Impact of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) In Education on The Knowledge and Attitude of Students Toward Responding to Natural Disasters

The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has adopted the K–12 curriculums. DepEd has offered disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education as one of the topics in Social Studies in Grade 10. Every student must know about disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education and must have a positive outlook when responding to natural disasters. In this study, the researcher endeavored to seek the students’ level of knowledge of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education and its impact on their attitude toward responding to natural disasters. The study employed a random sample technique to choose participants for its descriptive research design. The gathering of data was done through a questionnaire administered via a printed questionnaire and a Google Form. The study was conducted on 225 sample participants of grade 10 students at Dela Paz National High School. The study reveals that students have a high level of knowledge about disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education, including disaster preparedness, response, preparations, and developing a plan. However, they lack knowledge about disaster management, readiness, discipline, cooperation, and the importance of various sectors’ programs and actions. Students generally have a positive attitude towards responding to natural disasters, with a high mean of 4.59. They agree that safety drills are crucial for disaster preparedness and prioritize emergency kit preparation. Teachers’ exposure to DRR in education improves attitudes toward responding appropriately to natural disasters. However, students still show a poor attitude towards preparation for potential risks and hazards due to natural disasters.  Moreover, there is a positive relationship between the two variables; this means that as the knowledge of the students about disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education increases their attitude toward responding to natural disasters also increases. This implies that the knowledge of the students about disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education towards responding to natural disasters greatly influences their attitude. The Department of Education and the teachers should revisit the K–12 Basic Education Curriculum in 2013 to look into the possible continuous improvement of the integration and implementation of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in education as a component of subjects such as social studies and science and technology purposely to strengthen disaster risk reduction in the Philippines.