Impacts of direct disaster experience on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of disaster risk reduction curriculum implementation in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

As one of the most disaster-prone countries, Indonesia has experienced frequent natural disasters in the last decade. Prior research found that besides education, disaster experience can increase disaster knowledge. This study aims to investigate how the recent disaster experience which hit Palu, Central Sulawesi affects teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of disaster risk reduction (DRR). Data were acquired from 97 teachers who teach in six well-known schools. The results indicated that disaster experience improved their knowledge about DRR. Moreover, the teachers brought their knowledge into the classroom activities. The improvement also was shown in school DRR activities and DRR engagement in the school curriculum.