The functions of the school in situations of socio-natural disasters: the experience of Liceo de Huara, Tarapacá Region

Abstract

Education is a social tool that allows us to acquiring significant learning about socio-natural disasters, reducing their potential effects and providing information to vulnerable educational communities. The objective of this article is to describe and analyze the functions of the post-impact school after the earthquake of 8.2 degrees on the Richter scale of the year 2014, in the Liceo de Huara, Tarapacá region, Chile. This is qualitative research, which corresponds to a case study, whose technique was the semi-structured interview. The results show that the school is understood from the voice of its protagonists as “the meeting point of everything”, since it has been a shelter, collection center and organization of an entire town. These findings allow us to understand the role of the educational community and its actions in situations of socio-natural disasters.