ABSTRACT
The study aimed to propose an improvement plan for School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Perceptions on the role and responsibilities of Public School Teachers in Balete District. The study used the descriptive survey as a research method. A total of 60 teachers from Balete District were the respondents of the study selected through random sampling. The statistical tools used in this study were the frequency count and percentage, weighted mean, Chi square test, and T – test formula in order to arrive with the needed information and interpretation on the different problems raised in this study. Results showed that all the computed values were greater than the tabular value of 2.776 the highest of which is before a volcanic eruption with a computed value of 3.9333 while the lowest computed value is 3.0023 that is before an earthquake therefore, there is significant relationship in the level of understanding of the teachers and their professional development. An action plan as output of this study is a vital need as intervention to enhance more teachers on their roles and responsibilities in disaster risk reduction before, during and after a disaster.
Keywords: Action Research, Perceptions, Roles and Responsibilities, Public Schools Teachers, Action Plan
INTRODUCTION
The Philippines is considered one of the most disaster-prone countries. Every year, the country is visited with tropical storms, flash floods, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic activities. In situation like these, children are very vulnerable to illness and injury and require special care and attention. In these trying times, schools offer security and shelter to those displaced by disasters.
After a disaster has struck, Schools, however, should not only offer safety. Our schools should also be ready even before any disaster strikes. Our teachers, school officials, and school children should learn basic life¬saving tips. Our schools should take the safety and well-being of our students and staff very seriously and work hard to create a safe and supportive environment to everyone.
As mandated in the constitution, the Department of Education (DepEd), is the sole responsible for the education and human resource development of the country and for the formulation, planning, administration and coordination of the policies, plans, programs and project in the areas of formal, informal and non-formal education both in the elementary and in the secondary and in the alternative learning system. The said mandate also includes the supervision of all basic educational institutions, both public and private, as well as the establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate, relevant and integrated system of education.
Disaster preparedness is not a privileged if is both a condition and a choice. While the knowledge of disasters is a condition for understanding their ultimate management style, maximizing the choice to build is directly proportional to the degree of disaster risk reduction which the researcher may consider sustainable or manageable to a certain community. In being so, disaster preparedness/preparedness may have proven to be the one of the single factors which eventually would associate the much needed resilience as well as change – internal and external – for the social development of Balete District, or of any other District, for that matter.
The recent eruption of Taal Volcano which resulted in the suspension of classes for more than one month in the high-risk areas within Batangas province, presents the growing threats in increasing magnitude and frequency of disasters and disaster risks that Balete district and its neighboring cities and municipalities are painfully beginning to realize. For the selected schools of this study, it could well be the framework in its need to transform its own condition of vulnerability into capability as such, the level of understanding of public school teachers must be elevated in terms of degree and direction with utmost urgency.
METHODOLOGY
This study utilized the descriptive evaluative method of research. The descriptive method has for its purpose to tell “what exist” or “what is” about a certain phenomenon. It is Page 1 a method of collecting information which provides the researcher the chance to describe the status, in this study, of the teachers as information agents in times of disaster. The study was conducted in public schools of Balete District, Batangas Province, Philippines. Participants of the study were composed of 3 representative teachers per school from the 10 Elementary Schools of the District for a total of 30, and 10 representative teachers from Senior High School and 20 representative teachers from the only Junior High School of the District (Balete National High School) for a grand total of 50 teachers’ respondent of Balete District.
The sole purpose of this study is to get data from the respondent teachers through the use of self-¬ made questionnaire. To establish the validity of the instrument, the researcher presented the questionnaire to his adviser. He also solicited the ideas and suggestions of three experts in this field of study. The instrument was assessed in terms of its construction, organization, structure and its purpose, on the other hand to establish the reliability of the instrument and ensure the consistency, predictability and dependability, the questionnaire was administered to a few teachers at Malvar district. The result of the testing was subjected to appropriate statistical treatment. The validated instrument was utilized to gather the needed data. The steps followed were: Request approval from the Schools Division Superintendent of Batangas Province. Request approval from the Public Schools District Supervisor of Balete District to conduct the study in the 12 public elementary and secondary schools in Balete District. Sought permission from the school heads for the administration of the survey questionnaire. Gathered the needed data and information using google forms and analyzed the data gathered.
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