A Study of Barbadian School Personnel Attitudes on Coping with Grief in the Public Schools

Abstract

Public school personnel are in a unique position to assist grieving children, however preparation to meet this need is not typically included in teacher training and only minimally in counsellor training. This study replicated a previous study (Reid and Dixon, 1999) with US teachers which was a replication of a study conducted with a sample of early childhood teachers (Pratt et al., 1987) while also including the 'Death Attitude Profile Revised (DAP-R)' (Wong et al., 1994). With a sample collected in Barbados, West Indies, this study established school personnel attitudes toward death and dying and their self-perceived ability to assist grieving students. The findings are compared with the findings from the original study by Pratt et al. (1987), the findings of Reid and Dixon (1999), along with norms for the DAP-R established by Wong et al. (1994). The findings indicate the need and desire for further preparation for Barbadian school personnel in dealing with bereaved children.