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Public Education for Disaster Management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen Public Education for Disaster management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen KEYWORDS Phenomenography; phenomenon; public education; community education; disaster; hazard; disaster management; risk; interpretive; experience; understanding. [ Page i ] Public Education for Disaster management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen ABSTRACT Many recent developments in education theory and the field of disaster management have left the meaning of public education as applied in the disaster management field fraught with uncertainty. This thesis addresses this uncertainty via a phenomenographic research study that sheds light on the meaning of public education, despite such uncertainty, by revealing a discrete number of qualitatively different ways in which disaster managers and disaster educators experience and understand public education. Transcriptions of interviews of 25 such senior Australian disaster managers and educators were analysed using phenomenographic methods and revealed a set of discrete, parsimonious and qualitatively different ways of experiencing public education. The referential component of the different ways of experiencing was revealed within ten emergent categories of description for public education: (i) a non-effective process; (ii) a way of managing a public issue; (iii) promoting an issue; (iv) issuing expert instructions; (v) changing individuals; (vi) strategic teaching and training; (vii) collaborative partnerships; (viii) empowering learners to make informed decisions; (ix) negotiation; and (x) element in societal learning. The structural component of the emergent ways of experiencing public education was presented in the form of a phenomenographic outcome space. Linkages between these findings about public education and current literature were made. The results suggested multiple ways to improve public education within the disaster management community and more widely. The need for clarity in communication amongst educators and professionals in regard to public education was confirmed by [ Page ii ] Public Education for Disaster management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen the research findings. Insights into phenomenography and education were included within the discussion. ----o----o----o---- [ Page iii ] Public Education for Disaster management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH.................................................................................... 2 1.1 AN EMPHASIS UPON PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT................... 5 1.1.1 The Continuing Cost of Disasters ...................................................................... 5 1.1.2 Public Expectations for Safety ........................................................................... 8 1.1.3 Emphasis Upon Public Education for Disaster Safety .................................... 11 1.2 THE FAILURE TO ESTABLISH AN UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ............. 14 1.3 TOWARDS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR DISASTER SAFETY18 1.3.1 A Lack of Existing Insight into Public Education ............................................ 18 1.3.2 Rationale for the Phenomenographic Research .............................................. 22 1.4 THE RESEARCH ........................................................................................................ 24 1.4.1 The Research Problem and Approach ............................................................. 24 1.4.2 The Research Process ...................................................................................... 26 1.4.3 Research Statement and Objectives ................................................................. 27 1.4.4 Model of the Research...................................................................................... 28 1.4.5 Preview of the Research Findings ................................................................... 30 1.5 BENEFITS OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................................... 31 1.6 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS............................................................................... 35 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................................. 37 2.0 CHAPTER OVERVIEW................................................................................................ 37 2.1 DISASTERS ............................................................................................................... 45 [] 2.1.1 Definitions of Disaster ................................................................................... 45 2.1.2 The Physical View of Disasters........................................................................ 51 2.1.3 The Social View of Disasters ........................................................................... 59 2.1.4 The Political View of Disasters........................................................................ 73 2.1.5 The Educational Implications of Multiple Views of Disaster .......................... 78 2.2 DISASTER MANAGEMENT......................................................................................... 81 2.2.1 Responsibility and Authority for Disaster Management.................................. 81 2.2.2 The Development of Disaster Management ..................................................... 84 2.2.3 A Shift to a Social-Oriented Risk Management Approach to Disasters and Emergencies .............................................................................................................. 92 2.2.4 Disaster Management and the Meaning of a Safe Society............................... 99 2.3 THE PUBLIC: A SIMPLE OR COMPLEX VIEW ........................................................... 104 2.3.1 The Relationship of the Public and the Community....................................... 104 2.4 PERSPECTIVES ON PUBLIC EDUCATION.................................................................. 109 2.4.1 Public Education beyond Formal Education................................................. 109 2.4.2 The Rise of a Broader View of Education...................................................... 111 2.4.3 Education across the Lifespan ....................................................................... 117 2.4.4 Media and Public Education.......................................................................... 121 2.4.5 Research Regarding the Goals of Public Education...................................... 127 2.5 PUBLIC EDUCATION PROCESSES............................................................................. 129 2.5.1 The Failure of Quantitative Research to Link Education and Behaviour ..... 129 [ Page iv ] Public Education for Disaster management: A Phenomenographic Investigation Samuel William Nielsen 2.5.2 Beyond Awareness Raising, Experience and Attitudes.................................. 134 2.5.3 Towards a Qualitative Understanding of Public Education.......................... 144 2.6 SUPPORT FOR AN INTERPRETATIVE STUDY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ....................... 150 CHAPTER THREE: THE RESEARCH APPROACH ............................................ 153 3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH APPROACH ............................................................. 153 3.1 THE RESEARCH PARADIGM .................................................................................... 154 3.1.1 Research Paradigms ...................................................................................... 154 3.1.2 Research Paradigms and Phenomenography ................................................ 159 3.2 PHENOMENOGRAPHY.............................................................................................. 162 3.2.1 The Origins and Evolution of Phenomenography.......................................... 162 3.2.2 Phenomenography: Describing Different Ways of Experiencing Phenomena ................................................................................................................................. 168 3.3 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 178 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN................................................................ 180 4.0 RESEARCH DESIGN OVERVIEW............................................................................... 180 4.1 THE PHENOMENOGRAPHIC STUDY: DISASTER MANAGERS' WAYS OF EXPERIENCING PUBLIC EDUCATION ..................................................................................................... 181 4.1.1 Identification of the Research Issue and Selection of Phenomenography ..... 182 4.1.2 Piloting of Research Procedures ................................................................... 184 4.1.3 Selection and Recruitment of Disaster Managers.......................................... 186 4.1.4 Data Collection.............................................................................................. 191 4.1.5 Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings ................................................. 195 4.2 ENSURING RIGOUR OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................... 205 4.3.1 Inter-Judge Reliability (Replicability) ........................................................... 208 4.3.2 Aiding Replicability