FULL REFERENCE: Fikriani, D. & Bone, J. (2014). Children’s participation in disaster risk reduction as curriculum. NZ Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, Special Issue: Early Childhood Policy, 17, 35 – 50.
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ABSTRACT: Children are always involved in disasters, both natural (fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunami) and man-made (wars and displacements of people). Informed by perspectives embedded within the sociology of childhood, the authors discuss what happened after a major earthquake in Indonesia. In this earthquake many people died or were seriously affected by this tragedy. The focus of this research is on the right of children to participate in matters that affect them through a strategy known as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Instead of waiting to deal with children as ‘victims’ of trauma or injury it is argued that children can work with educators to deal with disaster in a useful and proactive way. Teachers in Indonesia, who had themselves been affected by the earthquake, were asked to consider the possibility of including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as curriculum in their early childhood centre. We discuss how the notion of participation is interpreted in this specific context and ask what kind of policy agenda might support this recommendation for DRR to be included as curriculum in countries where disasters are experienced.
KEY WORDS: Disaster risk reduction; early childhood curriculum; earthquake; tragedy.
INTRODUCTION
This article draws on the social construction of childhood as a conceptual framework to seek understanding of child participation in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies through early childhood education (ECE). This approach supports child participation in events and recognises that teachers’ perceptions of what that will be like, reflects the traditions, culture and values of particular societies (King, 2007; Mayall, 2000). In times of disaster it seems that children are often placed as victims rather than as active agents who are capable of taking the lead in disaster risk management (Martin, 2010; Tanner, 2010). Looking at many examples of the benefits of involving children in DRR strategies (Martin, 2010) provides an opportunity for people who work with young children to view children as participants and as people with agency. This article highlights the way ECE contexts may actualise the participation of children. Case studies in Indonesia are the main focus, and a connection is made with New Zealand because both countries have suffered a major earthquake in the past few years.
This case study research involved teachers from a disaster area in Indonesia. They were asked to reflect on the possibility of involving children in DRR strategies as curriculum. Data generated in interviews with seven teachers from two early childhood centres enables their experiences to contribute to an understanding of child participation in the Indonesian context. The research used the theories of social construction and is framed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the final part of the article, we discuss child participation in disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies in early childhood education and draw upon dialogues between teachers, children and families. The argument is made that early childhood education can play an important role in encouraging children to build resilience within their communities and this will support their involvement in DRR strategies.
Children’s rights in ECE
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a General Comment No. 7 in 2006 on implementing child rights in early childhood (CRC/C/GC/7/rev1). This document has been a political enforcement for policy makers and practitioners in ECE to interpret child rights in early childhood settings. However as Bae (2010) points out when the articles in the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and related documents are made universal, one has to consider local conditions and age-related aspects in the implementation of the document.
