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

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Section 10.
Case 24:
The Case Studies
Peru
Overview
Peru presents an excellent example
of national initiatives and international
cooperation when it comes to DRR
education. DRR is infused into a range
of primary and secondary subjects,
the infusion being informed by
guidelines on competencies.
Introduction
In 2007 the Ministry of Education launched its Social Mobilization
Safe, Clean and Healthy Schools program (MS ESLS).
MS ESLS promotes educational programmes aimed at the
generation of values, attitudes and practices necessary to
foster sustainable development. One of its main objectives is
to raise awareness and engage the educational and local community
in the promotion and generation of a healthy life style,
risk management and sustainable use of resources
and biodiversity. The National School Curriculum establishes
'the understanding of the natural environment and its diversity
and the development of environmental awareness geared
towards risk management and the rational use of natural
resources, within a modern citizenship framework’ as one of
its objectives. (Ministerio de Educación, undated, 21). It also
proposes disaster risk reduction education and environmental
awareness as a cross- curricular theme.
Curriculum Development/Integration
The National School Curriculum at the primary level covers
DRR within the Social Personal division that aims at promoting
the full development of students as human beings and active
members of society (National Curriculum, 205). DRR is covered
specifically in Geography (grades 1 to 6) emphasizing
an understanding of natural and anthropic phenomena, emergency
preparedness, the National System of Civil Defence and
prevention. DRR is also addressed in Science and Environment
(grade 5) during the study of earthquakes, fostering ‘participation
in preventative actions of environmental risks’ (Ministerio de
Educación, undated, 251) as one of its primary outcomes.
In secondary education, DRR is included in the History,
Geography and Economy division, promoting ‘risk management
capabilities and a long-term vision of development alternatives
within a sustainable development framework’ (Ministerio de
Educación, undated, 385). DRR appears in Geography (Grade
7 to 8) in which the student must be able to ‘propose alternative
solutions of risk management measures and prevention in rural
and urban areas’ (Ministerio de Educación, undated, 390).
DRR also appears as part of Science, Technology and Environmental
Education (grades 7 to 11) in which the development of
environmental consciousness in risk management is specified
as an objective. The contents of these relate DRR to climate
change, sustainable development and prevention.
The instructions included in the Educational Project of each
school (a document produced by schools to explain how they
will organize and contextualize the curriculum and teaching
methodologies) establish that at least one institutional objective
should be related to the inclusion of risk management in the
teaching-learning process. Using the National Curriculum
Framework foundation, each school should include risk
management as a transversal topic with emphasis on areas
such as personal development, social studies, and science and
the environment. Schools decide the particular way to include
the topic in their contextualized curricula. This means that all
schools have covered some aspect of DRR, and, as such,
the process is generalized.
Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies from Thirty Countries