5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
[HDS09-P03] An Analysis of Disaster Prevention Education Practices in Japan Since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995: A Text Analysis of Newspaper Articles
Keywords:disaster management education, text analysis, co-occurrence network, cluster analysis
Since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995, various disaster management education initiatives have been implemented in Japan across schools, municipalities, and corporations. However, a comprehensive understanding of these initiatives remains elusive. To address this gap, this study analyzed newspaper articles on disaster management education published in the Asahi Shimbun from 1995 to the time of investigation (November 2024), using these articles as a dataset. The analysis was conducted using Asahi Shimbun Cross-Search.
For this study, a quantitative text analysis of newspaper articles was performed using KH Coder, a free software tool designed for statistical analysis of textual data. Quantitative text analysis refers to a method of content analysis that organizes and examines textual data using quantitative techniques. Six keywords were selected for searching relevant articles: "disaster management education" (bōsai kyōiku), as well as synonyms considered to convey similar meanings—"disaster education" (saigai kyōiku), "disaster mitigation education" (gensai kyōiku), "disaster prevention learning" (bōsai gakushū), "disaster learning" (saigai gakushū), and "disaster mitigation learning" (gensai gakushū). As a result, a total of 3,769 articles were identified: 2,590 on disaster management education, 35 on disaster education, 36 on disaster mitigation education, 715 on disaster prevention learning, 26 on disaster learning, and 7 on disaster mitigation learning. After excluding duplicate articles, event announcements, and articles containing only biographical profiles, a final dataset of 1,950 articles was analyzed.
First, a co-occurrence network analysis was conducted using the top 150 frequently appearing words in the articles. This analysis revealed four key themes in disaster management education: (1) community-based participatory disaster prevention efforts, (2) school-based disaster management education tailored to developmental stages, (3) education that conveys disaster lessons and emphasizes life preservation, and (4) disaster management education focused on evacuation from earthquakes and tsunamis.
Next, a cluster analysis of the articles was performed, resulting in the identification of six clusters of disaster management education initiatives: (1) Community-Based Disaster management education: Enhancing understanding of region-specific disaster risks, (2) Disaster Storytelling and Personalization: Providing opportunities for people to hear disaster experiences to foster a sense of personal relevance, (3) Experiential Disaster Preparedness Education: Encouraging disaster preparedness through hands-on learning activities, (4) Disaster Heritage and Lessons Transmission: Preserving and exhibiting disaster photographs and relics to communicate the severity of disasters, (5) School-Based Life-Saving Education: Teaching students life-saving skills and survival techniques through classroom instruction, and (6) Community Disaster Preparedness with Experts: Enhancing local disaster resilience by involving experts in community-based training programs.
Based on these findings, this study proposes that a comprehensive and systematic approach incorporating all six types of disaster management education would be most effective in strengthening disaster preparedness in Japan.
For this study, a quantitative text analysis of newspaper articles was performed using KH Coder, a free software tool designed for statistical analysis of textual data. Quantitative text analysis refers to a method of content analysis that organizes and examines textual data using quantitative techniques. Six keywords were selected for searching relevant articles: "disaster management education" (bōsai kyōiku), as well as synonyms considered to convey similar meanings—"disaster education" (saigai kyōiku), "disaster mitigation education" (gensai kyōiku), "disaster prevention learning" (bōsai gakushū), "disaster learning" (saigai gakushū), and "disaster mitigation learning" (gensai gakushū). As a result, a total of 3,769 articles were identified: 2,590 on disaster management education, 35 on disaster education, 36 on disaster mitigation education, 715 on disaster prevention learning, 26 on disaster learning, and 7 on disaster mitigation learning. After excluding duplicate articles, event announcements, and articles containing only biographical profiles, a final dataset of 1,950 articles was analyzed.
First, a co-occurrence network analysis was conducted using the top 150 frequently appearing words in the articles. This analysis revealed four key themes in disaster management education: (1) community-based participatory disaster prevention efforts, (2) school-based disaster management education tailored to developmental stages, (3) education that conveys disaster lessons and emphasizes life preservation, and (4) disaster management education focused on evacuation from earthquakes and tsunamis.
Next, a cluster analysis of the articles was performed, resulting in the identification of six clusters of disaster management education initiatives: (1) Community-Based Disaster management education: Enhancing understanding of region-specific disaster risks, (2) Disaster Storytelling and Personalization: Providing opportunities for people to hear disaster experiences to foster a sense of personal relevance, (3) Experiential Disaster Preparedness Education: Encouraging disaster preparedness through hands-on learning activities, (4) Disaster Heritage and Lessons Transmission: Preserving and exhibiting disaster photographs and relics to communicate the severity of disasters, (5) School-Based Life-Saving Education: Teaching students life-saving skills and survival techniques through classroom instruction, and (6) Community Disaster Preparedness with Experts: Enhancing local disaster resilience by involving experts in community-based training programs.
Based on these findings, this study proposes that a comprehensive and systematic approach incorporating all six types of disaster management education would be most effective in strengthening disaster preparedness in Japan.