Effectiveness of Community-Based Safety Mapping Program in Improving Students’ Safety Awareness

This study analyzed the effectiveness of community-based safety mapping activities in improving students' safety awareness. A survey was conducted with 225 elementary, middle, and high school students from 16 schools nationwide who participated in a safety mapping program. Changes in safety awareness before and after the activity were measured using paired-sample t-tests and reliability analysis. The survey was conducted from August to November 2025, and consisted of nine questions on safety awareness, including thoughts on safety, awareness of safety information, efforts to improve safety, and understanding of safety policies. The answers to all questions, except Question 2, showed statistically significant differences in students' safety awareness before and after safety mapping, at p < 0.01 and p < 0.001. Furthermore, Cronbach's α values were over 0.8 both before and after the safety mapping program, indicating statistical validity. The results suggest that participatory safety-mapping activities could function as an educational program that helps students to be aware of participatory safety-culture activities, recognize the locations of safety information on campus (such as fire extinguishers, escape ropes, and emergency exits), and examine safety information.