THE PERCEPTION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE IN SABAH MALAYSIA

The Ranau earthquake that struck on June 5, 2015 was the strongest ever experienced in Sabah causing locals, especially children at the epicenter of the earthquake to panic. Consequently, it was decided to undertake a qualitative research study to determine the perceptions and knowledge of primary school students in Ranau on earthquakes, and to identify factors influencing their knowledge and perceptions. Purposive sampling was used to select the school that had suffered the worst damage due to the earthquake. Six of the level two students from this school were randomly selected to be interviewed: Three male and three female. Qualitative data was collected using a semi-structured interview method. The findings show that primary school students in Ranau have no knowledge about the concept of 'earthquake'. The respondents' perceptions of the earthquake evoked phrases and comments such as 'scary disaster', 'swirling houses', 'houses collapsed', 'damaged roads' and 'quakes will cause death'. The Damage to the school buildings made them frightened to go to school amid fears that the buildings would collapse. The findings also show that the perceptions of these school children were influenced by their experience in the face of the earthquake, as well as factors related to their cultural and religious backgrounds. The results of this study can be used to devise educational programs to educate school children and provide them with a clearer picture of an earthquake disaster so that they will be better prepared to face this kind of disaster in the future. (C) 2019 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org .UK