LAUSR

Abstract Child Pedestrians are among the most-at-risk populations for road traffic injuries. Our aim in the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an active learning-based educational intervention on street-crossing behaviors of seven-year-old children. In this randomized controlled trial, 149 first-grade students were selected from two male elementary schools in Mehriz City, Iran, to participate in the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (n = 103, Active-Learning based training group [A.L] (n = 52) and Active-Learning based training with Parental Involvement group [P.I & A.L] (n = 51) and a control group (n = 46, without training group). The instructional program was based on active learning theory and parental involvement approach. Street-crossing behaviors of the students were assessed in an actual traffic environment in three phases: before training, one week after training, and six months after training. The behaviors of students in the experimental groups were significantly improved within one week, and later the six month time frames. Their performance was linearly improved by time (looking for vehicles on the street: F = 3.35P