Geography Teaching in Prevention and Protection Against Natural Disasters in Serbia
摘要
Natural disasters are one of the greatest challenges facing societies today. In mitigating their consequences, adequate education and training programs also play a significant role. As Serbia is also faced with numerous natural disasters, this study aims to examine whether the existing contents on natural disasters in Geography Curricula in primary and secondary schools in Serbia, enable the acquisition of functional knowledge about them. This study used desktop analysis for the study of Curricula in the last ten years and descriptive and statistical analysis for survey processing. The survey of the students’ perceptions of natural disasters was conducted in June 2014, after the May 2014 Flood, the biggest natural disaster that hit Serbia in the twenty-first century. It was carried out in June 2014 and included students of primary and secondary schools. The results have shown that more than half of the students believe they need additional knowledge about activities during and after natural disasters. It was also concluded that there is a lack of functional knowledge about natural disasters among the students. This, as well as other similar research, has encouraged the reform of the Geography Curricula. It also implied introducing new content about natural disasters into the curriculums so that students get better knowledge.