EduPort

EduPort 2022, 6(1):27-37 | DOI: 10.21062/edp.2022.003

DYING PUPIL WITH LIFE-LIMITING OR LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS IN THE CONTEXT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Martina Haroková, Jan Chrastina

Ústav speciálněpedagogických studií, Pedagogická fakulta, Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci (ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA)

The synergistic effect of factors such as inclusion, advances in science, medicine and technology are contributing significantly to the increasing number of pupils with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses in primary and secondary schools. The 2020 UK population study estimates a further increase in this group of pupils in the future. Educating pupils with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses brings with it certain specificities and challenges. The most feared challenge is the death of such a pupil during the school year. Many teachers have first-hand experience with the dying as well as the death of a pupil due to a serious illness. Research reveals the societal expectations of a teacher working with a pupil with a serious health condition, which include the ability to provide for their psychosocial, educational, and medical needs and to fulfil a coordinating role. Finally, in the event of a pupil's death, the teacher is attributed with a counselling role, providing support not only to other pupils, colleagues, but also to the family of the pupil after dead. These expectations are, however, beyond the competence of the Czech teacher. Current studies reflect the lack of preparedness of teachers to face and respond appropriately to situations – such as the death of a pupil at school. The explanation is quite simple. Neither undergraduate nor professional teacher training focuses on working with dying pupils. In practice, schools often lack the tools that would make the whole process of educating a pupil with a serious illness – and, in the case of a pupil's death, the grieving process - easier for all school stakeholders. This paper responds to the fact with a threefold intention. It begins by presenting a brief overview of the theoretical knowledge on the topic of inclusive education of a dying pupil with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness, including the challenges that teachers may face. It also presents suggestions for preventive and intervention strategies when working with a classroom team that educates such a pupil and offers specific recommendations for supporting school staff to protect their mental wellbeing. The text also presents procedures and methods for working with the class in the event of the death of their seriously ill classmate and ways to support students and teachers in the grieving process. For the integrity of the topic, the paper is supplemented with theoretical insights from the field of working with the concept of death in school and children's understanding of death.

Keywords: life-limiting illness, life-threatening illness, dying, death, child, school, inclusion

Received: March 14, 2022; Revised: April 12, 2022; Accepted: April 28, 2022; Prepublished online: May 6, 2022; Published: May 1, 2022  Show citation