Living in heaven and buried in the earth? Teaching young children about death

The study investigates how young children understand the concept of death, as well as how this can be taught in an educational way in Swedish kindergartens. The researchers look specifically at how kindergarten teachers can introduce and discuss the concept of death with children aged three to five years. The aim is to understand how children’s understanding of death develops and how educators can help them deal with questions and emotions regarding the topic. The research questions are: 1) How and what do kindergarten staff teach about biological death? and 2) How do kindergarten staff manage culturally constructed perceptions related to death?

The results show that kindergarten children often have an incomplete understanding of death, that they see death as temporary, and that their reactions range from curiosity to fear. The study shows that a child-oriented pedagogy in which kindergarten teachers do not plan the activity but rather rely on the children’s curiosity, does not work as well when it comes to an existential question that the educators themselves find sensitive. Instead, the researchers found that an open and honest dialogue about death, adapted to the children’s developmental levels, can contribute to a healthy understanding of life and death. The researchers conclude that kindergarten teachers require better training in how to communicate information about death in a sensitive and informative way.

The study uses a qualitative, participant-centred methodology. The researchers conducted video observations of four visits to cemeteries with six kindergarten teachers and 26 children aged three to five years from two different kindergartens. These videos were analysed to understand the children’s reactions and interactions during the visits. The method enabled researchers to observe authentic reactions from the children in a context that naturally raises questions about life and death, providing insight into how children process and understand the concept of death.

Puskás, T., Andersson, A., Jeppsson, F., & Slaughter, V. (2023). Living in heaven and buried in the earth? Teaching young children about death. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31(6), 900–913.