Research Paper on Disaster Response Preparedness in Schools

Introduction

Schools have been established in various places with the primary purpose of educating learners and help them to gain knowledge in multiple fields. The environment that these schools have been established are conducive so that learning can be enhanced. Learning in various schools have been affected by various problems. However, there are specific problems that might interfere with the learning process. One of the issues that might affect learning is the occurrence of disasters. These disasters might be human-made or occur naturally. Disasters might lead to the destruction of property. Therefore, there will be no facilities whereby learning will take place. Also, accidents might lead to loss of student lives. From this perspective, when a disaster occurs, learning will be destructed.

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Background Information

According to Mutch (2014), disasters have always existed for many years. There is not any country or region that cannot be affected by any disasters, and they may vary depending on various issues. Disaster is a destruction of the normal functioning of the society resulting in widespread human and environmental damage as well as losses (Mutch 2014). According to Mutch (2014), the damage caused by the disasters affects the ability of the community to cope with the situation using their resources. The rise in technology has played a significant role in the occurrence of disasters globally. Some of the common disasters that can occur include fire, earthquakes, lightning strikes, floods, and drought. These disasters have come with negative impacts on those who have been affected calling for a quick action to develop strategies that can be used to reduce these calamities.

The rising number of disasters has been coupled up with massive loss of human lives such as the Mexican Earthquake which occurred in 1985. As much as natural disasters can lead to massive destruction, human-made disasters contribute a lot to suffering of people. An example of a human disaster occurred in Columbine High School whereby one of the students killed twelve students, and a teacher then went ahead and committed suicide (Johnson & Ronan, 2014). This disaster was the deadliest in the history of the United States. As a result of this event, the United States developed new measures such as new security backpacks, computer-generated identity cards, and metal detectors.

In 2007, one of the worst campus rampages occurred in the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute whereby more than 30 people were killed. The United States of America is greatly concerned with violence and safety in schools. Other countries that have emphasized safety in schools include Australia, France, Belgium, South Africa as well as the United Kingdom (Dolan & Krug 2006). These countries have experienced tragic events in institutions of learning that have alarmed the government as well as the communities.

Disaster occurrence in schools has hindered the education process in various ways. Human loss and injury, school property damage and closings, as well as social upheaval, has caused many children to leave school due to long recovery periods (Kano & Bourque 2008). During these periods, their families might require help to attain their basic needs. Some of the children who left school due to the disasters might not get another chance to continue with their education. This issue might deepen the vicious cycle of education lack as well as vulnerability.

In various places in the world where earthquakes have been experienced, some of them have affected schools. Therefore, the buildings that had been built below the required standards collapsed causing a significant setback in education program offered in the school. An example is an earthquake that occurred in Skopje, Yugoslavia in 1963 where a total of 44 schools were affected. On 26th December 2004, an earthquake occurred and a subsequent tsunami which destroyed the community as well various schools in Maldives, Thailand, and Sri Lanka (Johnson 2011). After the October 2005 earthquake that occurred in Pakistani, it was identified that the disaster killed between 17000 to 20000 students due to the collapse of more than 10 000 school buildings (Momani & Salmi 2012). These disasters have been seen to cause a lot of damages to the school property as well as the injury and death of students. The presence of these problems makes it hard for learning to continue effectively (Momani & Salmi 2012). As a result of these disasters, the affected schools needs to develop with response techniques that can be used to prevent disasters. However, implementation of these strategies might be hampered due to several challenges. These challenges should be dealt with so that disaster response prevention measures can be implemented successfully. Disaster response preparedness in various schools is faced with various challenges that hinder it implementation.

Literature Review

A series of research has been conducted based on disaster response preparedness in schools. The central gap it to identify the challenges that faced the implementation of the programs. The review of past literature will identify the various types of disasters, their causes as well as effects, disaster vulnerability and disaster preparedness in schools. After that, the paper will look at the challenges that are experienced when implementing the disaster response preparedness in schools.

Types of Disasters, their Causes, and Effects

Different types of disasters can be experienced in various schools. According to Pfefferbaum, Shaw, and Child (2013), most schools are at risk of experiencing disasters ranging from small to large, and may affect the operation of the school. After these disasters have occurred, most school administration spends a lot of money to reconstruct the structures that have been destroyed by the disasters. In some cases, schools are forced to start the construction of the facility again because everything is damaged. As a result of these disasters, students have left out the school or may relocate to another place which disrupts their education and increases the level of stress. No school is not at risk of being faced with various types of disasters. The cause of any disaster has to be identified so that prevention measures can be developed. Disaster have different types of causes which range from natural to human-made disasters.

One of the causes of disasters in schools is student violence. According to Cusack, Arbon, and Ranse (2010), School violence may involve beating. Bullying, slapping, rape as well as weapon use. There have been cases of school shooting which has turned out to be varied and complex. Most school killers feel powerless, and as a result, they begin killing other people. The use of guns gives them the power that they felt they had been denied. Mutch (2015) said that the first ever recorded shooting happened on May 4th, 1956, whereby a 15-year-old who was called Billy opened fire at teachers at the Maryland Park Junior High School, in Prince George's County. This action was an act of revenge to school authority reprimanding him.

According to Apronti et al. (2015), the major leading cause of violence which is a form of disaster in schools is behavioral problems, lack of perennial guidance, community environment, poor adjustment, family environment, media, school environment as well as easy accessibility to firearms. In the US, bullying as well as teasing have been identified as the significant issues that have contributed to the rising level of school shooting.

The other type of disaster that can be experienced in schools is road accidents. Road accidents involving the school buses can occur leading to the death of students. Some of the issues that have contributed to accidents that involve school buses include driver's negligence, dangerous roadways, defective equipment, poor weather conditions as well as improper maintenance (Shiwaku, Shaw, & Kandel 2007). Approximately, a total of 41 school-age children are killed yearly as a result of school bus-related incidents.

School fire is the other type of disaster that are frequently experienced in various schools. In most cases, these fires usually started with the students as a sign of dissatisfaction with the policies and activities of the school administration, media influences as well as powerful prefects (Lee et al. 2008). As a result, indiscipline was identified as the primary cause of school fires.

Flooding is the other kind of disaster that can affect the schools. In this case, there is usually a lot of water that has submerged the land (McEntire, Crocker, & MPH 2010). The most affected places are usually the low lands. Therefore, if a school is located in low lands, there is a high chance that it might be affected by flooding.

An earthquake is the other type of disaster that most schools have faced in the past years. Earthquakes are usually unpreventable and cannot be predicted. (Basher 2008). An earthquake is termed as a sudden movement of the earth's crust which originates below the surface of the earth. In some places, earthquakes are caused by volcanic eruptions as well as tectonic activities within the plate's margins and the faults. The occurrence of earthquakes may result in the death of thousands of people and the destruction of property. Some of the property destructed might comprise of the school structures hence preventing education to continue effectively.

Schools and Disaster Vulnerability

According to Shiwaku & Fernandez (2011), many schools are at risk of being affected by both human-made and natural disasters. For example, most school buses that they use for various activities. The school bus is a human-made facility meaning it has limits. Therefore, when these buses are driven by individuals who are negligence they might cause accidents.

The second aspect that makes most schools vulnerable to different forms of disasters is the admission of various students from different backgrounds. Students from various backgrounds are associated with different behavior, beliefs, and attitudes. Some of these students are brought up in areas whereby violence is a usual thing. When these students join the institution, they are likely to participate in any form of violence (Oktay et al. 2013). Such violence may be a disaster to the school as it may destroy property, injury or loss of life of various students.

Most fires which start in schools are usually started intentionally, especially by the students (Oda 2016). Several cases whereby school fires have been started most of them have been linked to human action whereas a small category of the cases has been associated with issues such as electrical faults. However, these issues are still related to human-made activities because when they are neglected they might lead to fire.

Most schools, especially those that are found in low land areas, are at risk of flooding. Flooding is a widespread calamity as well as a destructive natural disaster (Zhaopei, Shanzhong, & Yuetong 2013). Floods are usually sudden, and they are hard to predict. As a result, they can easily affect any school, thus causing massive disasters. When it rains heavily, the amount of water flowing can be high, resulting in flash floods. Over the past years, flash floods are the main natural disasters that have killed many people.

Lightning is another hazard that is associated with the weather. This kind of disaster has been underrated for so long because it usually kills one or two people at a time (Coles 2011). When lightning struck, they can also lead to the destruction of property. Lighting strike is unpredictable, and they can occur in areas that are open. This disaster can occur in schools because there are various ope...