Systems Education for a Sustainable Planet: Preparing Children for Natural Disasters

Abstract

This paper first reviews research linked to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction focusing on-child-centred disaster risk reduction‖ (CC-DRR), highlighting systemic aspects of disaster prevention and preparedness educational programming to date. However, it is also pointed out that education evaluated to date largely assumes a linear, mechanistic approach to preparedness and related resiliency outcomes. Thus, the main thrust of this paper is to elucidate means by which hazards and disaster preparedness education programs for children can shift to systems-based models, those that incorporate both systemic epistemologies but also more systems-based, and interconnected, curricula. This includes curricula that help children connect the physical world and science with the social world and human factors. It also includes the more systemic idea that natural hazards are but one example of a larger category of problems in life related to risk and uncertainty. Thus, a main aim of a systems educational approach is to help children equip themselves with knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence that they can increasingly manage a range of risks in life. This includes an increasing understanding of the added value that can be gained from approaching problems with systemic tools, including producing increasingly effective and sustainable solutions to what public policy refers to as wicked problems.

Overview and Insights from ‘Systems Education for a Sustainable Planet’

“…The authors argue that systems education has the scope to make children more resilient and reduce vulnerability by increasing physical and emotional preparedness. In addition, there is the added potential to harness the enthusiasm and motivation of children to mobilise households and communities to become more prepared [11].…”

“…Ronan and Tower [11] investigate how hazards and disaster preparedness education programs can be taught as part of a systems-based inter-connected curricula across various ages at primary level. The authors argue that systems education has the scope to make children more resilient and reduce vulnerability by increasing physical and emotional preparedness.…”

“…For example, the central importance of the word 'systems' can be clearly seen, together with the other high frequency words such as education, learning, system, dynamics, thinking, design, systemic, management, sustainability, etc. The material provided by the authors for the special issue [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] discusses the current status of systems education and the extent to which the systems community is delivering on the ambition to provide a systems education for a sustainable planet. For the purposes of this paper, the 14 special issue papers have been classified into five distinct themes, as illustrated in Figure 2.…”

“…Different learning approaches are used, but the message is the same-we need to educate people to work with complexity and uncertainty if we are to progress the goal of a sustainable planet [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Crianças em situações de riscos e desastres: atenção psicossocial, Saúde mental e direitos humanos

“…Outros estudos destacam estratégias de redução de riscos de desastres (Martin, 2010, Mudavanhu et al, 2015, com muitas propostas no contexto educacional de forma a contemplar o currículo escolar (Mudanhavu, 2014, Londe et al, 2014, Ronan & Towers, 2014, incluindo materiais de apoio para profissionais nas tarefas de prevenção (Hurtado, 2000).…”