-actualization, rather than external factors like rewards or punishments.
- Need to know: Adults need to understand the reason for learning something and its direct benefit before they will engage in the process.
Designing a safe learning environment for adult learners needs to consider all those factors and should be born in mind when designing the content, structure and user interaction elements. Adult learners are more likely to think critically about the learning experience in terms of the benefits to (and relationship to past experiences in their work/personal lives) as adults.
Is safety gendered?
Men and women experience different risks, perceive threats differently, and are shaped by societal roles, leading to unique vulnerabilities in areas like occupational health (men in heavy industry, women with reproductive/stress issues) and personal security (women's fear of violence in public spaces).
Traditional safety policies often focused on male-dominated hazards, overlooking women's specific needs, like pregnancy risks or menopause-related concerns, while gender-based violence, such as domestic abuse, presents distinct threats primarily to women.
Occupational Safety
- Men's Risks: More likely to be in high-risk manual jobs (construction, mining) with immediate, fatal accidents; often take more risks due to competitiveness.
- Women's Risks: Higher rates of work-related stress, musculoskeletal disorders, and dermatitis from long-term exposures; overlooked by traditional policies.
- Policy Gaps: Policies often fail to address reproductive health, pregnancy strain, or menopause, assuming "generic" workers or lighter work.
Personal & Public Safety
- Perception of Risk: Women often report lower perceived safety in public spaces, especially after dark, due to fear of harassment or violence.
- Gendered Violence: Domestic violence disproportionately affects women, making the home unsafe for many, a critical safety concern often minimized.
- Environmental Factors: Streetscape elements like bridges can be perceived as less safe by women due to car-centric design, reflecting different interactions with the environment.
- Biological Differences: Anatomy, hormones, and pregnancy impact how risks manifest.
- Social & Cultural Factors: Gender roles, societal expectations, and power imbalances influence behaviors and experiences of safety.
- Data & Research Bias: Historically, data focused on male-dominated industries, under-reporting women's health issues.
- Gender-Responsive Policies: Need to be developed to account for unique risks and needs.
- Inclusive Design: Safety measures, from workplace protocols to urban planning, should consider diverse experiences.
- Worker Involvement: Including women and underrepresented groups in shaping safety policies is crucial for effectiveness.
We must dig deeper into this aspect of virtual safe space design and bring this to life by discussing what affects a womans sense of safety by detailing the real life impact on women.
We will talk about womens safety load (physical sense of safety) and coercive control (psychological sense of safety) in the next couple of journal posts.
