Northern Exposure: Integrating Disaster Management in a Humanitarian and Community Studies Program in the Northern Territory of Australia
Keywords:
Social Work, Disaster and emergency management, Education, Resilience, Emotional intelligenceAbstract
This paper outlines a novel approach to preparing students for practising in situations of emergency and disaster management. The teaching approach and curriculum design uses an intensive which takes the form of an extended simulation of a disaster necessitating the establishment of a displaced persons’ camp. In higher education, extended simulation is an under-utilised teaching technique that is rarely included in social work curricula.
The example is given of how social work and humanitarian studies programs embed a live simulation in order to teach students disaster management competencies. This experience provides team and individual learning experiences which involve the application of practical survival skills involved in setting up sanitation systems, obtaining food and medication supplies, using four-wheel-drive vehicles and horse handling. These skills promote work readiness when students go out to work in both rural and remote communities in Australia and internationally. Principles of reflective practice, teamwork and disaster/trauma response are embedded in a “community of learning” model. The implications for teaching and learning are outlined.
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