Educate to coexist with the flood risk

Abstract

In the Mediterranean region, floods are the main natural risk. This hazard has been aggravated in recent decades by the increase in exposure of the human being and is expected to increase the danger according to the forecast of climate change scenarios. For this reason, dealing with these issues in the classroom and the training of teachers on this subject should be a priority, as established in the curriculum of Primary Education (Social Sciences). The objectives of this research are: 1) To analyze the knowledge that future teachers have about the risk of flooding to develop these contents in the classroom; 2) Check the relevance that they give to this social-environmental problem; and 3) Analyze how they have been trained to face these challenges of teaching in Primary Education. Methodological surveys have been conducted as a case study to future teachers of Primary Education (Faculty of Teaching, University of Valencia). The results indicate that future teachers have: 1) Scarce prior knowledge in relation to flood risks; 2) A reduced perception of the importance of the vulnerability factor to mitigate the risk; and 3) Little information received about this subject in its continuous school education stage.