Disaster risk reduction activities as learning
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Disaster risk reduction activities as learning Kaori Kitagawa1 Received: 18 May 2020 / Accepted: 19 November 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to relate disaster risk reduction activities to learning perspectives and theories. The paper refers to ‘disaster risk reduction activities’ encompassing various terms used in the existing disaster risk management literature, such as ‘disaster education’ and ‘capacity building’. One thing they have in common is the involvement of the general public in preparing for natural hazards. Disaster risk reduction activities involve learning, because they aim to change people’s behaviour, perception and emotion. An overview of the relationships between disaster risk reduction activities and learning theories has not been offered, and that is what this paper aims to achieve. ‘How people learn’ has been studied in the fields of psychology and education over the years. Evolving from the primary focus of acquisition of knowledge and skills, the understanding of ‘what learning is’ has broadened to envisage emotional and social dimensions. Referring to the historical development of five major learning perspectives, the paper links each perspective with specific disaster risk reduction activities. The foci of the studies of disaster risk reduction activities have been what people should learn, rather than how people learn. Engagement with learning perspectives and theories will allow conceptualising how people learn to be prepared and resilient, which will benefit disaster risk management. Keywords Disaster risk management · Disaster risk reduction activities · Learning perspectives · Learning theories
1 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to relate disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities to learning theories. The paper uses ‘DRR activities’ to encompass various terms used in the existing disaster risk management literature and research, such as ‘disaster education’, ‘preparedness actions’, ‘capacity building’ and ‘awareness raising’. One thing they have in common is the involvement of the general public in preparing for natural hazards, whether in formal settings, e.g. at school or informal environments, e.g. in a household. The emphasis on
* Kaori Kitagawa [email protected] 1
Department of Education, Practice and Society, Institute of Education, University College London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK
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Natural Hazards
DRR activities derives from the recognition that combining non-structural soft measures with structural hard measures is necessary for effective DRR (UNISDR 2015). DRR activities involve learning, because they aim to change people’s behaviour, perception and emotion (e.g. Preston 2012; Kitagawa 2017, 2019a; Kitagawa et al. 2017). Given the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015–2030 places ‘education as a crosscutting issue’ (Shiwaku et al. 2016, p. 261), it makes sense to discuss DRR activities from learning perspectives. However, an overview of the relationships between DRR activities and learning the
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