Exploring psychological preparedness for volcanic hazards in early childhood education: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach in Ternate Island

Abstract

Small volcanic islands are characterised by high hazard exposure and structural vulnerability, conditions that may increase psychological risks for young children. Although disaster preparedness has received increasing attention in early childhood education (ECE), psychological preparedness in volcanic small-island settings remains underexplored. This mixed-methods study examined psychological preparedness among ECE stakeholders on Ternate Island, Indonesia, using survey data from 127 participants and six focus group discussions within the tripusat pendidikan framework of family, school and community. Participants demonstrated moderate to high levels of psychological preparedness across stakeholder groups. Within-individual factors (WIF) showed the highest mean score (M = 22.94, s.d. = 5.69), followed by individual-institutional factors (IIF) (M = 6.46, s.d.= 1.94) and between-individual factors (BIF) (M = 1.89, s.d. = 1.07). No significant differences were found among teachers, parents and community members (p > 0.05). Qualitative findings revealed culturally embedded coping resources, including self-efficacy, religious meaning-making and collective coping, alongside limited eruption-specific knowledge, weak emotional regulation strategies and inconsistent communication across relational and institutional levels. Integrated findings indicate an ecological asymmetry in preparedness, whereby strong individual resilience coexists with weaker relational and institutional coordination. Psychological preparedness appears to depend more on cultural coping systems and shared community experiences than on formal disaster governance.
Contribution: These findings highlight the need to strengthen coordination across the tripusat pendidikan ecosystem to foster sustainable and child-centred psychological preparedness in volcanic small-island communities.