Perspectives on education, children and young people in disaster risk reduction

This article presents a synthesis of education focused disaster risk reduction (DRR) literature. Our aim was to understand the landscape of DRR with a focus on education, schools, children and young people. A review of 40 international reports and peer-reviewed academic journal articles published between 2003 and 2014 across a range of disciplines health, urban planning, public policy, and emergency management, and a range of intergovernmental, international aid and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) examine various aspects of education related DRR activities. The corresponding analysis identifies common themes across the multi-disciplinary literature as well as several gaps in research about education's role in DRR highlighting the complexity of DRR research, which reflects the multiplicity of purposes, audiences, and social and political perspectives they represent. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.