Appropriate ways of advising and educating children in developing countries need to be developed, and this would be aided considerably by more detailed information on children's existing knowledge and behaviour. Children, aged between 5 and 11 years were interviewed and given a simulated road crossing test in a number of schools in Jamaica, Pakistan and Thailand to determine how much they knew about crossing roads and to find out which factors, if any, affected their knowledge. In the test between 60 and 85 per cent of the children in each country stopped and looked before crossing and between 36 and 62 per cent looked to the side while crossing. Up to 70 per cent of the children in each country stopped and looked before crossing and between 36 and 62 per cent looked to the side while crossing. Up to 70 per cent fewer children mentioned these actions when asked what they should do to cross roads safely and clearly the latter technique provided a serious underestimate of the children's crossing behaviour. Older children were more likely than the younger ones to stop before, look before and look while crossing. Similarly, the children in Pakistan and Thailand, but not those in Jamaica, who said they had had advice were more likely to behave correctly in the test than those who said that they had none. A comparison of the results with those of the UK study indicated that up to 57 per cent fewer children in the 3 developing countries had received advice about crossing roads. Also fewer of them behaved correctly on the simulated crossing test in the three developing countries. (Author/publisher)
Abstract