Analysis of the Perception of Natural Disaster Risk Through Graphic Expression by Students in the Project "Civil Defense at School”

Abstract

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent in our daily life. In recent years, no continent has been spared from adverse natural events that have resulted in disasters with consequences for human life as well. In a local context, an environmental education project called “Civil Defense at School”, promoted by the Civil Defense of the municipality of Blumenau/SC/BR, was investigated. This study aimed to identify, through graphic expressions, the perception of natural disaster risks that the participating students had. For this purpose, an exploratory research and a documental analysis of the graphic representations, which were the students’ drawings, were held. For the treatment and the analysis of the drawings, an array containing the categories and the content employed during the school meetings was elaborated and the nonparametric Chi-Square statistical method was applied. The results indicated that the educational practices carried out by the Civil Defense of the municipality are important tools to mediate content related to the theme of natural disasters. These practices provide students of elementary school a complex vision of the main risks of the existing disasters in the city, enabling them to identify their main negative impacts. Also, they transform the students into disseminators of this information, favoring the development of a city that is resilient to   the risks of natural disasters.