Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2006/07

SP50151 Childhood and death

Credits: 6

Level: Masters

Semester: 1

Assessment: ES100

Requisites:

Aims:
* To enable students to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the impact of death, dying & bereavement on children at different ages.
* To provide students with a conceptual understanding of how attitudes to death and childhood vary across societies and over time.
* To enable students to critically evaluate a range of intervention strategies.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
* Demonstrate a systematic understanding of children's responses to death and the importance of the family context.
* Evaluate critically the contrasting impact of sudden & expected death
* Evaluate the relevance of bereavement theory to the experiences of grieving children
* Evaluate critically intervention strategies for assisting grieving children
* Evaluate critically the roles of family, schools, health professionals and voluntary agencies in the experience of child bereavement
* Demonstrate a critical awareness of ethical issues involved in research with bereaved children.
Skills:
* Develop skills to critically reflect on the suitability of diverse approaches for investigating and analysing problems.
* Systematically synthesise information from a variety of academic and professional perspectives for a relevant understanding of theoretical and practical approaches.
* Appreciate and critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a range of policy approaches.
* Identify and access relevant information sources.
* Communicate complex issues and perspectives effectively.
* Develop skills of time management, workload prioritisation and related planning skills.
* Develop good writing and presentation skills.
Content:
The unit will focus on children's experiences of death in the context of the family.
1. Child development
2. Attachment & family systems theories & the significance of the sibling relationship
3. Children's understanding of and reaction to death at different ages
4. Expected death
5. Sudden death
6. Children's grief and bereavement theories
7. Assessing strategies for helping grieving children
8. Assessing resources for bereaved children and their families
9. Conducting research with bereaved children
These topics will be considered in both high mortality (developing) and low mortality (developed) societies.

University | Catalogues for 2006/07