A study to develop and assess the effectiveness of training manual on disaster management in terms of knowledge and self expressed practices of teachers in selected schools of Pune city during 2009-11

Abstract

Open a newspaper and no matter what part of the world you happen to be in, you are bound to read reports of all sorts of natural and man-made disasters. This proposed thesis is mainly related to the “Disaster management (DM)”. Its main focus is to highlight the Human Resource Development in disaster management. Capacity building of the community is one of the important aspect of human resource management. People need competencies like knowledge, attitude and practices to perform tasks. Success of the disaster management mostly depends upon efficient capacity building of the society through educational intervention to them. The thesis title is to assess the effectiveness of training manual on disaster management in terms of knowledge and self expressed practices of secondary school teachers in Pune city during 2009-11. REASON FOR THE CHOICE OF THE TOPIC - Disasters are on rise, at global as well as in India. The loss of life and property due to disasters has increased substantially during last two decades. People are now at risk from disasters. Flood, Earthquake, Terrorist attack, fire and road accidents has created concern across the country for preparedness. There is urgent need to adopt multidimensional, multi disciplinary and multi sectoral approach to reduce the losses. School children and their teachers are some of the most receptive group to disaster preparedness education and training. These children, in turn share this valuable education with family and community. Recognizing the value of school children as “multipliers” of disaster information. School teachers are valuable social group to educate children about disasters. This strategy is proving its long term effectiveness. Justification of the study was based on the facts that safety of the school children is basic right of children. Teachers must be aware of disaster management in schools and gain knowledge and implement safety practices in school environment. Identifying learning needs of adult learner in very important aspect in disaster education. According to Cox 2001, adult will learn when they feel a need to learn at their own pace. Disaster management booklet, training manual, handouts are easy ways of learning at own pace and it is preferable means of learning on the topic. Hence researcher has taken initiative to develop a training manual and assess its effectiveness.