From Safety Resources to Emergency Readiness: Examining the Implementation Gap in Ghanaian Second-Cycle Schools

Abstract School safety requires more than the provision of physical resources or the adoption of formal policies. It also depends on whether safety arrangements are implemented through regular training, maintenance, drills, coordination and monitoring. This paper examines the implementation gap between safety resources and emergency readiness in Ghanaian second-cycle schools, focusing on the Ahafo Region. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among teachers and school administrators, yielding 144 usable responses from 200 questionnaires distributed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Safety equipment, training programmes and emergency protocols were assessed as operational safety domains, while institutional safety commitment was assessed through leadership prioritisation, budgeting, policy enforcement, safety committees, coordination and monitoring. The findings show relatively low-to-moderate scores for safety equipment (M = 2.66–3.18), training programmes (M = 2.40–3.09) and emergency protocols (M = 2.50–3.07), compared with consistently high scores for institutional safety commitment (M = 4.30–4.44). Safety equipment, training and emergency protocols were strongly interrelated, but their relationships with institutional safety commitment were weak, and the regression model was not statistically significant (R² = .047, p = .080). The findings indicate a gap between formal institutional commitment and the operationalisation of safety practices. The paper argues that improving school safety requires attention to implementation capacity, routine practice, maintenance, training, coordination and accountability, rather than resource provision alone.