Investigation of disaster awareness and disaster preparedness of prospective social studies teachers

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between disaster awareness and disaster preparedness levels of pre-service social studies teachers. The study used the relational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods. 'Disaster Awareness Scale' developed by Dikmenli, Yakar, and Konca (2018), 'Disaster Preparedness Scale' developed by Şentuna and Çakı (2020), and 'Personal Information Form' developed by the researcher were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, normality and homogeneity tests were performed and skewness and kurtosis values were examined. The results of the study revealed that pre-service social studies teachers' disaster awareness was high, but their disaster preparedness was low. In addition, a positive, significant but weak relationship was found between disaster awareness and disaster preparedness levels. No significant difference was found for the variables of gender, grade level and mother's education level. However, the educational level of the father was found to have a significant effect on disaster preparedness. It was found that pre-service social studies teachers who had experience of disasters had higher levels of awareness and preparedness than those who had not. Similarly, it was concluded that pre-service teachers who received disaster training and were members of non-governmental organisations had higher levels of awareness and preparedness on these issues. Keywords: Disaster, Awareness, Preparedness, Social Studies