Victoria Johnson

Citation

Thesis Title
Evaluating Disaster Education Programs for Children

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Disaster education programs for children have been internationally promoted as an innovative approach to disaster risk reduction. However, few studies have substantiated the key underlying theories about the relationships between program outcomes and societal improvements in disaster risk reduction. Drawing on contemporary research in theory-based evaluation methods, Ms Johnson used a case study approach to explore ways to improve the evaluation of these programs. The first case was a quasi-experimental impact evaluation of a school-based earthquake and tsunami drill, which used a unique set of outcome indicators to test children’s knowledge application and adaptive response skills. The second case was a mixed methods process evaluation of a national voluntary teaching resource for primary schools. These case studies revealed that some program theories common to many disaster education programs for children are faulty. Ms Johnson identified feasible outcome indicators for measuring the societal impact and implementation of children’s programs.

Supervisors
Professor David Johnston
Associate Professor Robin Peace