Discussing Death in the Classroom: Beliefs and Experiences of Educators and Education Students

Abstract

In This Study The Beliefs And Attitudes Of Teachers And Education Students About Providing Death Education And Death Related Interventions Were Explored. Teachers From Twelve Elementary And Middle Schools (N = 189), and education students from three universities (n = 139) were surveyed. The groups did not differ significantly in beliefs about their own qualifications, whether the content belongs in school, and willingness to attend a seminar about providing death related interventions. There were no differences between the groups in intervention style, or in whether they preferred to intervene themselves or to have someone else (e.g., a school counselor) intervene. Teachers and students differed significantly only in frequency of experiences with bereaved students (χ² = p < .0001). The experiences of interacting with bereaved students did not result in teachers believing themselves more qualified to provide death related interventions. These data indicate that, while many teachers are willing to provide death related interventions with elementary and middle school students, a majority (55%) of teachers would not use a proactive intervention style, that is, those teachers would not introduce the topic of the recent death of someone close to the child.