Review of disaster management training: A case study of a South African university

The goal of this article was to review a short learning programme offered to disaster management graduates and practitioners intending to enhance their knowledge and skills in disaster management. Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) are a form of professional development offered to adults working to better their knowledge or skills in a particular area of expertise. Short Learning Programmes provide theoretical and practical skills that one can learn in a full-time course over a shorter time. Disaster studies have been fairly new in South Africa since the promulgation of the Disaster Management Act, 57 of 2002. Therefore, few institutions offer disaster studies, particularly SLPs in disaster management. The authors sought to qualitatively, critically and systematically review the content and activities of an SLP offered by the University of the Free State-Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (UFS-DIMTEC). The structure, content and activities are documented in this article.

The study contributes to disaster studies andragogy by reviewing a short learning programme training. The review aided in improving the current course and encouraged the development of similar training by other institutions as a disaster legislation implementation activity and growth of the academic disaster risk field.