ABSTRACT How to create compassionate schools able to engage constructively with death, dying and bereavement in a rural Western educational context was the focus of this research. Grounded theory and a social constructionist lens were used to gain an in-depth exploration of people’s experiences of bereavement, death and dying in the context of their school community. Reflexivity combined with critical social theory deepened participants’ reflections on how their perceptions are influenced by their social and specific school experience and how they and others may influence these in turn. Twenty-three participants including principals, teachers, parents and students were interviewed. All participants resided in a primary school community setting at the time of the bereavement and had been bereaved of a close friend or a family member (post six months and up to six years). Interviews were semi-structured and included questions about the participants’ experiences, unearthing their assumptions and ideas about engaging constructively with death, dying and bereavement. In accordance with grounded theory, analysis and interviews ran simultaneously so that as interviews were being conducted, analysis was occurring, and categories were emerging. New questions were prepared to further investigate participants’ main concerns, ways of thinking and how society and culture may influence the understanding of death, dying and bereavement in a school community. Finally, we argue that school communities need to explicitly discuss community members’ experiences and preferences for changes in attitudes as well as practical strategies. Empowered schools could then actively navigate the taboo nature of death, dying and bereavement.

中文翻译：

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死亡、垂死和丧亲之痛：考虑同情和赋权

摘要 如何在西方农村教育环境中创建能够建设性地处理死亡、死亡和丧亲之痛的富有同情心的学校是本研究的重点。扎根理论和社会建构主义的视角被用来深入探索人们在学校社区背景下的丧亲之痛、死亡和临终经历。反思性与批判性社会理论相结合，加深了参与者对他们的看法如何受到社会和特定学校经历的影响以及他们和其他人如何反过来影响这些看法的反思。包括校长、教师、家长和学生在内的 23 名参与者接受了采访。所有参与者在丧亲之时都居住在小学社区环境中，并且与一位密友或家人失去了亲人（六个月至六年）。访谈是半结构化的，包括有关参与者经历的问题，揭示他们关于建设性地参与死亡、临终和丧亲之痛的假设和想法。根据扎根理论，分析和访谈同时进行，因此随着访谈的进行，分析也在发生，类别也在出现。准备了新问题以进一步调查参与者的主要关注点、思维方式以及社会和文化如何影响学校社区对死亡、临终和丧亲之痛的理解。最后，我们认为，学校社区需要明确讨论社区成员的经历和对态度变化的偏好以及实际策略。然后，赋权学校可以积极应对死亡、垂死和丧亲之痛的禁忌性质。