There is a taboo surrounding death in our North American culture. We're not sure how to talk about it, or how to connect through it. The HBO series Six Feet Under breaks this taboo with its honest, humorous and moving look at death and dying. There are important lessons to be drawn from this series. Teachers could revolutionize their classrooms as this show has revolutionized television: by dealing with issues that most tend to avoid. Parker Palmer and Mary Rose O'Reilley's views on education provide a foundation for this thesis. First, teachers need to recognize the fragility of their students as well as their own. Second, they need to appreciate that loss comes in many forms, and that mourning is often necessary. Third, teaching needs to create a space for both students and teachers to express themselves. Fourth, this space also needs to exist in order for both teachers and students to truly listen to one another. Fifth, teachers need to change their own perception of death and dying if they expect students to do the same. Last, teachers need to promote the idea of connection with the world outside the classroom. This thesis's intention is to bring awareness and acceptance around death and dying to individuals, particularly teachers, by exploring Six Feet Under through the characters' journeys, and extracting its many valuable lessons.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Nursing Science)--Vanderbilt University, May 2008. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1975. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Includes tables. Sponsor: Louise Fitzpatrick. Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth Hagen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-70).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Syracuse University, 2008. / "Publication number: AAT 3323058."

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-114).

Thesis (M.Psych.Clin.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, 2002. / There has been a lot of concern as to whether children grieve or not when death strikes in their immediate environment If the experience of bereavement can be reliably measured in children, insight into their painful experiences will be gained and appropriate treatment strategies will be established. This study aims to explore whether projective drawings can provide a reliable method of exploring the world of a black bereaved child. The Human Figure Drawing (HFD), Self Portrait, Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) and Own Choice/spontaneous Drawing was adniinistered on a group of 20 bereaved children and a control group of 20 non bereaved children. In general, more Emotional Indicators were identified on HFDs and Self Portraits of the Bereaved Group. Results showed statistically significant differences between the two groups in four indicators on HFDs (big figure; teeth; monster/grotesque; hands cut off) and in two indicators on Self Portrait (slanting figure and hands cut off) KFDs and Own Choice Drawings could not statistically differentiate the two groups but were found to be of assistance in gaining insight into the family dynamics and for gaining respite from grief work respectively, in the bereaved group. Composite analysis of the four projective drawings provided more insight into the world of the bereaved child.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of children's understanding of animal death as compared with human death, clarify the order and interrelationships of the concepts of causality, state of death, irreversibility and universality of death, as well as to examine the influence of experience with death and parental explanations on children's understanding of death. Twenty children at each of three age groups (4, 6, and 9 years) were read two animal and two human stories dealing with the topic of death and asked a series of questions designed to assess their understanding of the four concepts. Experience with death and parental explanations were assessed through the use of parental questionnaires. Results indicated children's understanding of the concepts of death increased with age. The most rapid development of the understanding of causality, state of death and irreversibility was indicated between 4- and 6-years-of-age, with universality continuing through 9-years-of-age. Correlations between the UDI subscales for both animal and human death indicated the concepts were unrelated until after six years of age. A developmental progression in the interrelationships of animal with human concepts of death was found. Correlations were significant for causality at 4-years, state of death and universality at 6-years and state of death, irreversibility and universality at 9-years-of age. Experience with human death influenced the human scores for the concepts of causality, state of death and irreversibility. No significant correlations for universality or animals was found. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between children’s grief and their perceptions of God by utilizing children’s drawings. This research was conducted by partnering with Christian counselors and teachers who interviewed two groups of children to collect data. Counselors interviewed the experimental group of children who were between the ages of 6-12 and had experienced the death of an immediate family member. Teachers interviewed the control group of children who were between the ages of 6-12 and had not experienced the death of an immediate family member. Both groups were asked specific questions in efforts to ascertain if children in the midst of grief perceived God differently. A multilevel triangulation design was used in this study with the first phase being qualitative and the second quantitative. In phase one, both the experimental group and control group of children were each interviewed and asked to respond to these questions by drawing their answers. Upon completion of the drawings, each child was asked a series of follow-up questions in efforts to provide explanations for their drawings. Select demographic information was also collected as a part of the interview process. Phase 2 utilized a quantitative approach. A panel of raters was assigned with the task of looking for specified, coded patterns or images in each child’s drawn or verbal response. Each panel member received a description of characteristics for which to look, as well as a Thurstone scale to assess the frequency of the characteristics. Upon evaluation, this data was sent back to the researcher for anecdotal analysis. The qualitative data was collected and the results were analyzed utilizing two statistical analyses methods including a Mann-Whitney test and a four-way ANOVA. While the Mann-Whitney was used to determine the correlation between death and a child’s perception of God, the ANOVA was performed to analyze the role demographics played in children’s perception of God after they experienced a parental or sibling death. Findings from the analyses are discussed in terms of implications for future research as well as possible applications for the research.