Evaluating and promoting disaster awareness among children: The disaster awareness game

Virginia Clerveaux, PhD Candidate; Balfour Spence, PhD; Toshitaka Katada, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2008.0042

Authors

Virginia Clerveaux, PhD Candidate
Balfour Spence, PhD
Toshitaka Katada, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2008.0042

Keywords:

disaster risk reduction, disaster education, hazard vulnerability, disaster educational game technique, disaster risk education, children

Abstract

Children account for the greatest proportion of casualties from hazard impacts, especially in developing countries where they comprise the largest percentage of total population. This disproportionate vulnerability of children has recently been the focus of various United Nations initiatives for disaster risk reduction and is increasingly being the focus of local and national measures to reduce the impacts of hazards. The overarching focus of these childrenspecific measures has been the promotion of disaster education to enhance the level of awareness among school-age children. However, this new trust toward the disaster awareness among children presents a new challenge for disaster planners, especially as this relates to the development of appropriate tools and techniques for the enhancement of the disaster knowledge base of children. Specifically, disaster management planners are challenged in ensuring not only that the information provided is appropriate to the information-assimilation capacity of children but also that the appropriate tools and techniques are developed to ensure effective conveyance of information through a medium that is neither stoic nor boring. The disaster awareness game presented in this article was designed with these challenges in mind and is intended to evaluate and promote disaster awareness in children. Preliminary results suggest that the tool is effective in meeting this objective.

Author Biographies

Virginia Clerveaux, PhD Candidate

Department of Civil Engineering, Gunma University, Gunma, Japan.

Balfour Spence, PhD

Lecturer, Department of Geography & Geology, The University of the West Indies, Jamaica, West Indies.

Toshitaka Katada, PhD

Prof. Department of Civil Engineering, Gunma University, Gunma, Japan.

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