Student of Motricity Sciences


In Europe and the USA, at least 70,000 people die each year due to cardiac arrest. Signs are present in 60-80% of cases outside hospitals but less than 20% are able to react appropriately.

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ncluding resuscitation teaching in physical education classes at the end of secondary school studies would increase survival rates significantly. To achieve this objective, the University of Liège, in close collaboration with the Ligue Francophone Belge de Sauvetage, has introduced a unique project in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: "Oser sauver à l'école" (“Dare to save at school”).

The launch of this project was managed by Manon Collin, a Masters student in Motricity Sciences.

What is the “Dare to save at school” project specifically?

Training secondary school physical education teachers in first aid so that they can, in turn, train their pupils in these actions is the objective of the “Dare to save at school” project established by the ULiège. In fact, although secondary school physical education teachers generally have basic resuscitation knowledge, they don’t necessarily have the tools to pass this on to their pupils.

Therefore, a cycle of 6 50-minute sessions was established so that they can independently teach their pupils to perform thoracic compressions, insufflations and to use a defibrillator effectively. To verify the knowledge acquired, questionnaires are provided before and after the cycle. Monitoring phases are also organised and filmed while the final assessment takes place using an electronic mannequin. This equipment facilitates a very accurate assessment of their ability to perform effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Each of these actions, if they are effective, increase the chances of survival of a person going into cardiac arrest by three times. More than learning, this project is a real citizen action.

A collaboration between the teachers at ULiège and Ligue Francophone Belge de Sauvetage and the thesis work of Manon Collin, a student of Motricity Sciences

“It all began with the common will of teachers in Motricity Sciences from ULg and those from the Ligue Francophone Belge de Sauvetage using their skills in secondary school teaching”, explains Alexandre Mouton, training assistant at the CEFEN (ULiège) and assistant director of the Motricity Sciences course.

The scientific expertise of the first and the cutting-edge equipment loaned by the second allowed the project, unique in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, to take shape.

It was last year, during the Analysis of physical education intervention and research action project by Professor Marc Cloes on the Masters 1 programme in Motricity Sciences that the project began. By choosing a question directly related to their practical experience on the ground (teaching, sports clubs, active leisure), the students will develop and try an educational innovation or implement a research action limited by time. This approach leads them to use the knowledge and skills acquired during their training, to empirically check the well-founding of their action and to question their practice.

It is in this context that Manon decided to focus on the project “Dare to save at school”. An initial study with a first school - Saint-Benoît Saint-Servais school in Saint-Benoît Saint-Servais in Liège, physical education teaching and very motivated students, a delighted management and very encouraging results convinced the ULiège team and its partners to extend the study to further establishments. The students were subsequently significantly involved in the project and the first assessment was very positive, explains the student. The added value of this cycle within the physical education class was clearly unanimous. This also changes the perception pupils have of the class. Physical education is so much more than playing sports!

The well-defined research of Manon in the Masters 1 was naturally followed by more extensive work she is now doing as part of her Masters 2. Today, 9 secondary schools in the provinces of Liège, Namur and Luxembourg involving 13 teachers and over 400 pupils are part of the project.

And what if, in the future, every student leaving secondary school was able to save a life?

This is the dream all partners involved in the project want to become a reality. If the results are conclusive, “Dare to save at school” could include the training of teachers during their careers and form an integral part of the physical education programme in the later part of secondary school studies. This would be really beneficial for all, comments Alexandre Mouton.

updated on 7/31/23

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