Drawing Death: Understanding Children’s Conceptualization of Death Using Participatory Visual Analysis

Abstract

Children's drawings provide a unique view on their developing conceptualization of death, showing nuanced cognitive and emotional responses. This study mainly sought to explore the developmental processes underlying elementary schoolchildren's conceptualizations of death. Using qualitative multiple case study design, the researchers examined 65 drawings from 65 schoolchildren (Grades 2, 4, and 6) in one elementary school in the Philippines, which allowed them to analyze the children’s unique conceptualizations and experiences of death across three grade levels. The researchers applied Tamm and Granqvist’s (1995) category approach, which was based on Piaget’s theory, together with participatory visual analysis. Results revealed that biological concepts of death appear to be the most visually pronounced for younger children (Grade 2), while older children (Grades 4 and 6) begin to incorporate more nuanced depictions (psychological, and metaphysical concepts) of death and dying. Similarly, psychological themes deepen with age. Younger children express sorrow in concrete ways (crying figures, sad faces), while older children begin to portray more abstract emotional states such as loneliness, void, or existential sadness. Metaphysical concepts become more elaborate and symbolically rich as children mature. Therefore, as children become older, their concepts of death change, which is due to their cognitive development.