Natural Disaster Literacy Training for Preschool Teachers

Abstract

Turkey is in a region where natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, floods, and landslides) occur frequently due to its geographical location. These disasters cause significant loss of life and property and deeply affect the socioeconomic structure of society. To cope with the destructive effects of disasters and enhance society's resilience against them, disaster education and disaster literacy should be emphasized. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of natural disaster literacy training on preschool teachers' natural disaster literacy levels. The study was conducted with fifty preschool teachers using a quasi-experimental design. Five different tests were used as data collection tools. 50 teachers were selected using the criterion samples method. Teachers participated in a 42-hour natural disaster literacy training program, lasting six hours a day for seven days. A pre-test and a post-test were administered before and after the training. The data were analyzed using the SPSS-25 program. Based on the findings, natural disaster literacy training significantly increased teachers' natural disaster literacy levels, preparedness beliefs, disaster awareness perceptions, and disaster literacy knowledge levels. These results show that natural disaster literacy training is effective in making preschool teachers more prepared and conscious against disasters.