9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
[G02-P04] Methods of Disaster Drills at Daycare Facilities
-Building crisis management skills of daycare facility staff-
Keywords:Disaster prevention training, Pre-school child, daycare facility, Earthquake disaster prevention, disaster imagination game, daycare teacher
The daycare facility has voiced that they conduct evacuation drills every month, but they are concerned about whether these drills will be helpful in the event of a disaster. Therefore, the authors conducted collaborative research with a daycare facility in Tokyo (hereafter referred to as Daycare A) to examine the elements necessary for crisis management skills of staff at daycare facilities and their training methods.
The collaborative research with Daycare A began in June 2019 and is still ongoing. Children were able to take actions such as getting under their desks or striking a pose to protect themselves on their own judgment when they heard an earthquake early warning through the practice of systematic disaster prevention education by the end of FY2020. As a next step, we decided to try a new approach to improve the crisis management skills of all staff members and to reduce the dependence on the staff in charge of disaster prevention.
First we conducted “Desktop Simulation Exercise” for Daycare A staff members in September 2021. It was conducted in the following steps: 1) All staff members wrote down on sticky notes the risks that would occur on the set date and time of the disaster that we told them; 2) They predicted where these risks would occur and put them on a floor map; 3) The staff members orally explained what they would do if those risks occurred. 4) They discussed about their explanations. The objectives were to "identify all risks in the event of a disaster," "determine priorities for action," and "experience decision making.” As a result, this exercise enabled the staff to get a bird's eye view of the overall movement of people and resources. However, they were not able to make decisions in a realistic situation.
Next, in June 2022, a new exercise was conducted in a way that the staff could act out their response to the situation to increase the realism of the situation. It was conducted in the following steps: 1) Create islands of desks in the classroom that represent the space of each year grade, 2) Place “Event Cards” describing events that would occur when we have an earthquake on the islands, 3) The staff members make decisions on the priorities for action and take specific actions in response to the “Event Cards”. The contents of the “Event Cards” are based on what the staff wrote in “Desktop Simulation Exercise” conducted in September 2021. As a result, this exercise enabled the staff to make decision while considering the order of priority for the events that occurred one after another. However, the following issues emerged: difficulty in communication when using transceivers, and lack of reality in dealing with injured people on “Event Cards”.
The author's laboratory conducts “Practical Evacuation Drill” for elementary and junior high school teachers. “Practical Evacuation Drill” are drills that are conducted using actual resources such as school facilities and personnel playing the role of injured persons. “Desktop Simulation Exercise” are less realistic than “Practical Evacuation Drill”. However, it is difficult for university students to play the role of a preschool child, and it is difficult to conduct “Practical Evacuation Drill” in daycare facilities. Therefore, the authors interviewed the staff of Daycare A about how to conduct such realistic drills for daycare facilities after having them watch a video of a “Practical Evacuation Drill” that had been conducted in the past. The results obtained were surprising for the authors: "We feel the need for “Practical Evacuation Drill”, but they may become traumatic experiences for the teachers, which may disturb their actions when a real disaster occurs.” In fact, at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they tried to avoid upsetting the children by acting as usual even though they felt that a major disaster was occurring. Preschool children usually cry when one child cries, which causes other children to cry. One of the crisis management skills necessary for daycare facilities staffs is the ability to remain calm and not show upset.
Based on these findings, a new type of excise was conducted in November 2021. During an earthquake drill for children, the staff in charge of disaster prevention handed “Event Cards” to other staff members, who then acted in response.
In this presentation, we summarize and report on the training methods to develop crisis management skills for staffs of daycare facilities for preschool children.
“Report on the Response of Schools and Other Facilities to the Great East Japan Earthquake," (MEXT, 2012) (Target: Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures
The collaborative research with Daycare A began in June 2019 and is still ongoing. Children were able to take actions such as getting under their desks or striking a pose to protect themselves on their own judgment when they heard an earthquake early warning through the practice of systematic disaster prevention education by the end of FY2020. As a next step, we decided to try a new approach to improve the crisis management skills of all staff members and to reduce the dependence on the staff in charge of disaster prevention.
First we conducted “Desktop Simulation Exercise” for Daycare A staff members in September 2021. It was conducted in the following steps: 1) All staff members wrote down on sticky notes the risks that would occur on the set date and time of the disaster that we told them; 2) They predicted where these risks would occur and put them on a floor map; 3) The staff members orally explained what they would do if those risks occurred. 4) They discussed about their explanations. The objectives were to "identify all risks in the event of a disaster," "determine priorities for action," and "experience decision making.” As a result, this exercise enabled the staff to get a bird's eye view of the overall movement of people and resources. However, they were not able to make decisions in a realistic situation.
Next, in June 2022, a new exercise was conducted in a way that the staff could act out their response to the situation to increase the realism of the situation. It was conducted in the following steps: 1) Create islands of desks in the classroom that represent the space of each year grade, 2) Place “Event Cards” describing events that would occur when we have an earthquake on the islands, 3) The staff members make decisions on the priorities for action and take specific actions in response to the “Event Cards”. The contents of the “Event Cards” are based on what the staff wrote in “Desktop Simulation Exercise” conducted in September 2021. As a result, this exercise enabled the staff to make decision while considering the order of priority for the events that occurred one after another. However, the following issues emerged: difficulty in communication when using transceivers, and lack of reality in dealing with injured people on “Event Cards”.
The author's laboratory conducts “Practical Evacuation Drill” for elementary and junior high school teachers. “Practical Evacuation Drill” are drills that are conducted using actual resources such as school facilities and personnel playing the role of injured persons. “Desktop Simulation Exercise” are less realistic than “Practical Evacuation Drill”. However, it is difficult for university students to play the role of a preschool child, and it is difficult to conduct “Practical Evacuation Drill” in daycare facilities. Therefore, the authors interviewed the staff of Daycare A about how to conduct such realistic drills for daycare facilities after having them watch a video of a “Practical Evacuation Drill” that had been conducted in the past. The results obtained were surprising for the authors: "We feel the need for “Practical Evacuation Drill”, but they may become traumatic experiences for the teachers, which may disturb their actions when a real disaster occurs.” In fact, at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they tried to avoid upsetting the children by acting as usual even though they felt that a major disaster was occurring. Preschool children usually cry when one child cries, which causes other children to cry. One of the crisis management skills necessary for daycare facilities staffs is the ability to remain calm and not show upset.
Based on these findings, a new type of excise was conducted in November 2021. During an earthquake drill for children, the staff in charge of disaster prevention handed “Event Cards” to other staff members, who then acted in response.
In this presentation, we summarize and report on the training methods to develop crisis management skills for staffs of daycare facilities for preschool children.
“Report on the Response of Schools and Other Facilities to the Great East Japan Earthquake," (MEXT, 2012) (Target: Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures