This article explores the origin of disaster risk reduction (DRR) knowledge in the global context and how it evolved in the education system of Indonesia since its independence in 1945 up to 2018. It argues that DRR education in Indonesia is a marriage of global knowledge and local experiences, which lacks preparedness (knowledge and skills) and has resulted in humanitarian crises. Using a historical approach, this article found that the transformation of global knowledge and DRR education in Indonesia has not yet been effectively implemented, while on the ground, there has been an increasing development of community programmes on DRR education.Contribution: The contextualisation of global and DRR education in Indonesia, in terms of policy and institutional networks, can identify the interrelated elements of DRR education, that is, disaster science and pedagogic and human resource development. These need to be evaluated for better formulation of policy in the future.