Bereavement Accommodations in the Classroom: Experiences and Opinions of School Staff

DeMuth, Michele; Taggi‐Pinto, Alison; Miller, Elaine Tilka; Alderfer, Melissa A.

doi:10.1111/josh.12870

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that school psychologists are inadequately prepared to manage and respond to crises, given their limited training during their graduate degree (e.g., Allen et al, 2002;Brown et al, 2018). School psychologists in this study and other school-based professionals in previous studies have shared that they lack confidence due to being inadequately prepared and often feel emotionally distressed when providing grief support (Costelloe et al, 2020;Dawson et al, 2023;DeMuth et al, 2020;Duncan, 2020). These challenges are further supported by participants' reports about their grief training.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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School psychologists' training and experience in providing grief support

Brown,

Snider,

Hall

et al. 2024

Psychology in the Schools

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School‐based mental health professionals consistently report that they are either not prepared to support grieving students, or do not have time to integrate crisis intervention support into their hectic schedule. Given that inadequate school mental health services can increase a bereaved student's risk of developing emotional problems, it is critical that school psychologists increase their comfort in grief. This study surveyed 75 school psychologists in the Northwestern United States regarding their training and experience in grief support. A reflexive thematic analysis identified four themes related to the challenges and recommendations in grief support: lack of training, limited role of the school psychologist, lack of formalized grief response system, and lack of school and community resources. Furthermore, only 3% of participants reported taking the lead in providing grief support and 64% provide grief support fewer than five times a year. The majority (81%) reported that they had zero courses devoted to grief support during their graduate degree, with more participants (67%) obtaining grief training postdegree. Study limitations, areas for further research, and implications for schools and school psychologists are also discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…| 2725 death with children (American Federation of Teachers and New York Life Foundation, 2020;Dawson et al, 2023;DeMuth et al, 2020;Duncan, 2020).…”

Section: School Psychologists Experience With Providing Grief and Cri...mentioning

confidence: 99%

School psychologists' training and experience in providing grief support

Brown,

Snider,

Hall

et al. 2024

Psychology in the Schools

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“…Although the literature describes the psychosocial benefits associated with open and honest conversations around death in many sociocultural contexts, many teachers report feeling unprepared for and ill equipped to facilitate these pivotal conversations ( DeMuth et al, 2020 ). When the topic of death is not acknowledged and discussed, children may feel alone and isolated as they navigate the complex emotional responses of grief; in fact, children are likely to infer that just as the concept of death is not open for discussion so too are their feelings and thoughts about the death event.…”

Section: Bringing Legacy Interventions To the Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Helping Children Cope with Loss: Legacy Interventions for the Grieving Classroom

Lawrence¹,

Jones²,

Boles³

2022

Continuity in Education

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Early experiences of death and loss have a significant impact on children's coping and development across the lifespan, whether the deceased was a family member, friend, or even classmate. Given the sense of community and continuity that children often garner in schools, teachers are uniquely positioned to tailor and facilitate grief supports to meet the developmental and coping needs of their students in response to loss, especially in the case of a classmate's death. Legacy building interventions, though healthcare-derived, have internationally been applied to promote selfexpression and meaning making for grieving children and families; the underlying theory and practice of such interventions may render them useful even in classroom environments. Combining art-based activities with storytelling and reflection, legacy building activities may promote awareness and understanding of death in children and adolescents while encouraging adaptive grief responses. This paper describes how teachers may apply legacy building interventions to support students experiencing the death of a classmate. Two sample curricular plans are provided, one targeted towards elementary school children, the other towards middle and high school students. Although these resources appear ready for immediate implementation, it is essential that teachers adapt them -based on their unique classroom, school system, and sociocultural context -to best meet the needs of grieving students. 93 Lawrence et al.

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“…As children spend most of their awake time in school, educators have the potential to offer support to students who are grieving. Grief, however, is not a topic many educators feel equipped to address effectively, as they are unsure what would and would not be helpful 4 …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grief, however, is not a topic many educators feel equipped to address effectively, as they are unsure what would and would not be helpful. 4 Our study was conducted in collaboration with the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (NCSCB) at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), which provides training, informational materials, and ongoing consultation on crisis management and bereavement to schools. CHLA's NCSCB coordinates the Coalition to Support Grieving Students (CSGS), a collaboration of over 125 professional organizations supporting teachers and other school professionals.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Educator Perspectives on Grief‐Sensitive Training During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in US Public Schools

Lively‐Endicott,

Naimi,

Hudson

et al. 2023

Journal of School Health

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BackgroundGrief and loss are common experiences for children and adolescents, particularly during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Educators feel unprepared to support grieving students due to lack of training. We studied educator experiences receiving grief‐sensitive training as part of the grief‐sensitive schools initiative (GSSI), which provides grief‐sensitive training, online video‐based and print resources, and a financial grant to schools and school districts for use in supporting grieving students.MethodsFourteen New York and Florida educators who received GSSI training participated in small focus groups or semi‐structured interviews on their experiences receiving GSSI training and supporting grieving students during the pandemic. Transcripts were analyzed using grounded‐theory analysis.ResultsEmergent themes included increased confidence engaging grieving students, the desire for recurring trainings, the value of receiving training from an expert on pediatric grief and loss and the opportunity to ask questions, the need for grief‐sensitive training to reflect the cultural diversity of school communities, the unique losses experienced by students during the pandemic, and compassion fatigue and burnout in educators.Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and EquityPolicymakers should recognize the effects of grief on students' learning and development and collaborate with educators to develop resources.ConclusionsEducators found GSSI training useful in supporting grieving students, particularly during the pandemic.

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Bereavement Accommodations in the Classroom: Experiences and Opinions of School Staff

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

School psychologists' training and experience in providing grief support

School psychologists' training and experience in providing grief support

Helping Children Cope with Loss: Legacy Interventions for the Grieving Classroom

Educator Perspectives on Grief‐Sensitive Training During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in US Public Schools

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