Analysis of Disaster Awareness Perception Levels of Students in Social Studies Teaching Undergraduate Program

Disasters are known as calamities affecting all humanity on earth and have adverse impacts on human life in various ways. Although many natural disasters cannot be prevented, their adverse effects on people can be mitigated. It is important to raise the awareness of people about disasters, whether they are caused by human effects or nature. Disaster education plays an important role in raising this awareness. The study group of the study consists of 172 teacher candidates receiving education in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades of the department of social studies teaching in a state university located in the Central Anatolia region. In order to measure the disaster awareness of the teacher candidates, the scanning pattern included under the quantitative study method has been used. T-test and ANOVA has been utilized in the analysis of disaster awareness perception scale. As the result of the analysis; in the sub-dimensions of disaster education awareness, pre-disaster awareness, false disaster awareness and post-disaster awareness, the teacher candidates have been evaluated according to their gender, their general academic average scores, their participation in a conference or a panel and according to their homework, presentation or project preparing status. Based on the results of the research, in order for the teacher candidates to gain the right disaster awareness, it has been recommended that they should be provided with disaster awareness courses in their undergraduate curriculum, that they should take part in various research projects, and attend various symposiums, congresses related with disaster awareness.