The need to better educate the public about bushfire risk and
mitigation has been recognised and schools have been identified as
a major resource for pursuing this objective. However, effective
utilisation of this resource requires consideration of two
important issues. Firstly, as children develop, their perspectives
on causality and prevention undergo systematic age-related changes.
Secondly, children’s perspectives on causality and prevention
are acquired through interaction with different elements of the
social context - family, friends, and teachers - and the
constituent influence of each element changes as children
develop.
Research in a variety of areas, including health education and
road safety education, has shown that when the content of a safety
message is sensitive to age-related changes in perspective and the
delivery of the message capitalises on the prevailing influence
within the social context, the child’s ability to understand
and assimilate that message is significantly enhanced and the
adoption of preventative strategies increases.
This project will examine age-related changes in
children’s understand of causality and prevention as applied
to the bushfire context. It will also examine the role of parents,
friends, and teachers in the development this understanding. The
outcome will be a framework within which bushfire management
agencies can design and deliver school-based bushfire education
programs that accommodate age-related changes in children’s
perspectives and capitalise on prevailing elements within
their social context, thus increasing opportunities for
understanding bushfire risk and, by extension, increasing the
likelihood that mitigation strategies will be adopted.
Project Link: C4 Risk communication
