INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION IN ENHANCING EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS: EVIDENCE FROM ACEH, INDONESIA

Abstract

Aceh is one of the provinces in Indonesia with a high earthquake risk index. The high risk of
earthquakes requires educational institutions to play an important role in increasing disaster preparedness
among students. This study aims to find out the effects of disaster education that have been integrated into
the geography education curriculum and the role of earthquake risk perceptions in increasing earthquake
preparedness. A survey of 210 geography education students was conducted at two universities in Aceh. By
using multiple linear regression analysis, the findings reveal that geographic education and earthquake risk
perception have a positive effect on increasing earthquake preparedness. However, the effect of these two
variables simultaneously was only 24.1%. The low influence of the role of geography education in increasing
earthquake preparedness is because disaster education taught so far only shapes conceptual knowledge. This
study suggests the importance of combining earthquake preparedness knowledge and practice with future
disaster education programs. This is imperative because turning knowledge into action is at the core of
disaster education to improve preparedness.