Ing. Václav Janoušek, MBA
This article is part of the graduate publication activities of the above-mentioned author. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the CEMI Institute.
Abstract
This paper discusses the state of civil protection and the protection of the population during emergencies, with particular emphasis on the situation within the educational process at all levels. It briefly outlines the historical development of this issue in the Czech Republic and compares it with the current situation. It provides an overview of study and teaching materials and, based on an analysis of emergencies and disasters that have occurred in recent years, concludes that the current state of civil protection education and the protection of individuals during emergencies, as well as the relevant study literature, do not meet the urgent needs in this area, especially at secondary schools. Based on this analysis, the author proposes his own solution.
Introduction
During the socialist era, defense training and civil defense were an integral part of school curricula at all levels and types of schools. This was a period marked by the Cold War between the countries of the socialist bloc united under the Warsaw Pact and the Western states united in NATO, a conflict that constantly threatened to escalate into open warfare. Both sides accumulated large quantities of conventional weapons as well as weapons of mass destruction—nuclear, chemical, and biological—which would undoubtedly have been used in the event of a third world war, affecting not only the armed forces but also the civilian population on a massive scale.
It was therefore logical that considerable attention was devoted to civil defense and the protection of civilians, particularly with regard to the threat of war and the possible use of weapons of mass destruction. Significant effort was invested in building nuclear shelters for the population (according to original plans, the Prague metro was also intended to serve as such a shelter), constructing underground medical facilities, and ensuring that citizens had basic information on how to behave in crisis situations.
Schools included a subject called “Security Education” within their curricula, covering the principles of civil defense and protection both theoretically and practically. Everyone was trained in handling a gas mask, which the population was to receive from state strategic reserves in case of danger. School evacuations and responses to air raids were practiced, basic first aid was taught, and field exercises—including air rifle shooting—were conducted. Although this preparation was far from perfect, it ensured that citizens had at least a basic understanding of how to act in emergencies.
Young men completed compulsory military service, and various defense-related disciplines were supported by the voluntary organization Svazarm (Union for Cooperation with the Army).
After 1989, general euphoria followed the end of the Cold War. The prevailing belief was that no further danger existed, that liberal democracy had definitively triumphed, and that the world would continue to operate according to these principles and the laws of the free market. This ideology was particularly promoted by the American writer and philosopher Francis Fukuyama in his book The End of History and the Last Man, in which he predicted that the victory of liberal democracy and the free market marked the final stage of historical development.
The military and civil protection began to be viewed as remnants of communism and the Cold War and gradually became marginalized not only in the Czech Republic but throughout Western and Central Europe. Compulsory military service was shortened and eventually abolished, and the army was fully professionalized and reduced in size. Due to changes in lifestyle, the physical fitness of young people deteriorated to such an extent that many applicants for military, fire service, or police service are unable to meet the required physical standards.
The Main Office of Civil Protection of the Czech Republic was abolished as of December 31, 2000, and its agenda was transferred to the Fire Rescue Service. This decision accelerated the decline of civil protection in the country. Security education and civil protection have long since disappeared from school curricula, and only a few young people today know how to respond appropriately in emergencies.
This approach has proven short-sighted. Over the past thirty years, the world has not become safer, contrary to Fukuyama’s expectations. There has been significant proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. After 1989, additional states acquired nuclear weapons—Pakistan in 1998 and North Korea in 2005. Following the Afghan war, the radical Islamist organization Al-Qaeda emerged, carrying out numerous terrorist attacks. It was followed by the so-called Islamic State, which conducted its own terrorist campaign in Europe and ruled parts of Syria and Iraq between 2013 and 2017.
The so-called Arab Spring in 2011 led to instability, civil wars, and the collapse of previously stable authoritarian regimes. Mass migration from impoverished and war-torn regions of Africa and Asia to Europe and the United States has created additional security challenges, sometimes exploited by hostile extremists.
Tensions have also re-emerged between former Cold War powers, particularly after events in Ukraine in 2014. In addition, natural risks remain significant. Epidemics such as SARS, MERS, and Ebola have occurred, and the global coronavirus pandemic severely disrupted societies worldwide. The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, alongside the Chernobyl disaster, demonstrated that severe nuclear accidents can occur even in highly developed countries.
In the Czech Republic, major floods occurred in 1997, 2002, and 2013, causing numerous casualties and substantial property damage. Smaller-scale floods occur almost every year.
All these events clearly demonstrate that civil protection is of great importance and must once again become an essential component of the educational process.
1. Education and Training in the Field of Population Protection from the Past to the Present
After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic following the First World War, security education came to the forefront of the attention of responsible officials, especially after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, when the threat to the republic increased sharply.
In 1935, a Decree of the Ministry of Education on the education of pupils of national schools for defense preparedness was issued, with emphasis on moral and civic education, on knowledge and skills important from the perspective of personal safety, and on physical education, especially outdoor exercises. Security education permeated all subjects at all levels of the national school. After preparation in the years 1933–1937, the 1937 Act on Security Education was adopted, and public care for upbringing and education was extended to include defense education as well. Security education was compulsory for pupils of public schools of all types and levels and was taught at national schools from the beginning of compulsory school attendance until its completion. All these objectives were significantly supported by mass organizations such as Sokol, the Scout movement, the Workers’ Physical Education Union, and others.
During the Protectorate, these organizations were abolished; their officials, who mostly participated in anti-Nazi resistance, were executed or perished in concentration camps, and their activities were partly taken over by semi-legal organizations such as the Czech Tourist Club.
After 1938, security education declined at all school levels and was restored again only after 1945.
Between 1948 and 1989, security education was taught at both primary and secondary schools. During these years, school curricula changed relatively frequently, and thus security education was, at certain times, a separate subject; at other times, it was only part of physical education or, as a cross-curricular topic, part of other subjects. This development is described in detail, for example, in (PECHÁNEK, 1982).
Until the mid-1970s, security education and civil defense focused primarily on the threat of a war conflict involving weapons of mass destruction, namely nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. From the mid-1970s onward, topics related to natural and industrial disasters were also included in security education and civil defense.
Security education and civil defense, which were taught until the regime change in 1989—despite all the vicissitudes, whether as part of physical education, an interdisciplinary subject, or an independent subject—disappeared for a long time from the curricula of primary and secondary schools.
A partial return occurred in 2004, when “Protection of Individuals During Emergencies” became part of the Framework Educational Programs. This applies to primary, secondary vocational, and grammar school education. Each school must, on the basis of the Framework Educational Programs, determine its own School Educational Programs.
At present, security education is returning under the name “Defense of the State.” “In the amended Framework Educational Program for Basic Education valid from 1 September 2013, the issue of preparation of citizens for the defense of the state has been newly included. This step is based on the Concept of Preparation of Citizens for the Defense of the State, approved by the government on 16 January 2013 by Resolution No. 38. The content of preparation of citizens for the defense of the state (Gerhát 2018) is incorporated into the educational areas ‘Man and His World’ and ‘Man and Society.’” For the time being, Defense of the State is taught only at the first and second stages of primary schools. The subject is to return to secondary schools in the coming years.
2. Overview of Curriculum, Teaching Aids and Literature for Primary and Secondary Schools
The issue of Protection of Individuals During Emergencies is very well elaborated for both levels of primary schools. An overview of topics for individual grades is presented, for example, in the publication “Materials for Teaching Topics of Protection of Individuals in Everyday Risks and Emergencies at Primary Schools,” which can be downloaded from several websites. This handbook also contains a very detailed list of teaching materials for use at primary schools.
For primary schools, there are, for example, textbooks under the unified main title Protection of Individuals During Emergencies, thematically further divided into the following subtitles:
- From Windstorm to Earthquake
- Accidents
- Fires
- Floods
- I Help the Injured
- With a Map I Won’t Get Lost
- Count on Everything
- Safety and Danger
- Will I Get Lost? I Won’t!
Another series is divided into one textbook for the first stage of primary school and three textbooks for the second stage.
The textbook for the first stage is titled Protection of Individuals During Emergencies for the First Stage of Primary School, authored by Věra Danielovská.
The textbook series for the second stage of primary schools consists of three volumes:
- Eva Marádová et al.: Protection of Individuals During Emergencies – Self-Protection and Mutual Assistance
- Pavel Beneš et al.: Protection of Individuals During Emergencies – Accidents Involving the Release of Hazardous Substances, Radiation Accidents
- Josef Herink: Protection of Individuals During Emergencies – Natural Disasters
A large amount of teaching material can also be found on the website of the security portal “Rescue Circle.” In addition to the possibility of ordering printed publications, the website also offers an interactive multimedia textbook divided into many courses, which provide at least a basic understanding of the issue for pupils. The following courses can be found on these pages:
Courses for the first stage of primary school and for kindergartens:
- Everyday Risks
- Traffic Education
- Little Rescuer
- Emergencies I
- Personal Safety
- Fires I
Courses for the second stage of primary school and for secondary schools:
- Atmospheric Disturbances
- Accidents
- Emergencies II
- Floods
- Fires
- Terrorism and Other Threats
- Earthquakes, Volcanic Activity, Landslides and Avalanches
These courses will provide primary school pupils with at least a basic orientation in the given issues; however, in my opinion, they are already insufficient for secondary school students.
I see a problem in the fact that the topic of protection of individuals during emergencies is only a cross-curricular subject, which is taught in various ways in physics, chemistry, health education, civics, etc. It is clear that the teaching will not be systematic and will be fragmented across multiple subjects. From my own experience as a teacher, I can say that cross-curricular topics are covered only sporadically, if at all, because the time allocation for individual subjects is usually not sufficient even to cover the basic curriculum of the given subject.
The situation regarding teaching and teaching aids at secondary schools is worse. Teaching aids are often shared with those intended for the second stage of primary schools, which, in my opinion, is entirely insufficient. Unlike primary schools, where despite all shortcomings there is a relatively large number of textbooks and interactive multimedia teaching aids, for secondary schools there is only one textbook entitled Protection of Individuals During Emergencies by Petr Linhart, dealing with natural disasters and intended for inclusion in geography and natural science lessons.
There is also a handbook for primary and secondary school teachers entitled Protection of Individuals During Emergencies, which contains the following chapters:
- Protection of the Population
- Natural Disasters
- Accidents Involving the Release of Hazardous Substances
- Radiation Accidents at Nuclear Power Facilities
- Suggestions for Practical Exercises
- The handbook dates from 2003 and, in my opinion, needs to be updated.
3. Introduction of the Subject Civil Protection into Primary and Secondary Schools and Its Curriculum
Based on the analysis and evaluation of all the above-mentioned facts, I consider it essential that the subject Protection of Individuals During Emergencies (Civil Protection, Civil Defense, Security Education…) be introduced as an independent subject to be taught from the 1st grade of primary school up to the graduating year, or at least up to the 3rd (pre-graduation) year of secondary schools, with a time allocation of one lesson per week. The curriculum for primary schools and the thematic plans could be based on the content presented in the above-mentioned Materials for Teaching Topics of Protection of Individuals in Everyday Risks and Emergencies at Primary Schools, using the existing teaching aids and textbooks.
I consider it appropriate to update the curriculum for secondary schools. The existing handbooks, for example, lack chapters devoted to terrorism in general and to the protection of schools against terrorist attacks, which have already occurred in our country, as well as a chapter on epidemics, the urgency of which has been particularly evident during the current coronavirus crisis. There is also a need for a chapter devoted to cyberterrorism and hacker attacks, protection of water resources and what to do in the event of water supply disruptions, a chapter on power outages (blackouts) and what to do in such cases, the psychology of crises, basic principles of crisis management, and many others.
Based on the above and on my experience teaching this subject at the Security and Law School, I preliminarily propose the following thematic plans for teaching Protection of Individuals During Emergencies at secondary schools (so far only in a rough outline):
1st Year of Secondary School
- Classification of emergencies
- Emergencies of natural origin – natural disasters
- Floods and inundations (in detail)
- Earthquakes
- Volcanic activity
- Slope movements
- Atmospheric disasters
- Cosmic events
- Fires
- Forest fires
- Biological disasters
- Epidemics, pandemics
- Epizootics
- Epiphytotics
- Other types of natural disasters occurring in the Czech Republic (hoarfrost, black ice, glaze ice, severe frosts, prolonged heat waves, ground subsidence, gas leaks from the earth’s interior, smog and temperature inversion)
Protection of individuals during each specific emergency will be an integral part of all topics.
2nd Year of Secondary School
- Hazardous substances and their effects on the human body
- First aid in cases of exposure to hazardous substances
- Transport of hazardous substances
- Accidents involving the release of hazardous substances
- Principles of population behavior during accidents
- Accidents involving the release of radioactive substances
- Presumed locations of radiation incidents
- Examples of radiation accidents – Chernobyl, Fukushima and others
- Biological effects of radiation on the human body
- Protection of the population during a radiation accident
- Disruptions in water and electricity supply
- Protection of water resources
- Traffic accidents
3rd Year of Secondary School
- Terrorism
- Ideology of terrorism
- Types of terrorist attacks
- Situation overview
- Defense against terrorism
- How to behave in the event of a terrorist attack
- Terrorist attacks in schools
- How to prevent terrorist attacks in schools
- What to do in the event of a terrorist attack on a school
- Cyberterrorism and protection against it
- Protection of the population during emergencies
- Warning and notification
- Rescue and recovery operations
- Sheltering
- Evacuation
- Means of individual protection
- Improvised protection
- Emergency survival of the population
- Humanitarian aid to the affected population
- Integrated Rescue System
- General crisis preparedness of the population, including psychological preparedness
4. Security Olympiad
At secondary schools, there is a large number of various subject Olympiads. Since the 1950s, there have been mathematics and physics Olympiads; later, Olympiads in chemistry, physics, Czech language, biology, geography, English language, astronomy, and others were added. Most recently, there is the Economics Olympiad, which has been running at secondary schools for four years. I believe it would be very appropriate to establish a Security Olympiad at secondary schools, and possibly already at primary schools, which would have both a theoretical and a practical part, including first aid, and would thus promote students’ interest in this issue.
Conclusion
In this paper, I attempt to summarize in a comprehensive and concise manner the state of security education, civil defense, and the protection of individuals during emergencies in the field of upbringing, teaching, and education. I provide a brief historical overview and, based on a review of relevant sources as well as my own teaching experience, present an evaluation of the current state. I conclude that this state is unsatisfactory and that the level of preparedness of pupils, students, as well as the entire civilian population to manage emergency situations, is far from corresponding to the level of risks and threats to which our modern society is exposed. I propose the introduction of the subject Civil Protection (or Protection of Individuals During Emergencies) as an independent (not merely cross-curricular) subject into the Framework Educational Programs of primary and secondary schools.
Sources:
GERHÁT, Ivan. Příprava občanů k obraně státu: příručka pro učitele základních a středních škol. 2. vydání. Praha: Ministerstvo obrany České republiky – Vojenský historický ústav Praha, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7278-728-9.
MARTÍNEK, Bohumír. Ochrana člověka za mimořádných událostí: příručka pro učitele základních a středních škol. Vyd. 2., opr. a rozš. Praha: Ministerstvo vnitra – generální ředitelství Hasičského záchranného sboru ČR, 2003. ISBN 80-86640-08-6
PECHÁNEK, V. (1982). Vybrané kapitoly z didaktiky branné výchovy. 1. díl. Brno: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Jana Evangelisty Purkyně.
PECHÁNEK, V. (1985). Vybrané kapitoly z didaktiky branné výchovy. II. Brno: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Jana Evangelisty Purkyně.
PECHÁNEK, V (1986). Pedagogická praxe v branné výchově. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství.
Internet sources
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[3] https://www.zachranny-kruh.cz/ucebnice.html
[4] https://www.zachranny-kruh.cz/
[5] https://www.zachranny-kruh.cz/pro-skoly/interaktivni-vzdelavaci-kurzy.html
[6] MARTÍNEK, Bohumír. Ochrana člověka za mimořádných událostí: příručka pro učitele základních a středních škol. Vyd. 2., opr. a rozš. Praha: Ministerstvo vnitra – generální ředitelství Hasičského záchranného sboru ČR, 2003. ISBN 80-86640-08-6
