Equitable Urban Climate Action: Integrating Disability-Inclusive Plans Into School Disaster Preparedness
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Jacob Malama, University of Gothenburg
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Victor Saidi Phiri, University of Gothenburg
Summary:
Climate-induced disasters increasingly threaten Zambia’s education system, disrupting learning and exposing inequities in school preparedness. Students with disabilities face heightened risks due to inaccessible infrastructure, limited teacher capacity, and exclusion from preparedness initiatives. This study examined how schools in Western Province, particularly in Mongu and Kaoma, build disability-inclusive disaster resilience, guided by Resilience Theory’s three capacities: absorptive, adaptive, and transformative.
A mixed-methods design was used, combining a survey of 160 students with disabilities across nine schools with twenty key informant interviews involving teachers, head teachers, socio-economic planners, and representatives of Disabled Persons’ Organizations (DPOs). Quantitative analyses (factor analysis, t-tests, chi-square, regression, and content analysis) assessed relationships among preparedness, absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed to contextualize institutional practices and barriers. Findings revealed significant disparities between mainstream and special schools, with mainstream settings reporting higher preparedness levels. Prior disaster exposure did not significantly predict preparedness, underscoring that experience alone does not ensure readiness without structured education. Absorptive and adaptive capacities, alongside district context, were strong positive predictors of disaster preparedness. The finding that absorptive capacity, rooted in trust and teacher support, significantly predicts preparedness introduces the new concept of relational resilience, shifting focus from material readiness to social-emotional connectedness as a foundation for inclusion.
Transformative capacity emerged through calls for systemic change, focusing on inclusive infrastructure development, teacher training on disaster and disability inclusion, curriculum integration, intersectoral coordination, and sustained funding. Strengthening absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacities can ensure equitable, disability-inclusive resilience across Zambia’s education system.
This research was part of a multi-country research initiative led by the Global Disaster Preparedness Center of the American Red Cross. Access all final publications here.