Natural Disaster Awareness of Social Studies Teachers After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Turkey

This study aims to investigate whether social studies teachers (SSTs) in Turkey have sufficient awareness of natural disasters within the context of the elementary social studies curriculum following the two major earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023. The research group consisted of 20 SSTs working in the province of Hatay during the 2022-2023 academic year, a region significantly affected by the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş. A case study design was employed in this research. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form consisting of fifteen open-ended interview questions. Content analysis and descriptive analysis methods were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that SSTs had deficiencies in their knowledge of types of disasters, their ability to translate disaster-related information into action was low, and they exhibited insufficient awareness of natural disasters.