The Pedagogy of Death in the Classroom: High-School Students' Perceptions After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of the study was to determine secondary-school students' attitudes towards education encompassing death, and the presence of death in their everyday lives, in the wake of the pandemic. To this end, the Death Education Attitudes Scale-Students (DEAS-S), and a previously validated ad hoc behavioral scale were used. The total sample consisted of 418 students, aged 12 to 18, from a wide range of schools. Variables such as gender, age and religious beliefs influenced the results. Participants showed moderately positive attitudes towards death education. Those who had suffered bereavement during the pandemic seemed to be more open to the inclusion of death in education. Findings suggest the need for a more comprehensive educational approach that would includes an understanding of the educational potential of death and its implications for a more conscious life. The study also has implications for national and international education policies and curricula and for the training of educators, mainly teachers and parents.