Zikri Alhadi, Ramadhan Pancasilawan, Roni Ekha Putera, Fitri Eriyanti, Rahmadani Yusran, Hendri Satria, Ory Riandini
The high level of disaster vulnerability in Indonesia necessitates strengthening school preparedness through the implementation of the Disaster Smart School (DSS) policy. However, the system has been affected by regulatory constraints, poor governance, and regional capacity disparities, which still leave most schools in disaster-risk areas ill-prepared. To address these problems, three parts of work are conducted: the weaknesses in existing DSS policymaking and governance are analyzed, the hindering and facilitating factors in implementation are explored, and a reconstruction model for more inclusive, adaptive governance is proposed. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted, and primary data were obtained from 35 in-depth interviews with stakeholders in five regencies/cities in West Sumatra, supplemented by policy papers and documents on disaster preparedness. Thematic coding and matrix analysis in NVivo 14 were employed, and a systematic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) study was conducted to identify common patterns. Findings: Six interconnected challenges are identified, including overly generic policy design, fragmented cross-sectoral coordination, insufficient human resource capacity within the system, extreme interregional variation, unsustainable financing, and underutilisation of technology. On the other hand, new possibilities emerged in public engagement, youth work, and digital creativity. The examination suggests that the DSS model has been largely symbolic and has not adequately accounted for local risk conditions and institutional variation. The study indicates that a reconstruction of DSS policy is needed, guided by technically contextualized guidelines, sector-wide task forces, performance-funding practices, teacher Development integration, and digital monitoring systems. Such reforms would help reduce the disaster education gap and promote adaptive, participatory, and evidence-based governance. This also has implications for integrating disaster resilience into Indonesia's long-term education and development agenda. Copyright: © 2026 The authors. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Department of Public Administration, Research Center for Policy, Governance, Development & Empowerment, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, 25132, Indonesia; Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, 45363, Indonesia; Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Andalas, Padang, 25163, Indonesia; Padang Pariaman Regency Government & Research Center for Policy, Governance, Development & Empowerment, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, 25132, Indonesia; Padang City Government & Research Center for Policy, Governance, Development & Empowerment, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, 25132, Indonesia
