Notes on national earthquake education programs in Israel

Abstract

The presentation considers the findings from a recent study on the efficacy of the national emergency education program in Israel. Jointly operated by the Israeli Home Front Command and the Israeli Ministry of Education, the program intends to educate students on the risks of earthquakes and provide ways for the school population (staff, student and their families) to prepare for and behave during and after a major seismic event. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, the researchers identified both organizational and pedagogical program shortcomings. Addressing these issues, the presentation offers a series of suggestions for improving the program and hence earthquake preparation levels among the students and their families. While specifically pertaining to the composite of communities in the southern Israeli periphery, the suggestions relate to a seemingly universal gap between pre-conceived national mitigation strategies and the practicalities of their implementation on a local level. As such, the insights acquired from this study may be useful for improving other similarly challenged national disaster education programs.