Teaching About Disasters in Schools: Rationales and Preservice Science Teachers' Views Seminar

This talk will focus on the role of school science in enhancing disaster preparedness and resilience. After discussing the relevance of disasters to science education, I will share empirical evidence from my studies with preservice teachers to examine how disasters could be addressed in the science classroom and some potential barriers to doing so.

Disasters should be considered more seriously in the school curriculum including, but not limited to, science. Disaster education should not be limited to acquiring life skills to survive disasters; It should also aim for a cognitive understanding of disasters from different disciplinary lenses.

Given the interdisciplinary nature of disaster response, more efforts are necessary to facilitate cross-subject collaborations and address real-world examples of disasters in the classroom. Future research and practice in disaster education should focus on a holistic presentation of the scientific and social aspects of disasters.