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

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Section 10.
Case 8:
The Case Studies
Indonesia
into existing subjects: Indonesian Language, Science, Social
Studies, Physical Education, and Art. For example, some teachers
addressed flood disaster preparedness within the curriculum
activity on ‘reading and discussing its contents’ in Indonesian
Language. Child friendly pedagogies, group work and raising
meaningful questions were encouraged (UNISDR, 2007).
What is particularly noteworthy about this project was that it
confronted the foreseeable key obstacles from the beginning
of the project. In Indonesian society, there is a superstition
which says that natural hazards are ‘supernatural’. The project
helped teachers to handle fatalistic attitudes among students
by asking them ‘whether they would rather try to protect their
families or simply leave it to fate’ (Ibid, 19). To address the
poor qualification of many teachers, the project prioritized the
most important messages, and avoided scientific language and
formulas whenever possible, using simple language and visual
aids (e.g., pictures, videos, role play). Finally, the teachers were
provided with materials requiring minimal preparation so as not
to overburden them (ibid).
Another example in integrating child-centred DRR into the
formal school curriculum (at the elementary level) emerged
through the Save the Children Yogyakarta earthquake response
programme which supported 99 elementary schools in Bantul
and Klaten districts. It included components of teacher training,
curriculum development (including pilot testing), and advocacy.
This project partnered with the government education office at
sub-district level and four NGOs implemented the Emergency
Education Preparedness and Psycho-Social Support (EEPS)
that trained teachers using a cascade approach. A total of 642
teachers were trained from 99 affected schools. Based on the
success of the EEPS, teacher training and taking into account
the expressed needs of teachers, a further training programme
was offered to help teachers facilitate active learning approaches
closely linked to the national curriculum. In terms of curriculum
development, after receiving School Based Curriculum
Development Training, the selected 30 teachers from 30
schools drafted Samples of Lesson Plans on Integrating
Disaster Preparedness into Elementary School Subjects,
which were fully in line with the national curriculum. After field
tests in two schools for two months, this was finalized and
printed as a manual. It was distributed to all teachers in the 99
target schools during a one-day workshop introducing the use
of the manual. This initiative gained support from the Ministry
of National Education on Education in Emergencies. After the
training of 48 staff members from the Ministry, 14 Ministry
staff, 14 teachers from different provinces and two Save the
Children staff members analyzed and revised the initial manual
to adapt it to the national level 39 .
In 2009, Samples of Lesson Plans on Integrating Disaster
Preparedness into Elementary School Subjects was published
by the Curriculum Centre of the Research and Development
Office of the Ministry of National Education. The document
is organized according to each of six elementary grade levels.
Grades 1-3 are organized thematically (Grade 1 on floods and
earthquake hazards; Grade 2 on endemic diarrhoea, tsunami,
39
A problem with the treatment of disaster mitigation and prevention mainly
taking place at secondary level in Geography is that the subject at this level
is optional and hence not all students are exposed to the learning
Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies from Thirty Countries