Introductory Disaster Training for Aspiring Teachers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Schools may serve as shelters after a disaster in many countries, including Japan. However, teachers are unaware of the need to balance education and shelter management responsibilities under such circumstances. To promote teachers’ awareness of the post-disaster school situation, this study developed an introductory training for aspiring teachers and investigated its effectiveness. A total of 143 students aspiring to become teachers participated in this simulative training and answered pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. The participants’ vocabulary and word usage were also evaluated. The mean participant scores for the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains increased significantly after the training compared with the pre-training scores. The training was also associated with the aggregation of word usage, which may facilitate communication with representatives of multiple occupations. The findings indicate that a developed training may help aspiring teachers better understand their responsibilities after a disaster and prepare them for such situations.