Bereavement in the classroom: how teachers respond to grief at school.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20003026

Whether stemming from a tragic event in the life of a child such as the loss of a parent, or a community-devastating occurrence such as a natural disaster, it is likely that in every school year teachers will encounter some facet of bereavement in their classrooms. Despite the frequency of such events and the seemingly wide availability of training resources, there are questions about the degree to which teachers feel trained or prepared to respond (National Commission for Children and Disasters Interim Report, 2009). Several possible causes explain the gap, such as a lack of understanding of the needs of bereaved students. or teachers' personal anxiety about raising these issues in the classroom (Atkinson, 1980; Cullinan, 1990; Hare & Cunningham, 1988; Lowton & Higginson, 2003; Pratt, Hare & Wright, 1985; Reid & Dixon, 1999), but little is known about the factors that teachers consider when determining the actions that they will or will not take to address the needs of grieving children. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the internal or external barriers that interfere with teachers' sense of efficacy when responding to bereavement-related situations. The study focused on the perspectives of 37 elementary, middle, and high school teachers in western Massachusetts. Data collection included pre- and post-surveys, and seven grade-level segmented focus groups in which participants discussed their own experiences in the context of best-practice strategies as presented in an accompanying training module. Results confirmed the complex interaction of individual, situational, and systemic factors that shape response, but the absence of training appeared to be most relevant to the subjects of the study. In a pre- post survey comparison of 26 of the 37 participants, 65% reported a positive change in their self-assessed level of confidence after completing the training and participating in the focus group. This finding reflected a statistically significant change (W=161; p = 0.006). Respondents attributed this change to the training/focus group experience, noting the value of small group interaction and problem-solving discussions with colleagues.