Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study focused on designing a flood-risk education program to enhance 15-year-old students’ flood-risk perception. In the flood-risk education program, learning processes were modeled in such a way that the arousal of moderate levels of fear should prompt experiential and analytical information processing. In this way, understanding of flood risk in the surroundings should prompt students’ threat and coping appraisal. To accomplish this, the program consisted of a variety of student-directed parts, such as serious games and flood simulations. The design of the program was based on theoretical understandings from learning theory, information processing, and risk communication. Furthermore, empirical findings about students’ risk perceptions were incorporated. The design process was guided by the principles of Educational Design Research and had an iterative character.
Highlights
Worldwide, flooding is one of the main natural hazards that causes tremendous damage and a great many casualties
The main research question of this study is: What are the characteristics of a flood-risk education program in the Netherlands that contributes to improving 15-year-old students’ personal flood-risk perceptions and flood-preparedness intentions? In developing a flood-risk education program or product, we have reasoned from the key principles of Educational Design Research (Plomp & Nieveen, 2009; van den Akker, Gravemeijer, McKenney, & Nieveen, 2006)
This study reports on the development and formative evaluation of a flood-risk education program in the Netherlands, based on an educational design research approach
Summary
Worldwide, flooding is one of the main natural hazards that causes tremendous damage and a great many casualties. It is expected that flood risks increase in low-lying coastal areas and flood plains (Maaskant, Jonkman, & Bouwer, 2009) This applies to the Netherlands where 25% of the country lies below sea level and about two-thirds would be flooded frequently without flood defenses. People in the Netherlands live in a country with dikes and barriers combined with an ageold flood history, flood risk is not salient at all; even thinking of flooding would not evoke fear This conception is deeply embedded in society and Heems and Kothuis (2012) call this “the myth of dry feet.”. Previous studies (Bosschaart, Kuiper, & van der Schee, 2015; Bosschaart, Kuiper, van der Schee, & Schoonenboom, 2013;) showed that this myth applies to Dutch students Within this framework education and communication about this risk is a challenging task. As the focus of environmental education with respect to flood-risk perception differs from education concerning sustainable development, the work of these authors was not incorporated
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