The Missing Pieces of Disaster Education: A focus on Policy, Elementary Grade Geography Curriculum and Assessment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the compatibility of the Balochistan geography textbook's elementary grade curriculum with national education policy standards related to mainstreaming Disaster risk reduction and risk management in curriculum. The study used an exploratory research design with content analysis and a focus on text in context reference. The qualitative content analysis revealed that students' learning outcomes and textbook contents were not in line with formative assessment activities in textbooks. The curriculum offered relatively some conceptual knowledge, whereas the assessment exercises skipped disaster-related knowledge from the sections. The horizontal alignment of SLOs related to DRR did not correspond with the content throughout grades, and some of the concepts were frequently repeated.  The vertical alignment of curriculum, textbooks, and assessment with policy recommendations was also lacking. The textbook exercises did not correspond to the assessment needs mentioned in students learning outcomes, as evidenced by the vertical alignment in all three textbooks, and the horizontal alignment of DRR-related SLOs was not aligned with content. In formative assessment, certain terminology was ruled improper for assessment purposes. The evaluation exercise questions are likewise subjective in terms of wording. Overall, the curriculum is not consistent with policy recommendations. The study suggests altering the curriculum in accordance with policy standards, as well as adopting a textbook-driven approach to make the changes simpler to execute.