Teachers Perceptions of Effects of a Student's Death: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

When a student dies in a school setting many school professionals step in and offer grief services to the students affected. In the classrooms, teachers are expected to step in and help the students grieve; however, equivalent support for teachers seems to be lacking. This study explored the lived experiences of teachers who experienced the unanticipated death of a student. From the analysis, the following themes emerged: (a) releasing feelings, (b) resources (c) lost academic time and redirection, and (d) honoring the memory. The results of this study reinforce the need for training for school teachers to help them better cope with the death of a student. Particularly, school professionals are called on to be proactive in creating a model to have in place to actively support teachers dealing with the grief and loss of a student.

Psychosocial functioning after losing a close friend in an extreme terror incident

“…If schools provide help, they are often more likely to do this immediately after a death, and students experiencing long-term effects of grief may be overlooked, as students without overt symptoms can be (Hedman, 2012;Pfefferbaum et al, 2000). Although teachers are expected to help grieving students, many feel that they are not trained to handle a student's death, and additional professional development in the area of crisis response training are often needed (Dyregrov, Dyregrov, & Idsoe, 2013;Hart & Garza, 2012).…”

“I Keep it Together at Work but Fall Apart at Home”: The Experience of Israeli Homeroom Teachers Coping With the Death of a Student in their Class

“…The study also revealed that the teachers were unable to deal with the incident directly and talked about it only indirectly. Most indicated the need for additional resources during the crisis such as counseling and psychologist support (Hart & Garza, 2013).…”

“…The death of an adolescent affects classmates, school staff, and teachers who taught the student (Hart & Garza, 2013). The homeroom teacher plays a central role in her students’ adjustment and must provide the best possible response to their needs arising from the experience of loss.…”

College Faculty Member Grief Over Deaths of Current and Former Students

“…That literature does not address college faculty member grief or, for the most part, even indicate that it might exist. Ayers (2015), Hart and Garza (2012), and Rowling (1995Rowling ( , 2003, writing about K-12 teachers, did address teacher grief. Ayers mentioned (p. 86), without citing specifics, a web posting about K-12 teacher grief when a student dies which received responses from hundreds of teachers who talked about their own grief at a student's death.…”

“…7-8). Hart and Garza (2012) highlighted the need for teachers to release feelings, issues of lost academic time resulting from a student death, the lack of institutional resources for dealing with a student death, and the desire to honor the memory of students who have died. Rowling wrote about cultural (my term), institutional, and personal factors that might disenfranchise a teacher who is grieving, among other things, student death or close calls to death.…”