Éduquer aux risques dès l’école primaire: de la représentation à la conscientisation

Abstract

In 2013, the Gave of Gavarnie valley has been suffering from a particularly catastrophic flood event, which resulted in severe material damages and loss of human life. In this context, the « risk culture » is an issue for both the actors involved in the management of this territory and for the citizens, especially since the hasards present are multiple (avalanches, landslides and earthquakes). From this perspective, the school can play a decisive role through the implementation of risk education projects. This type of education must begin with the perception and awareness of the risk(s), enabled by the experience and/or culture of the group in which the pupils live. This study aims to study the risk representations and perceptions of pupils, aged 6 to 11, in a french elementary school located in a town strongly impacted by this flood and the evolution of these representations and perceptions one year after the implementation of a risk(s) education project. The surveys results highlight a plural representation of risk by pupils with differences between classes. The pupils aged 6 to 9 associate mainly risk with natural hazard (avalanche, earthquakes ...) while pupils aged 9 to 11 see what might happen to them (accident, illness...). Furthermore, the flood risk is initially very rarely mentioned in representations, but when educational activities make it possible to contextualise this notion on their territory, it is then more strongly perceived and apprehended.

Keywords

• territory
• flood
• perception
• representations
• risk culture
• riks education