Grief management: attitudes and perceptions of primary school teachers

The loss of loved ones is a universal life experience. Teachers coexist with children for a long time and should be able to support children experiencing grief. The purpose of the present research is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of teachers of Primary Education (P.E.) from all over Greece about the teacher’s role in managing students’ grief. The quantitative method was used with a self-report questionnaire which was completed by 1,374 teachers, who were the sample of the research. According to the results, the teachers of the sample recognize the importance of their role in managing the grief experienced by the students. However, contradictory attitudes and perceptions are recorded regarding the management of grieving students. They think that it is good for the students to be referred to a grief counselor and they do not feel comfortable to discuss the issue of death with students. At the same time, they consider that they are not sufficiently prepared for the intervention and support of grieving students.