Detran trains teachers to enhance traffic education in schools
Agency focuses on schools to reduce accidents in the coming years. The project is unprecedented and will travel to municipalities starting in the second semester.
Educated citizen, safe traffic! Based on this principle, the State Department of Traffic (Detran) has initiated the unprecedented training of teachers from public and private networks in the State. Launched this June, the training is part of the Project Education that Transforms Lives: Teacher Training for Safe and Responsible Traffic. The goal is to expand traffic education in an interdisciplinary way to engage the school community, especially students, in adopting safe road practices.
The project is initially aimed at preschool and elementary school students and is aligned with the pedagogical project of the Traffic Education Coordination of Detran and the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), which has recognized the interdisciplinary theme since 2017 but has never been implemented in the municipalities of Pará.
“We are engaging with all school audiences, from the little ones in preschool to high school students, as well as teachers and other school professionals. It is a medium- and long-term plan so that education can truly contribute to reducing accidents on our highways,” emphasizes Detran's General Director, Renata Coelho.
During the training, teachers deepen their knowledge about the fundamentals and principles of Traffic Education, pedagogical strategies for developing the theme in the school environment, and the preparation of an Action Plan lasting six months, encompassing the integration of Traffic Education into the pedagogical practices of preschool and elementary school classes (1st to 5th grade), among other subjects.
The project is unprecedented and will travel to municipalities starting in the second semester. In addition to training educators, Detran also distributes a pedagogical kit prepared by Detran, consisting of regionalized notebooks, learning games, coloring books, and others. The format and content are all adapted to the age of the student, with language and regionalized figures so that students can identify with the theme based on their daily experiences. After the delivery of the kits and training, Detran's pedagogical team goes to the school and monitors the first applications of assessments in the classroom to ensure the applicability of the theme.
The training of teachers is not isolated and occurs as part of a series of actions that Detran has been carrying out with schools since 2020, aiming to raise awareness among children and adolescents about safe behaviors on public roads. The Detranzinho project has already served over 8,000 children who attended the minicircuit set up at the agency's headquarters to learn in a playful and didactic way about traffic legislation.
Additionally, last year, Detran inaugurated the Minicircuito Itinerante Truck, which, in coordination with institutions and schools, travels to municipalities to educate students and the general public about accident prevention. Inside the truck, the public receives guidance from education agents on safe behaviors in traffic, proper use of safety devices, and promotion of sustainable practices. Children are organized into groups and take turns visiting the Cinetran, the storytelling room, the painting room, and the interactive traffic minicircuit. During the activities, topics such as traffic safety, the main risk factors, and the importance of individual responsibility in daily movements are addressed.
Another ongoing action focused on schools is the Traffic and School Project: Walking Towards Citizenship. Agents visit schools in the municipalities, primarily engaging with elementary and high school students to encourage them to reflect and contribute to building a safer and more accessible traffic for everyone. “We are working with students and also with teachers, going to schools and also welcoming this audience at Detran. We understand that the school is where students are daily in the construction of knowledge. And, by treating traffic as a transversal theme, we are ensuring that traffic education continues to form citizens with a new perspective on traffic,” states Detran's education coordinator, Carlos Valente.
