What are teachers' opinions about including topics of natural events and their risks in primary curriculum in Kocaeli (Turkey)?

Since 2000, an increasing number of studies have been done in an attempt to reduce the risk of natural disasters in our country. It is essential to take an active role in disaster management, and the most effective way to increase public awareness is education. According to Hays (2007), all societies need to know the geographical features of their regions, take lessons from the past events, recognize the causes and the resulting damages of past natural events, and learn about ways to reduce such damages.

According to Karancı (2007), it is important for communities to be prepared for disasters. They must conduct risk assessments and have a plan of action and the necessary skills and resources. According to Kadıoğlu (2005), communities that are prepared for disasters through education are best assured of their safety. People's misperceptions about disasters need to be changed, and a common standard in education and training needs to be put into practice. Education programs need to be designed that change community behaviors, build a culture of preparedness, and increase awareness of the risks of natural disasters (Macaulay, 2007; Karnawati & Pramumijoyo, 2008).

Shaw and Takeuchi (2008) in Saijo recommend the use of "Landslide risk mitigation for sustainable community disaster education and training at work" to be used for educating communities focusing on "communities of practice." Macaulay (2007) believes disaster training is very important for students. Through decision-making, critical analysis, and risk assessment they will acquire basic knowledge and skills, and this training must take place in connection with scientific and academic programs.

In our country (Turkey), there are many informal events organized by civil society organizations on disasters, but for widespread impact and to ensure continuing education, a more formal approach is needed. Tsunozaki (2008) conducted a study to determine the most effective way to reduce damages and disasters in the future and concluded that disaster education should be included in school programs.

There is a variety of scientific studies supporting the importance of disaster education in schools (Chang, 2005; Cardona, 2007; Singh, 2007). Proponents of disaster training encourage a more collective approach to reduce societal risk. Natural events that take place in another region may expose to risk individuals with the reason of the geographical mobility if they live in a country with a large population. Therefore, disaster training is required for national education programs (Cardona, 2007). In a trial in the Caribbean aimed to reduce the risk of disasters and to prepare for them, schools were found to play an effective and a leading role (Morissey, 2007). In another study in India, natural and environmental disasters have been included in school curricula in the last 10 years and more materials are being developed. Although floods, droughts, and wind have been issues in India in the past, as a result of the earthquake in the state of Gujarat in 2001, earthquakes have since received more attention than other natural disasters from the Indian government, and research centers throughout the country have made large investments in technical and scientific education (Singh, 2007).

Tsunozaki (2008) conducted a study in Sri Lanka and the Maldives after a tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26th; 93.5 % of participants from Sri Lanka and 82.5% of participants from Maldives had never heard anything about a tsunami before the disaster. On the other hand, one 10-year-old student girl living in Phuket had learned about tsunamis in school. She noticed the withdrawing movement of the sea and alerted her parents and people around her of the possibility of it being a tsunami and she saved the lives of hundreds of people. This shows us the importance of education to prevent extensive damage as a result of such disasters.

When primary programs are analyzed, especially life science, social studies, and science and technology courses including the topic of natural disasters, a key factor for reducing the risk of disasters is to have scientific knowledge about the subject. It is not possible to prevent people from experiencing events of a scientific nature, but to minimize losses it is important to know some of the measures that can be taken. Japanese students from elementary up to high school have a learning program about science and natural disasters and their impact on human beings, science/the environment, technology, and society in general. At the end of the 1990s, many important curriculum materials were designed for Japanese schools, as being prepared for natural disasters depends on the knowledge children gain from cultural awareness programs in schools (Sasaki and Yamakawa, 2007). Generally, it is estimated that there is a 90% probability that there will be a big earthquake in the next 50 years. However, this does not mean, that will happen tomorrow or be after 50 years. (Pararas-Carayannis, 2007).

Turkey in particular is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. It has witnessed devastating natural disasters in recent years, including droughts, floods, earthquakes, and landslides. A disaster management system has not been applied in our country as an effective way to reduce the losses occurring as a result of such disasters (Kadıoğlu & Özdamar, 2008; Öcal, 2010). In 1999, the city of Izmit in northwestern Turkey was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4. Three months later, the city of Düzce in northwestern Turkey was struck by another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2. The Marmara earthquake has caused significant social, economic, and psychological problems for many people (Kadıoğlu & Özdamar, 2008).

In the literature, opinions of science teachers about the learning outcomes with related to the risks created by nature events are examined being quantitative. (Buluş-Kırıkkaya, Oğuz-Ünver, and Çakın, 2011). According to this research, learning outcomes are so much important for teachers. But learning outcomes could not be performed exactly by teachers. In this study,. Science teachers' views were investigated to whether or not sufficient to the risk reduction in terms of awareness, about learning outcomes of science programs related with the risks created by natural events problems in the realization of learning outcomes.