Advances in Education and Training for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically highlighted the fact that disasters can still severely disrupt the operation of technologically enhanced societies, resulting in millions of casualties and instigating short- and long-term adverse effects in the livelihoods of billions of citizens around the world. It is certainly evident that the way humanity studies and manages natural, anthropogenic, and hybrid disasters has progressed impressively since Prince’s pioneering examination, exactly a century ago, of the sociological aspects of the explosion of a French munition vessel. Disaster research, as a social sciences discipline, evolved slowly at first but gained significant momentum after the Second World War. Around the same time, the seeds of modern civil protection mechanisms were laid with the introduction of civil defense statutes in various countries. During the last 60 years, research on the definition and dimensions of disaster has allowed us to gain a much better understanding of disaster as a social phenomenon; societies no longer limit their focus on their disaster-response capabilities but view disaster (and disaster risk in particular) within the context of a comprehensive disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) framework. The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 have formalized this framework and have allowed its operationalization on national, regional, and global levels.

Education and training activities constitute an essential, but sometimes not adequately addressed, part in the implementation of an overall DRRM framework. The Sendai Framework emphasizes the importance of formal and non-formal education and training activities and fully integrates them within the implementation of the DRRM framework in a number of different ways: (1) as the basis for building knowledge and competencies among all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Framework’s provisions; (2) as a fundamental mechanism for raising public awareness on the nature and implications of disaster risk and developing a corresponding prevention culture within societies; and (3) as the catalyst for enhancing the capacity of societal preparedness, response, and recovery mechanisms.

Despite the significant importance of educational and training activities for the implementation of a comprehensive DRRM framework, relatively few research studies have been published in this domain. This Special Issue of Education Sciences entitled “Advances in Education and Training for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management” aims to contribute toward the advancement of the conceptual understanding of educational and training considerations within the context of DRRM and the development of implementation aspects of educational and training interventions within the same context. As DRRM is an interdisciplinary domain, researchers from all scientific disciplines are invited to submit their contributions that critically discuss and analyze specific topics in this field. Such topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Use of pedagogical models, learning theories, and educational methodologies within the context of DRRM frameworks;
• Development, testing, and evaluation of disaster-related curricula within the context of formal educational systems;
• Development, testing, and evaluation of non-formal disaster-related educational and training activities;
• Use of distance- and blended-learning educational modes within the context of DRRM frameworks;
• Development, testing, and evaluation of drills, table-top exercises, and large-scale preparedness exercises;
• Design, implementation, and evaluation of educational raising-awareness applications for disasters, as foreseen in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;
• Identification of knowledge gaps within the context of DRRM frameworks;
• Educational and training requirements, considerations, applications, and comparisons related to targeted UN Disaster Risk Reduction areas (earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, biological hazards and pandemics, wildfires, coastal erosions, sea-level rises, natechs, and tropical cyclones) and special target groups such as immigrants, foreign communities, and people with disabilities and reduced mobility/autonomy.

For this Special Issue, we welcome original empirical studies demonstrating validated practical experiences on the topics considered, as well as conceptual essays contributing to theory and future research.

References:

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Andi Subandi, Syahirul Alim, Fitri Haryanti, and Yayi S. Prabandari (2019). Training on modified model of programme for enhancement of emergency response flood preparedness based on the local wisdom of Jambi community. Jàmbá Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 11.

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Leif Inge Magnussen, Eric Carlstrøm, Jarle Løwe Sørensen, Glenn Egil Torgersen, Erlend Fritjof Hagenes, and Elsa Kristiansen (2018). Learning and usefulness stemming from collaboration in a maritime crisis management exercise in Northern Norway. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 27.

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Dr. Christos Dimopoulos
Prof. Dr. Maria Meletiou-Mavrotheris
Prof. George Boustras
Mr. Evangelos Katsaros
Guest Editors

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• Education/training in the context of the Sendai Framework
• Education/training in disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for raising public awareness of disaster risk
• Development/testing/evaluation of formal disaster-related educational curricula
• Development/testing/evaluation of non-formal disaster-related educational activities
• Design/implementation/evaluation of disaster preparedness exercises
• Knowledge gaps in disaster risk reduction and management
• Education /training on Risk Assessment statistical and mathematical models for disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for tsunami disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for landslide disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for flood disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for biological hazard/pandemic disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for wildfire disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for coastal erosion disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for sea-level rise disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for natech disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for tropical cyclone disaster risk reduction and management
• Education/training for people with disabilities and reduced mobility/autonomy in the context of disaster risk reduction and management
• Educational/training for immigrants and foreign communities in a country in the context of disaster risk reduction and management.