Most of us experience the death of a loved one at some point in our lives and it can leave a significant impact on one’s life. Professionals at primary schools play an important role in children’s grieving after a loved one’s death as children spend a lot of their time at school. This master thesis is mainly focused on the research of specific needs of children and adolescents, who are facing death of a loved one, and how exactly professionals at primary schools can help them cope with their loss.
The main focus of the theoretical introduction are the characteristics of developmental stages, as this is the only way professionals at primary schools can understand the emotional and cognitive development of children and adolescents, that influence their perception of death. This is closely related to the grieving process, which is individualized.
The empirical research drew on ways in which children and adolescents at primary school mourn their loved ones, what kind of help children and adolescents who face the death of a loved one need, and how to talk to grieving children and adolescents. An additional topic of research was the role of professionals at primary schools itself, when children and adolescents are dealing with death of a loved one and, especially, what professionals at primary schools need in order to work more effectively with grieving children and adolescents.
As part of the research I have also conducted interviews with ten interviewees, among whom were two children (middle and late childhood), one adolescent, two mothers and a guardian, and four professionals (a Hospic employee, a psychologist, a social pedagogical professional and an elementary school teacher).
The results show that the perception of death depends on children’s developmental stage. Children in the middle childhood stage do not understand death well, but they do realize that it is inevitable and irreversible. Children in late childhood and adolescents understand death in a similar way as adults. All interviewees also noticed some positive changes (e.g. improvement in behavior and academic success, emotional stability) as well as some negative changes (e.g. loss of eye contact, waking up at night, withdrawal, attention seeking etc.) in children and adolescents who are facing death of a loved one. All interviewees emphasized the importance of the relationship between the bereaved child and the person who wants to help them. Participants of the research also wish that the topic Death could be more incorporated in school curricula as part of the educational content, i.e. with the help of books, movies and other ways of working. In addition to individual help attention should also be paid to working with the class itself. Furthermore, the interviewees emphasized the significance of the school in the students’ mourning process and the importance of establishing communication between the school and the family of the bereaved. Professionals at schools expressed the wish for more education on the topic of death and grief through which they could gain further information how to help children and adolescents who are facing the death of a loved one. Simultaneously it was stressed, that professionals also need education about self-care while facing death at work. The research findings confirm the theoretical starting points.
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