26/03/2024
The sub-discipline of Pedagogy of Death, or Thanatopedagogy, has garnered more attention in Polish and international pedagogy over the past few years. The process of teaching children about death, suffering, and dying at a young age is known as the pedagogy of death, according to researchers. Researchers point to several factors as the causes of this intense interest, including the environment, illness dangers (particularly COVID), diving, and the pervasive censorship of topics related to death in modern Western culture.
Scholars unequivocally stress the need to teach about death. According to Sztobryn-Bocholulska, "its lifelong nature, the need to oppose the fear of death suppressed by pop culture, and, above all, due to the possibility of spiritual transformation that can take place in the process of upbringing" are all extremely important aspects of death pedagogy.
The necessity of using thanatopedagogical concerns in the education of children and youth has been a topic of discussion in educational research for several years. In the interest of additional study, it is claimed that death education refers to all of the actions teachers engage in throughout the pedagogic processes to acquaint pupils with the concept of death and departing/passing away through a variety of formats, techniques, and means of offering assistance.
One subdiscipline that is dynamically growing is death pedagogy. There is never a shortage of new studies on the experiences of children and adolescents with death.
Additionally, there are recent studies linked to teacher-performed pedagogical education. The primary conclusion drawn from the research conducted and the recommendations made by the researchers is the conviction that significant efforts must be made to train future teachers in the field of death pedagogy, integrate theoretical knowledge into foundational teaching curricula, and provide additional training in this area.
Scientists studying education in Poland highlight how the concept of death does not exist in classroom instruction.
Polish teachers can talk about death both offline and online. If only the offline format was discussed above, we suggest to pay attention to the online format as well. On many educational platforms such as livexp.com/skills/polish, you can find Polish teachers who will be ready to discuss with you not only the topic of death but also to enrich your vocabulary with new expressions. The online format is not inferior to the offline one, it's all about the professionalism of the teacher.
The study was completed in July of 2023. One man and 146 women out of 147 teachers were included in the study. The purpose of this study was to describe Polish language teachers' experiences working in the field of thanatopedagical education. Research has shown that this type of instruction is utilised extensively across various age groups, utilising varying work methodologies and frequency. In terms of substantive preparation, among other things, the teachers expressed their thoughts and anxieties about the challenges of delivering this kind of instruction. These included the students' perceptions of misbehavior, incomprehensible literature, cultural taboos, and parental behavior. The origin of obstacles about how one is perceived for their work, how students and parents behave, and cultural taboos around the propensity to "avoid the topic of death, facing it only after a tragic event has happened."