Teaching Natural Hazards through Mythological Representations in Geography Education

One of the fundamental challenges in geography education is sustaining students’ attention and motivation throughout the instructional process. Natural hazards, in particular, constitute multidimensional, abstract, and process-oriented topics that are often reduced to rote learning of concepts. This tendency diminishes both students’ interest in the subject and the long-term retention of knowledge. However, throughout human history, natural phenomena have not been interpreted solely through scientific explanations; they have also been understood and explained within cultural, symbolic, and intellectual frameworks. Mythology, as one of the most powerful products of this interpretive tradition, offers considerable pedagogical potential for geography education.

The primary aim of this study is to examine the possibilities of using mythological representations as an instructional tool in teaching natural hazards, with a focus on enhancing students’ interest in geography, deepening conceptual understanding, and ensuring continuity of engagement throughout the lesson. Mythological elements are widely employed in novels, theatre, cinema, television series, comics, and digital games as effective means of capturing attention and fostering learning. Yet, their systematic and academically grounded use in formal geography education remains limited. Integrating such elements into geography instruction within a scientific framework has the potential to strengthen both the cognitive and affective dimensions of learning.

Within the scope of the study, Norse, Egyptian, Turkish, and Greek-Roman mythologies were selected and examined in detail. Mythological representations associated with natural hazards—such as earthquakes, volcanism, floods, storms, droughts, and climatic extremes—were identified and analyzed. These representations were then linked to the fundamental concepts and processes of physical geography in order to determine which natural hazard topics and learning outcomes they could pedagogically support. In this context, mythology is not treated as an alternative to scientific knowledge, but rather as a complementary pedagogical instrument that supports scientific explanations, makes historical perceptions of nature visible, and enables students to approach geographical phenomena from a multidimensional perspective.

The study adopts a qualitative research design based on document analysis. The findings clearly demonstrate how mythological representations can be employed at different stages of geography instruction: to capture attention at the beginning of the lesson, to concretize abstract concepts during the learning process, and to enhance retention during assessment and evaluation. Moreover, this approach allows students to critically examine human–environment relationships within their historical and cultural contexts, thereby fostering a deeper and more reflective understanding of natural hazards.

In conclusion, this study reveals that the use of mythological representations in geography education renders instruction more meaningful, engaging, and holistic. By bringing mythology and geography together on an interdisciplinary basis, the study offers an applicable instructional model for teachers and contributes to the simultaneous development of disaster awareness, cultural heritage consciousness, and critical thinking skills. In this respect, the research constitutes both a theoretical and practical reference for future academic and pedagogical studies in the field of geography education.