Quality Insights of University Teachers on Dying,Death,and Death Education

Abstract

One of the main responsibilities of teachers is to help individual students cope with life difficulties such as grief following a death. However, very little research explores teachers' views on death, dying, and how they handle grief and loss in schools. This study aims to explore university teachers' knowledge and attitudes on dying, death, and death education. Fifteen university teachers were recruited using a qualitative method. This study reveals that most teachers' views on death and related issues are largely affected by their death experiences, religious beliefs, professional background, and the mass media. Although they have a general negative response toward death and dying, some teachers begin to affirm their meanings of life and death. Most teachers agree that they do not feel adequate about managing and teaching on life and death issues, so they strongly support including death education in the formal programs in Hong Kong.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bassett

J. A.

McCann

P. A.

Cate

K. L.

(2008). Personifications of personal and typical death as related to death attitudes. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 57 (2), 163–172

Berg

B. L.

(2007). Qualitative research method for the social sciences (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Chan

D. W. C.

(2002). Misconceptions and attitudes towards suicide among teachers and prospective teachers in Hong Kong. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 45 (4), 361–379

Chan

K. Y.

Yeung

H. F.

(2010, March 28). 30% of teachers have serious emotional illnesses. Mingpao. (In Chinese)

Chen

K. H.

(2008). First year nursing students' perceptions of death at Jen-Te junior college in Taiwan. The Journal of Multiculturalism in Education. Retrieved from http://www.multiculturaljournal.com/isues/2008/

Corr

C. A.

Nabe

C. M.

Corr

D. M.

(2009). Death and dying: Life and living (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.). (2008). Strategies of qualitative inquiry. London: Sage

Dickinson

G. E.

(1992). First childhood death experience. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 25, 169–182

Durkin

K. F.

(2003). Death, dying and the dead in popular culture. In Bryant

C. D.

(Ed.), Handbook of death and dying. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

10.

Education Bureau. (2011). Life education. Hong Kong: Education Bureau. Retrieved on October 10. 2011 from http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=7122&langno=1

11.

Erikson

E. H.

(1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: Norton

12.

Fromm

(1968). The revolution of hope. Toward a humanized technology. New York: Harper and Row

13.

W. F.

(1993). Respect of death and respect of life. Taipei: Chung Ching Publishing Co. (In Chinese)

14.

Harrawood

L. K.

White

L. J.

Benshoff

J. J.

(2008–2009). Death anxiety in a national sample of United States funeral directors and its relationship with death exposure, age and sex. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 58 (2), 129–146

15.

Hong Kong Mood Disorders Centre. (2007). The survey on adults' depression in Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://www.hmdc.med.cuhk.edu.hk/main.html (In Chinese)

16.

Hong Kong Government. (2012). The Hong Kong 2011 population census summary results. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government

17.

Hwang

T. C.

(1993). Introduction to death education II. Taipei: Yip Keung. (In Chinese)

18.

Hunter

S. B.

Smith

D. E.

(2008). Predictors of children's understandings of death: Age, cognitive ability, death experience and maternal communicative competence. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 57 (2), 143–162

19.

Imogie

A. O.

(2000). Health educators' assessment of the course content of a proposed death and dying education curriculum. Research in Education, 64, 56–63

20.

Kim

(2001). Korean kindergarten teachers' attitudes toward death and death education for young children. Unpublished Doctor of Education thesis. Teachers College, Columbia University

21.

King

Hayslip

(2001–2002). The media's influence on college students' views of death. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 44 (1), 37–56

22.

Knight

K. H.

Elfenbein

M. H.

Capozzi

(2000). Relationship of recollections of first death experience to current death attitudes. Death Studies, 24 (3), 201–221

23.

Lam

C. P.

Poon

C. T.

Lam

K. W.

Y. K.

Keung

Y. K.

C. Y.

(2004). Life education: Theory and practice. Taipei: Psychology Publishing Co. (In Chinese)

24.

Lazenby

R. B.

(2006). Teachers dealing with the death of students: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 8 (1), 50–56

25.

Leane

Shute

(1998). Youth suicide: The knowledge and attitudes of Australian teachers and clergy. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviour, 28 (2), 165–173

26.

Leming

M. R.

Dickinson

G. E.

(2002). Understanding dying, death and bereavement (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers

27.

(1993). The funeral and Chinese culture. Journal of Popular Culture, 27 (2), 113–120

28.

Life Education Australia. (2010). Life Education Australia Annual Review 2010. Sydney: LEA

29.

Mahon

M. M.

Goldberg

R. L.

Washington

S. K.

(1999). Discussing death in the classroom. Beliefs and experiences of educators and education students. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 39 (2), 99–121

30.

Mak

M. H. J.

(2007). Promoting a good death for cancer patients of Asian culture. An evidence-based approach. London: Whiting and Birch

31.

Mak

M. H. J.

(2010–2011). Quality insights of university students on death, dying and death education. A preliminary study in Hong Kong. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 62 (4), 387–405

32.

Mak

M. H. J.

(2011a). Youth suicide: Knowledge and attitudes from secondary students' perspectives—A Hong Kong based study. Illness, Crisis and Loss, 19 (1), 41–56

33.

Mak

M. H. J.

(2011b). The Forum: Life-death education—Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong. Christian Times, 1253, September 18, 2011. (In Chinese)

34.

Mak

M. H. J.

(2011c). Chinese secondary students' knowledge of and attitudes towards death, dying and life education. A qualitative study. Illness, Crisis and Loss, 19 (4), 307–329

35.

Martin

Barrett-Kruse

Waterstreet

(1988). A community response to an adolescent suicide. The School Counselor, 35 (3), 204–209

36.

McCarthy

J. R.

(2007). “They all look as if they're coping, but I'm not”: The relational power/lessness of “youth” in responding to experiences of bereavement. Journal of Youth Studies, 10 (3), 285–303

37.

McGovern

Barry

M. M.

(2000). Death education: Knowledge, attitudes, and perspectives of Irish parents and teachers. Death Studies, 24 (4), 325–333

38.

Munson

L. J.

Hunt

(2005). Teachers grieve! What can we do for our colleagues and ourselves when a student dies?. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37 (4), 48–51

39.

(2009, April 5). Over 60% adults support teaching children “knowledge about death.” Wen Wei Po, p. A14. (In Chinese)

40.

Papadatou

Metallinou

Hatzichristou

Pavlidi

(2002). Supporting the bereaved child: Teacher's perceptions and experiences in Greece. Mortality, 7 (3), 324–339

41.

Pratt

C. C.

Hare

Wright

(2001). Death and dying in early childhood education: Are educators prepared?. Education, 107 (3), 279–286

42.

Puolimatka

Solasaari

(2006). Education for death. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 38 (2), 201–213

43.

Reid

Dixon

(1999). Teacher attitudes on coping with grief in the public school classroom. Psychology in the Schools, 36 (3), 219–229

44.

Rodabough

(1980). Helping students cope with death. Journal of Teacher Education, 29 (6), 19–23

45.

Schultz

L. E.

(2007). The influence of maternal loss on young female's experience of identity development in emerging adulthood. Death Studies, 31, 17–43

46.

Seale

Kelly

(1998). Coding and analysing data. In Seal

(Ed.), Researching society and culture (pp. 146–163). London: Sage

47.

Shimazono

(2008). Overview. Development and organization of death and life studies. Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology. Japan: The University of Tokyo

48.

Sing

T. D.

(2009, November 30). Life education against the suicide group. Sing Tao Daily, p. A18. (In Chinese)

49.

Speece

M. W.

Brent

S. B.

(1984). Children's understanding of death: A review of three components of a death concept. Child Development, 55, 1671–1686

50.

Speece

M. W.

Brent

S. B.

(1992). The acquisition of a mature understanding of the concept of death. Death Studies, 16, 211–219

51.

Tracey

Holland

(2008). A comparative study of the child bereavement and loss responses and needs of schools in Hull, Yorkshire and Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Pastoral Care in Education, 26 (4), 253–266

52.

Tse

J. W. L.

(2002). Death education: A tool of child and adolescent suicide prevention. In Tse

J. W. L.

Bagley

(Eds.), Suicidal behaviour, bereavement and death education in Chinese adolescents (pp. 177–200). Hong Kong Studies. Aldershot: Ashgate

53.

Wass

Berardo

F. F.

Niemeyer

(Eds.). (1995). Facing the facts (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis

54.

Willis

S. L.

Tarabochia

D. S.

(2006). Identifying emotions and communicating about death: An interactive puzzle. American Journal of Health Education, 37 (6), 358–360

55.

Wong

M. Y.

(2006, January 13). Teachers' suicide. Survey on sources of stress: Education Reform. Hong Kong Economic Times, A29. (In Chinese)

56.

Wong

S. T.

(Ed.). (2005). The sun beyond the window: For youth and parents. Life education teaching kit. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council. (In Chinese)

57.

Wong

W. C.

(2006, November 17). Preventing youth suicide. Wen Wei Po, p. A43. (In Chinese)

58.

Wong

W. Y.

(2009). The growth of death awareness through death education among university students in Hong Kong. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 59 (2), 113–128

59.

Yang

S. C.

Chen

S. F.

(2006). Content analysis of free-response narratives to personal meanings of death among Chinese children and adolescents. Death Studies, 30 (3), 217–241

60.

Yang

S. C.

Chen

S. F.

(2009). The study of personal constructs of death and fear of death among Taiwanese adolescents. Death Studies, 33 (10), 913–940

61.

Yeung

A. S.

Liu

W. P.

(2007). Workload and psychological wellbeing of Hong Kong teachers. Paper presented at the International Educational Research Conference. Australian Association for Research in Education