2021 Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 95-113
Disaster prevention education is an essential part of education for junior high school students. Therefore, it is important to examine the methodology to enhance their understanding, judgment, imagination and independence regarding disaster prevention. This study examined the effectiveness of a methodology for disaster prevention education in a community in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Practices 1 and 2. Practice 1 (n=33) is an annual disaster prevention education activity as part of a community development program, and is a type of simulation drill to experience the actual evacuation process. On the other hand, in Practice 2 (n=248), a young man with disaster experience gave a lecture at a junior high school. In Practice 1, the awareness of community empowerment was increased through the simulation-type exercise, and in Practice 2, the self-efficacy of the role of self-reliant action in disaster management was increased by listening to the youth’s experience of disaster and recovery. In conclusion, it was found that working with community members on an ongoing basis to educate junior high school students on disaster prevention increased their interest in and sense of participation in the community, while interacting with their peers who had been affected by the disaster increased their sense of self-efficacy to play a role in disaster management.
