Why Death Education in Young People is So Important

According to the Office of National Statistics of the UK (2015), there are over 550,000 deaths per annum in England and Wales, which has increased significantly with the Covid-19 pandemic. This amounts to one or more persons dying every minute. Further statistics from Childhood Bereavement UK show that a child will lose a parent on average every 22 minutes. Unacknowledged loss can take a toll on human emotions and create profound feelings of social isolation. W. Hocker (1989) & L. Redmond (1989) have suggested a significant proportion of the bereaved, around 10%, experience complications which can be exacerbated by social isolation. They also suggest that each individual death affects from 8 to 10 family members and persons close to the deceased. Therefore, in the UK it is estimated we have around 5.5 million new mourners per year; 550,000 of which may suffer complications related to their loss. Understanding death and loss can help reduce the consequences of social isolation.

The 2014-2016 CEDAR research on young people and death education (J Wester & K Harper, 2016) investigated whether or not young people are afraid to talk about death, or whether they simply do not know how to approach the subject appropriately. We also wanted to know if the general public were aware of death education and asked: Is it appropriate to teach young people about death? Can young people talk about death appropriately? Is the subject of death a taboo and difficult to talk about among peer groups? Does teaching about Death get positive or negative feedback from the participants? What do people think and understand about the concept of death? Will learning about death encourage people to communicate their own personal experiences with others? The main focus was on how, if at all, death education is delivered in schools or if there is a need for further development in this area. 

The cohort of young people who underwent the training were aged between ten and twenty-four and were taught over three days in a variety of different workshops. These covered such topics as language use, communication and the potential effects of human imagination around understanding death. Other death-related topics included the social context of death, cultural views from around the world, ritual and meaning, perceptions of time and how it affects experiences of loss. Also covered were lessons on the biology of dead, ecological considerations and historical changes in attitudes toward death and dying. The final day was a day experiencing birds of prey in flight, with information such as the importance of birds of prey in the Zoroastrian funerary traditions and in the Ancient Egyptian cultures. The Life Lesson project established that the teaching and discussion of death and dying in appropriate and sympathetic ways is beneficial, worthwhile, relevant and important for young people. Therefore, such teachings could be used in the future to aid young people in their knowledge and experience of death and loss. Lastly, a number of the young participants strongly suggested that death education be offered to adults. In particular, they wanted their parents and teachers to take the course: “so they will know how to talk to us about death…they are very bad at it.” The young participants also unanimously agreed that death education should be taught in secondary school to everyone in order to help them understand and communicate in more compassionate ways with their peers who have experienced a loss. If one young person teaches two other young people to talk about their loss, rather than harm themselves, all of their futures are changed for the better.

The Cedar Education CIC

CEDAR (Community Education in Death Awareness & Resources) Education CIC was founded in 2011 by Dr Judith Wester, whose research in death studies and background supporting HIV positive people led her to the awareness that helping people understand, accept and respond to death appropriately within their families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and communities was both vital and neglected.

CEDAR runs regular two-day workshops on death and grief, which are attended by anyone who has an interest in learning more about these subjects – health professionals, social workers and members of the general public. We also run similar classes in schools such as, Life Lessons for Young People, encouraging teenagers to think about death and to understand how to talk about it without difficulty. In addition to this, our two-hour taster courses on particular aspects of death have also proved very popular. All classes are limited to no more than ten attendees and carry CPD points. The team at CEDAR includes, in addition to Dr Wester, other death professionals and researchers, social workers and health professionals. The organisation won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020 for its innovation in teaching.

Contact Details:

Judith Wester, PhD – jrw@cedareducation.org.uk

Anna Wilde, M.A. – a.wilde@cedareducation.org.uk

Website: https://www.cedareducation.org.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CedarEducationCIC