Invited Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Takashi ODA
Title of the Speech: Establishing Professional Development Framework for Teachers Promoting Disaster Education and School Safety: A Recent Practice from Miyagi, Japan
Abstract of the Speech: Programs specifically designed to provide pre-service and in-service teachers with disaster education and school safety are still limited in Japan. The tragedy causing the death/missing of 74 students and 10 teachers from 2011 tsunami at Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, triggered huge national discussion on the need for disaster education for teachers both pre-service in higher education and in-service in national and local teacher training centers. The development of such teacher training programs at universities faces several challenges: faculty members generally have wide discretion on the contents of their courses; and national teacher training programs must comply with regulations and standards for licensing, making curriculum reform a challenging task. Nonetheless, teacher training courses in Japan, which can bring together a variety of scholars from the arts and the sciences on one relatively small campus, are well positioned to develop comprehensive programs. Geographers may play significant bridging roles. This presentation presents efforts made in pre-service and in-service training in Miyagi prefecture and presents some policy changes and practices for disaster education locally and discuss possible framework toward more institutionalized curriculum development.
Biography of the Speaker:
Dr. Takashi Oda is Deputy Director-General of the Learning Institute for Education for Disaster Risk Reduction (LIFE-DRR), which was recently established at Miyagi University of Education (MUE), Sendai, Japan. His recent research particularly focuses on disaster education, school safety and community-based disaster risk reduction. The March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in Tohoku, Japan affected many areas of Dr. Oda’s study and family roots. Dr. Oda served as a visiting associate professor at Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) program of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand (2015-2017). Prior to his current position, Dr. Oda was Assistant Professor at the Center for Simulation Sciences in Ochanomizu University, Tokyo (2012-2013) and a postdoctoral research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (2010-2012). In 2008-2009, Dr. Oda was awarded the Fulbright scholarship, at which time he conducted his doctoral research at University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental studies and a M.Sc. in earth science from Tohoku University.
Oda, T. 2016: Schools, Teachers, and Training in Risk Reduction After the 2011 Tohoku Disaster; in Shiwaku, K, Sakurai, A., and Rajib, S. Eds.: Disaster Resilience of Education Systems, Experiences from Japan, Springer, pp.53-71.
Oda, T. 2016: Bridging Multi-Stakeholders for Disaster Risk Reduction Through Education for Sustainable Development into the Post-2015 Framework, Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.11-3, pp.387-393.