Disasters affect segments of the population in different ways. Although age-based vulnerabilities place children at risk, children may offer unique capacities for bolstering disaster resilience. This paper reviews three initiatives that focus on children and disasters, including a Sesame Workshop-produced video aimed at pre- school children, an American Red Cross initiative that focuses on children in kindergarten through middle school, and a video directed at high school students as part of a student-generated initiative at a Seattle school. The authors use a matrix developed by Anderson and Woodrow (1989) to assess the extent to which these initiatives emphasize youth-based vulnerabilities and capacities with respect to physical/material, social/organizational, and motivational/attitudinal factors. The field report ends with a call for more systematic research to explore the effectiveness of disaster education initiatives that seek to educate youth.
Loading...