Flood Risk Education in the Climate Emergency: Teacher Preparation, Textbook Ecologies, and Place-Based Pathways to Socio-Territorial Resilience
Abstract
Flooding is intensifying as a social–environmental risk in many regions due to changing hazard regimes, rapid land-use transformation, and persistent exposure and vulnerability. Education is frequently invoked as a scalable strategy for strengthening resilience; however, recent evidence shows a recurrent implementation gap: flood risk is curricularized, yet the knowledge, pedagogies, and resources required for high-quality instruction remain unevenly developed. Building on prior scholarship and integrating recent studies (2021–2025), this review synthesizes research on (i) what students and teachers know about floods and related climate hazards, (ii) how flood risk is represented through textbooks and media-influenced information channels, and (iii) which pedagogical approaches appear most promising for improving risk understanding, perception, and preparedness. Across contexts, learners often report limited or fragmented training, with substantial dependence on digital media and traditional textbooks, both of which can omit key components of risk (exposure, vulnerability) and sometimes amplify catastrophism. Empirical interventions role-play, experience-based learning, fieldwork, authentic projects, and GIS-supported place interpretation consistently improve selected outcomes (especially knowledge and risk perception), though effects on preparedness intentions are less stable. For teacher education, the central challenge is not only “more content,” but disciplined integration of geographic risk reasoning, critical media/textbook literacy, and locally grounded didactic design. A research and practice agenda is proposed to accelerate socio-territorial resilience through coherent curriculum–teacher–community alignment.
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