Abstract
This study examines how learners' developmental stages influence the sustainability of
disaster risk reduction education and its spillover effects on their households. We conducted a
questionnaire survey to assess students' awareness of disaster preparedness before, after, and
one month after lessons in coastal and inland urban areas in Shizuoka Prefecture. The results
demonstrated that, in both coastal and inland urban areas, junior high school students tended to
sustain the increased awareness of disaster prevention raised by the classes more than elementary
school students, and junior high school students were more likely to discuss disaster prevention
with their families and take disaster reduction actions at home. These results suggest that
students at higher developmental stages maintained their awareness of disaster preparedness by
relating the class content to themselves in-depth, increasing their self-efficacy for disaster
reduction, and taking necessary disaster reduction actions at home.
