A survey on the opinion of school chemistry teachers on aspects of safety in the chemisty laboratory and the proposal of a safety module

A survey was conducted to seek the opinions of school chemistry teachers on various aspects of safety in the chemistry laboratory. The survey results were utilized to design a safety module for secondary science students. The module is particularly suitable for students in Hong Kong as the units in the module were designed around the most concerned area of safety in the laboratory and the most hazardous experiments in the chemistry curriculum (Hong Kong) as suggested by the chemistry teachers. The students on completing this module will be aware of the most probable hazards in the chemistry laboratory and the ways to minimize the chances of these from happening in the laboratory. Furthermore, in this module, students are involved in activities such as library search and discussions. It is hoped that through these activities students can enhance their interpretation and communication skills which is vital for their academic and/or personal development. Copyright © 1996 University of Hong Kong.