Investigating students attitudes and preferences is the central topic of this scientific publication.
Abstract
This paper presents quantitative research results regarding students’ attitudes and preferences towards disaster learning multimedia to enhance preparedness. The research was conducted during February and March 2021, where the respondents’ answers were collected by sending an online survey questionnaire electronically to the email addresses of high schools. The general hypothesis refers to verifying the claim that the application of multimedia in children’s education in schools about disasters ensures that students are acquainted with disasters and develop skills for safety and risk management in case of disasters. The regression model within the conducted research confirmed that the education of students through multimedia has the most significant impact on safety and risk management in disasters. Future directions of research in this field should move towards the analysis of different simulation models that can be of great help to acquaint students with the dangers arising from disasters. Given that simulation has proven to be an effective tool in acquiring knowledge, their application in educating students about disasters would inevitably have significant effects. Ovaj rad predstavlјa rezultate kvantitativnog istraživanja u vezi sa stavovima i preferencijama učenika prema multimedijalnom učenju o katastrofama kako bi se pobolјšala spremnost.
Conclusions
The regression model within the conducted research confirmed that the education of students through multimedia has a significant impact on safety and risk management in disasters. When it comes to educating students about disasters, the most effective method is learning through multimedia and using simulations to depict actual events within multimedia content. These findings support the hypotheses of this paper and the achieved goal of the research. Based on this, it can be concluded that the application of multimedia in student education significantly reduces the risk of disasters, primarily through risk management by understanding the ways and methods of preventive and safety actions in such situations. The contribution of the research is reflected in the importance of learning about disasters for adequate response and safety actions due to their occurrence, thereby reducing the negative consequences of disasters. Introducing students to some basics of disasters, the dangers they bring, practical experiences, and evacuation routes as ways out of such situations is the only way to reduce the risks of disasters and teach them to behave in such emergencies. This research confirmed the impact of multimedia learning on disasters as an effective way to transfer knowledge through videos and simulations. Further research can explore specific learning programs for high school students, which were the subject of this research, as well as creating simulation models of behavior in case of different types of disasters. Future research should focus on analyzing different simulation models that can be of great help in acquainting students with the dangers arising from disasters. Given that simulation has proven to be an effective tool in the acquisition of knowledge, its application in educating students about disasters would inevitably have significant effects. Additionally, progress in improving knowledge about disasters can be implemented within school programs, where a particular subject would be introduced that deals with the study of content related to this issue. By showing the content through multimedia, students would be faced with real situations and the harmful effects of disasters and instructed on how to react adequately and act in such situations.
Addition: The research was conducted during February and March 2021, and the responses of the participants were collected by sending an online survey questionnaire electronically to the email addresses of high schools. The research sample included 376 students. The research was directed towards a large number of high schools in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. However, due to the low response rate, the research covered 25 high schools, which accounts for about 5% of the total number of high schools educating children in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The highest number of students who responded to the research came from the following schools: Aviation Academy and Sports Gymnasium from Belgrade, Technical School “Ivan Sarić” and Chemical-Technological School from Subotica, Technical School from Vlasotince, and Technical School from Užice. The survey questionnaire consisted of two segments. The first segment related to general questions about the students. In this segment, the respondents provided general information related to gender, age, the education level of their father and mother, and who constitutes the household they live in. Additionally, this segment gathered information on the extent to which they are familiar with various disasters and through which sources they mostly obtain information about them. The questions also addressed whether they learn about disasters through studying other subjects in school and if they would prefer to have a subject exclusively dedicated to analyzing and learning about disasters. Further questions gathered information on whether the school collaborates with specific professional institutions regarding the improvement of knowledge in the field of disasters, as well as whether the students’ parents are involved in this process. Respondents indicated whether members of their families had participated in any disasters. The general hypothesis pertains to verifying the claim that the application of multimedia in educating children in schools about disasters ensures that students are familiar with disasters and develop skills for safety and risk management in case of disasters. The regression model within the conducted research confirmed that educating students through multimedia has the most significant impact on safety and risk management in disasters. When it comes to the effect of educating students about disasters, the greatest impact is achieved through learning via multimedia and using simulations to depict real events within multimedia content. These statements prove the hypotheses of this paper and the achieved goal of the research. Based on this, it can be concluded that the application of multimedia in student education significantly reduces the risk of disasters, primarily through risk management by knowing the ways and methods of preventive and safety action in such situations. The contribution of the research is reflected in confirming the importance of learning about disasters for adequate response and safety action due to their occurrence, primarily among children, and thus reducing the negative consequences of disasters. Introducing students to some basics of disasters, the dangers they bring, practical experiences, and evacuation routes as ways out of such situations is the only way to reduce the risks of disasters and teach them to behave in such emergencies. Future directions of research in this field should move towards the analysis of different simulation models that can be of great help to acquaint students with the dangers arising from disasters. Given that simulation has proven to be an effective tool in the acquisition of knowledge, its application in educating students about disasters would inevitably have significant effects. Also, progress in improving knowledge about disasters can be implemented within school programs, where a particular subject would be introduced that would deal with the study of content related to this issue. By showing the content through multimedia, students would be faced with real situations and the harmful effects of disasters, and instructed on how to react adequately and act in such situations.
How to cite
Reference – Krnjić, I., & Cvetković, V. (2021). Investigating students attitudes and preferences towards disaster learning multimedia to enhance preparedness. Bulletin of the Serbian geographical society, 101(2) 79-96.
