K-12 trade books’ representation of earthquake safety and protective actions: A content analysis

Meaningful learning resources for earthquake safety and survival have become an increasingly important topic among geoscientists, especially educators and researchers. Various members of the public, especially K-12 (ages 5–18) learners, continue to depend on scientific trade books available at their local public and school libraries for information about earthquake concepts. To our knowledge, no research has empirically examined how trade books represent earthquake safety and survival actions. In this research, we combine an iterative qualitative inductive and deductive analysis to explore the representation of earthquake safety and protective actions in 50 trade books. We categorize these actions into time-based practices related to preparedness before an earthquake, protective actions during an earthquake, and recovery after an earthquake. These trade books emphasize preparedness by means of building earthquake-resistant structures and urban planning, and efforts toward community resilience and keeping home supplies. The recommended personal protective action during an earthquake in the United States (“Drop, Cover, and Hold On”) is emphasized in the majority of the trade books, as well as other protective actions related to emotional actions and current technological automated actions such as earthquake early warning systems. Finally, the books highlight actions such as damage evaluation and support as ways to recover after an earthquake. Our findings highlight the issues between accepted earthquake safety and survival actions and the limited and/or inaccurate knowledge represented in some trade books. We provide interpretations of how presentation of limited or inaccurate information may increase confusion about appropriate protective actions. The inclusion of accepted and recommended protective actions in future trade books and the use of earthquake drills in public libraries as a supplement for trade book users may improve understanding and implementation of appropriate actions. We further demonstrate the potential of trade book contents in fostering earthquake education through library-community partnerships.

面向地震安全与逃生的优质学习资源，已成为地球科学家，尤其是教育工作者与科研人员愈发关注的重要议题。广大公众群体，尤其是K-12（5至18岁）学习者，仍依赖当地公共图书馆与学校图书馆馆藏的科学普及类贸易书籍获取地震相关知识。据我们所知，目前尚无研究从实证角度探讨此类贸易书籍如何呈现地震安全与逃生相关举措。本研究结合迭代式定性归纳与演绎分析方法，对50本科学普及类贸易书籍中地震安全与防护举措的呈现方式展开探究。我们将这些举措划分为三类基于时间维度的实践：震前防灾准备、震时防护行动以及震后恢复工作。此类读物着重强调通过建造抗震建筑与开展城市规划落实防灾准备，同时呼吁提升社区韧性并储备家庭应急物资。多数读物都着重介绍了美国推荐的震时个人防护动作——“伏地、遮挡、抓牢（Drop, Cover, and Hold On）”，同时也涵盖了与情绪应对相关的防护举措，以及地震预警系统（earthquake early warning systems）等现有技术自动化防护手段。最后，此类读物着重提及震后恢复相关举措，例如灾情评估与灾后支援。本研究的结果揭示了当前公认的地震安全与逃生举措，与部分科学普及类贸易书籍中所呈现的有限甚至不准确的知识之间存在的矛盾与问题。我们还就有限或不准确的信息呈现如何会加剧公众对正确防护举措的认知困惑，作出了解释与分析。未来的科学普及类贸易书籍若能纳入公认且推荐的防护举措，同时公共图书馆可将地震演练作为科普读物使用者的补充活动，将有助于提升公众对正确防护举措的理解与落实。此外，我们还证明了通过图书馆与社区的合作模式，科学普及类贸易书籍的内容在推动地震安全教育方面具备巨大潜力。