Multi-Hazard Preparedness Digitized Toolkit: Addressing the Disaster Management Needs of Teachers

This action research aimed to determine the level of awareness of the teachers on multi-hazard preparedness to address their disaster management needs using a multi-hazard digitized toolkit.  Specifically, it aimed to determine the level of awareness of the teachers before and after the implementation and use of the multi-hazard preparedness digitized toolkit, the difference in the level of awareness of teachers before and after the implementation of the intervention and its effect size, and their insightful experiences while using the multi-hazard preparedness digitized toolkit. A descriptive research design was used in the study which included 102 teachers of Dilangalen National High School as respondents.  The data were gathered using a researchers-made, content-validated survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedule and were analyzed using weighted means, t-test, and thematic analysis. Major findings revealed that the teachers have a moderate level of awareness on risk reduction disaster management on all types of hazards before the use of the multi-hazard digitized toolkit as an intervention tool and they became very aware on all types of hazards and on how to respond to the different types of disasters after the intervention period. Furthermore, the teachers’ level of awareness on the different types of hazards and on how to respond to them had significantly increased after the use of multi-hazard digitized toolkit and the use of this intervention had a large effect on the increase of teachers’ awareness on disaster risk reduction management. Finally, the teachers had various experiences in using the digital toolkit but they considered the intervention tool as more advantageous in learning and responding to disasters. The study concluded that the using the multi-hazard digitized toolkit was very effective and has largely affected the increase in teachers’ level of awareness and has been regarded by the teachers as easy, accessible, comprehensive, and informative materials that can be effectively used for teachers’ risk reduction efforts.