Analysis of the Representation of Natural Hazards in Middle and High School Textbooks in Iran

Natural hazards are recurring phenomena that can cause significant material and moral damage. Reducing vulnerability to these hazards depends on citizens' understanding and recognition of them. In Iran's current education system, textbooks are the primary teaching tool for this issue. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate how natural hazards are represented in these textbooks. This study uses content analysis to examine the images and contents of guidance, geography, and human and environment textbooks. The results show that only a small percentage of the textbooks' content was dedicated to natural hazards. Specifically, (6.4%) of social studies course content in middle school textbooks and (7.1%) of first and second grade high school geography textbooks were related to natural hazards. In the third year high school geography book, (33%) of the content was related to hazards, with earthquakes (26%), floods (40%), droughts (14%), and landslides (13%) being the most frequently discussed hazards. In "Human and Environment" textbooks, only (21.2%) of the topics were related to natural hazards, which is insignificant compared to the total contents.