Disaster Mitigation Education for Elementary School Students in Indonesia: Challenges and Potentials

Abstract

This study has a goal to explore the implementation of disaster education for elementary school students and to find out the supporting and inhibiting factors. A survey was given to elementary schools with various accreditations standards located around Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta. This research was quantitative research with survey method using instruments in the form of questionnaires. It was found that 40% of elementary schools in disaster-prone radius have implemented disaster mitigation education for their students. However, it is not yet fully compliant with the standards set by the National Disaster Management Agency. The implementation of disaster education programs in these schools focuses on how to save oneself through simulations. Learning does not explicitly integrate disaster education. There are several identified inhibiting factors, namely the lack of facilities and infrastructure including the disaster education curriculum and its supporting instrument. However, elementary school teachers in this area have received training so that they have quite a good understanding of disaster mitigation education. This is a supporting factor for implementing disaster mitigation in this area. In addition, the applicable curriculum allows schools to design learning based on the students’ needs in their environment. Unfortunately, these potentials have not been optimally utilized