Effectiveness of Road Crossing Training for Lower-grade Elementary School Children

Abstract

The present study investigated effectiveness of individual training for lower-grade elementary school children on their crossing behavior in traffic safety training situations and on a real road. Twenty-three lower-grade elementary school children aged 6 to 7 participated in the training. In the training, each child was asked to cross a simulated road in the room while instructors observed his or her behavior. After each observation, instructors counseled children individually to modify their crossing behavior (behavior-modification) and then asked the children to cross the simulated road again. The children’s crossing behavior was recorded by video cameras. The authors analyzed the children’s crossing behavior in the training situation before and after the behavior-modification. In addition, the authors observed the children’s crossing behavior on the real road before and after the training. The results indicated that the number of checks in the training situations was increased after the individual training. However, the time for checking after training was the same as before. Moreover, the training had no influence on children's behavior on the real road. The findings are discussed in terms of effectiveness of individual training for lower-grade elementary school children.