Multidimensional six-stage model for flood emergency response in schools: a case study of Pakistan

Children spend more than two-thirds of their total daytime in schools and becoming more persuasive in shielding them from potential hazards. Schools have a responsibility to protect students in the event of disasters and to promote a culture of preparedness by keeping them prepared and aware. If schools do not handle emergencies effectively, the educational process is interrupted and students have to bear the impact. This allows schools to be capable of dealing with external threats. School safety needs to be evaluated which represents the reality on the ground and determines the schools' readiness level. This research seeks to explore the lessons from the school authorities’ perspectives. The researcher used a framework-based qualitative analysis by evaluating data collected in a multistage, starting with a revision of the responses followed by a thematic framework that includes simple manual coding, the development of themes, and data interpretation for data analysis. This study used flood emergency as a case study in 20 selected schools and 100 survey respondents had shared their perspectives on flood events between 2010 and 2014. The findings of the current study identified various preparatory measures being adopted in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa schools which led to the development of a multidimensional six-stage model for school-based flood emergency response. The stages include alert/capacity improvement, emergency planning, preparedness behavior, safe school facilities and guidelines, educational continuity plans, and response capacity development. This study is intended to provide policy decision guidance on school safety in Pakistan and proposing priorities for future emergency response efforts in schools, leading to global school safety researches.