16-country Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency Research and Development Project
From 11 April until 25 September 2014 David Selby and Fumiyo Kagawa are undertaking a project for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) involving 16 English-speaking Caribbean countries. The project is directed at:
- Understanding the level and quality of the integration of comprehensive disaster management in the education of school students in participating states and producing a baseline study that makes recommendations for the qualitative upgrading of available resources and, in particular, CDEMA’s own Disaster Education Kit
- Developing new learning and teaching resources and activities in the light of recommendations made
- Pilot testing the new materials in the schools of four participating states (while eliciting feedback from teachers and students from other participating states)
- Finalizing a new comprehensive learning resource for schools
The baseline study will involve critical interrogation of Caribbean-specific syllabi, learning materials and programs, scrutiny of noteworthy materials from around the world and assessment of their applicability to the Caribbean context, an online survey to be completed by teachers and secondary students, and individual and focus group interviews with key stakeholders to elicit opinions and perspectives on current disaster-related learning and teaching in Caribbean countries. The baseline study is due to be finalized by end-June 2014.
In June attention will turn to developing an upgraded and enhanced Disaster Education Kit. The Kit will be piloted in a primary and secondary school in each of four participating states – Turks and Caicos Islands, St.Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago – during August and September 2014. Primary and secondary teacher panels from those and other participating states will also give feedback on the draft materials. David and Fumiyo will be in the Caribbean to orchestrate, facilitate and monitor the pilots. On their return to base they will write an evaluation report on the pilots and will finalize the Disaster Education Kit in the light of their evaluation. It is intended that the published electronically available Kit will be a significant resource for the further advance of disaster risk reduction education in the Caribbean.