Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies ... - Unicef

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Latin America and the Caribbean
A girl smiles as she stands by a running
tap for displaced families in the town of
Palacaguina, 105 km north of Managua,
the capital of Nicaragua.
© UNICEF/NYHQ1998-0678/Balaguer
Student Assessment
The risk management educational programme assessment is
eminently qualitative. The teacher must observe and register
students’ skills in information analysis, behaviour and general
attitude, including respect, responsibility, initiative and collaborative
dispositions. The programme places special emphasis on
formative aspects, taking into account various concepts and
procedures. The objective is to foster in students a culture
of prevention, mitigation and disaster response in and outside
of school (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes,
undated a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h).
Teacher Professional Development/Guidance
Teachers’ guides have been produced with specific curriculum
materials for grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8; there is also a methodological
guide for those training to become teachers. The
methodological guides provide information and strategies to
facilitate the teaching process on risk management at different
curricular levels (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes,
undated, b, d, f, h).
Learning Outcomes/Competencies
Risk management and prevention is one of the components
of the sustainable environmental development transversal axis
of the school curricula. As such, it is defined as ‘the ability
to plan, organise and execute activities that serve to prevent,
mitigate or reduce environmental risks related to natural
phenomena and human activities’ (Ministerio de Educación,
2009). There is a list of expected outcomes for every two
grades (1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8), formulated in terms of skills and/
or competencies, some of them hazard-specific and others
more subject-specific.
Policy Development, Planning, Implementation Aspects
In 2000, the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation
and Response (SINAPRED) was created. SINAPRED is the
main instrument for disaster risk reduction and provides the
foundation for the National Policy of Risk Management. The
National Policy contains the strategies, tasks and activities that
should be undertaken by regions and muncipalities in order to
reduce risk in vulnerable communities.
Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies from Thirty Countries