3:30 PM - 3:45 PM
[G03-07] A study of the cognition regarding natural disasters of junior high school students in Kobe City, Japan.
Keywords:questionnaire survey, junior high school students, natural disasters, earth science education, Mt.Rokko, Kobe City
In recent years, the number of natural disasters that cause many victims has increased. A natural disaster is a phenomenon in which a critical natural hazard causes loss of human life and damage to social infrastructure. To minimize the damage caused by natural disasters, it is important to understand both their causes and potential effects. In addition, it is necessary to treat natural disasters as teaching materials, so that the experience gained can be used to help prevent damage in the future. By studying examples of natural disasters, students are made to think about the relationship between human society and the environment, and what can be done to prevent or mitigate damage from natural disasters. Opportunities to deal with natural disasters can occur within science, social studies, health and physical education, technology and home economics, and integrated study lessons, however the most suitable place to learn about the phenomena that cause natural disasters is in science classes, particularly in the study of earth science.
Since the 1995 Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake, disaster education for evacuation preparedness in the event of a disaster, and for minimizing damage in the event of a disaster has progressed considerably. However, education about earth science, particularly in relation to the causes and occurrence of natural disasters has not progressed. Few papers are published, and the cognition of the general public concerning natural hazards remains low. Many core principles such as the difference between typhoon and tropical cyclone, seismic intensity and earthquake magnitude, trench type earthquake and intraplate earthquake, how to interpret the probability of precipitation, and the existence of hazard maps are important topics that the general public has little recognition of. We think that it is the responsibility of science and earth science education to provide the general public with the basic knowledge needed to fully understand the principles and the importance of natural science and natural hazard awareness.
In the Course of Study (Science) for Junior High School (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, 2018), students are to learn that volcanic disasters, earthquake disasters and benefits from nature by learning “the formation and change of the earth”, meteorological disasters and benefits from nature by learning “weather and its changes”, and the local natural disasters by learning “nature and humans”.
In addition to the Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake, Kobe City also frequently suffers damage from strong winds, or flooding caused by heavy rain (including debris flows, landslides, and floods). This is due to the tilted block of Mt. Rokko. The Mt. Rokko range is a massif located on the north side of the city of Kobe. The rivers that flow from Mt. Rokko have a very short distance to the sea, so they are rapids with high flow rates. Moreover, since Mt. Rokko is made of weathered granite, it is easy for landslips and earthfalls to occur, often leading to debris flows. At the foot of Mt. Rokko, sand and stones carried by rivers from Mt. Rokko over the years have formed an alluvial fan on which the urban area of Kobe and its 2 million inhabitants are located, making it a heavily urbanized area with a high risk of sediment related disasters. However, in science classes at junior high school there are few opportunities to learn more about natural disasters that occur in the region. Therefore, we conducted a survey of junior high students in Kobe city concerning natural disaster cognition.
Survey Method
In November 2020, we conducted a questionnaire survey on disaster cognition for seventh grade students (987 students) and eighth grade students (1009 students) of junior high schools (13 schools) in Kobe City.
The survey consisted of eight questions:
Question 1 asked students to specify their opinion of the most frightening natural disaster.
Questions 2-4 asked students about their sources of information relating to natural disasters.
Questions 5-6 asked students to answer questions relating to the cause of earthquakes, and the ground shaking.
Questions 7-8 asked students about the causes of floods, and the places where floods can occur.
In this presentation, we will present the results of an analysis of the junior high school students’ cognition of natural disasters and their learning experiences relating to them.
Since the 1995 Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake, disaster education for evacuation preparedness in the event of a disaster, and for minimizing damage in the event of a disaster has progressed considerably. However, education about earth science, particularly in relation to the causes and occurrence of natural disasters has not progressed. Few papers are published, and the cognition of the general public concerning natural hazards remains low. Many core principles such as the difference between typhoon and tropical cyclone, seismic intensity and earthquake magnitude, trench type earthquake and intraplate earthquake, how to interpret the probability of precipitation, and the existence of hazard maps are important topics that the general public has little recognition of. We think that it is the responsibility of science and earth science education to provide the general public with the basic knowledge needed to fully understand the principles and the importance of natural science and natural hazard awareness.
In the Course of Study (Science) for Junior High School (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, 2018), students are to learn that volcanic disasters, earthquake disasters and benefits from nature by learning “the formation and change of the earth”, meteorological disasters and benefits from nature by learning “weather and its changes”, and the local natural disasters by learning “nature and humans”.
In addition to the Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake, Kobe City also frequently suffers damage from strong winds, or flooding caused by heavy rain (including debris flows, landslides, and floods). This is due to the tilted block of Mt. Rokko. The Mt. Rokko range is a massif located on the north side of the city of Kobe. The rivers that flow from Mt. Rokko have a very short distance to the sea, so they are rapids with high flow rates. Moreover, since Mt. Rokko is made of weathered granite, it is easy for landslips and earthfalls to occur, often leading to debris flows. At the foot of Mt. Rokko, sand and stones carried by rivers from Mt. Rokko over the years have formed an alluvial fan on which the urban area of Kobe and its 2 million inhabitants are located, making it a heavily urbanized area with a high risk of sediment related disasters. However, in science classes at junior high school there are few opportunities to learn more about natural disasters that occur in the region. Therefore, we conducted a survey of junior high students in Kobe city concerning natural disaster cognition.
Survey Method
In November 2020, we conducted a questionnaire survey on disaster cognition for seventh grade students (987 students) and eighth grade students (1009 students) of junior high schools (13 schools) in Kobe City.
The survey consisted of eight questions:
Question 1 asked students to specify their opinion of the most frightening natural disaster.
Questions 2-4 asked students about their sources of information relating to natural disasters.
Questions 5-6 asked students to answer questions relating to the cause of earthquakes, and the ground shaking.
Questions 7-8 asked students about the causes of floods, and the places where floods can occur.
In this presentation, we will present the results of an analysis of the junior high school students’ cognition of natural disasters and their learning experiences relating to them.