Emergency Preparedness and Response Education in Aviation Management Programs in the United States

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Aviation disasters are decreasing in number but remain impactful and require competent management. Aviation Management program department heads (N = 26) in the United States were surveyed regarding the extent of curricular inclusion of emergency preparedness and response in aviation management programs. The findings indicated that few aviation management programs offer elective or required courses solely focused on emergency preparedness and response (EPR) whereas just over one third of programs offer an elective or required course within which EPR is a planned topic. Department heads recognized the importance of additional coverage because a) students need the practical information and b) such education would enhance their marketability. They perceived obstacles regarding funding, faculty interest and expertise, and already overloaded curricula. However, the strongest quantitative predictors of curricular inclusion and integration within programs were department heads’ personal experiences in teaching on the topic of emergency preparedness and response and their attitude that such training “should” be included in curricula.

Authors

• Servaty-Seib, Heather L Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Brown, Andrew Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• aviation education
• emergency response
• emergency preparedness
• aviation management programs
• aviation management
• crisis planning
• aviation disaster
• united states
• aviation curricula
• department heads
• Educational Leadership
• Emergency and Disaster Management