Scale development study on primary school teachers' awareness, attitude and behavior regarding nuclear accidents: Development of educational material

The type, location, and timing of disasters are unpredictable, making school preparedness for disaster risks essential. Nuclear accidents may have physical, psychological, and social impacts on students and school personnel. Therefore, improving school preparedness for nuclear accidents may contribute to effective disaster management. The aim of this study is to develop a scale to measure the awareness, attitude, and behavior levels of primary school teachers in Artvin and Kars regarding nuclear accidents and to design educational material for primary schools. The study was conducted using a quantitative research design, and a scale was developed as the data collection tool. A non-probability sampling method was used. The scale development process consisted of pilot and field application stages. The pilot study was conducted in Artvin, where exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed, and unsuitable items were removed. The field study was conducted in Kars, where confirmatory factor analysis was applied and validity and reliability assessments were completed. In the final stage, parametric statistical analyses were performed. Microsoft Office Excel 2013 and SPSS 25.0 programs were used for data analysis. The results indicated that participants who received disaster management training had higher nuclear accident awareness levels. Practical recommendations were developed to reduce the impacts of nuclear accidents in primary schools.