Lost and Found: Bereavement, Archaeology and Creativity
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bradford
Department Name: Faculty of Life Sciences
Abstract
Challenge:
Death is a universal reality of life, and children usually experience their first bereavements whilst in primary school, with lifelong consequences. Whilst loss of a parent or sibling is especially traumatic, we often underestimate the impact of losing grandparents and even pets. The classroom can be an ideal place to normalise discussions of death, dying and loss as part of wider education for wellbeing, not just bereaved children. Yet teachers are often unsure how to broach these subjects for fear of causing upset, with the result that children find it hard to untangle complex emotions associated with grief, worsening feelings of isolation. Suppressed grieving is associated with mental illness, higher rates of future depression, smoking, drug use, risk taking behaviour, poor educational attainment, unemployment and criminal activity. There are pressing calls to make grief education part of the curriculum for all children, not just those who are bereaved.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the project is to work with professionals to enable children to see bereavement as part of life; drawing on their educational experiences and enriched knowledge of the past, to transform feelings of loss into celebrations of life and relationships, building confidence and wellbeing.
Building on the success of models and resources developed in the Continuing Bonds Projects, our objectives are to:
Work with the bereavement sector (through partnership with the Child Bereavement Network (CBN) and Child Bereavement UK (CBUK)) and school teachers, using archaeological resources to co-create age-appropriate activities that promote discussions on death, loss and bereavement;
Develop creative methods based on archaeological case studies, to open up understanding of the diversity of human responses to death;
Use these stories from the past to generate creative responses, showing how the sharing of stories around death, grief and loss can deepen empathy, create a space for memory, and enhance understanding of the human life-cycle;
Celebrate this creativity and empower reflection through the sharing of workshop outcomes in Celebration of Life events;
Develop and promote a training pack and resources based on our workshops, available free of charge and online, to provide primary education and the bereavement sector with the tools to deliver activities beyond the conclusion of the project, while also providing evidence for policy reform around death education and the curriculum.
The title of the project, Lost and Found, is drawn from British folklore tales which suggest that undergoing 'loss' can lead to the 'finding' of greater compassion and empathy, helping us to become more rounded human beings and strengthening resilience to face other life-events.
Applications and benefits
The project will support the bereavement sector's work with schools, through our co-production of novel workshop content, informing policy change. It will benefit a new audience of primary school teachers and pupils by providing free, open access resources. Its dissemination will champion the contributions archaeology can make to wellbeing, through 'deep time' knowledge of past human practices. Finally, its dissemination will inspire future work by interdisciplinary scholars and professional bereavement practitioners working on death, dying and bereavement.
Death is a universal reality of life, and children usually experience their first bereavements whilst in primary school, with lifelong consequences. Whilst loss of a parent or sibling is especially traumatic, we often underestimate the impact of losing grandparents and even pets. The classroom can be an ideal place to normalise discussions of death, dying and loss as part of wider education for wellbeing, not just bereaved children. Yet teachers are often unsure how to broach these subjects for fear of causing upset, with the result that children find it hard to untangle complex emotions associated with grief, worsening feelings of isolation. Suppressed grieving is associated with mental illness, higher rates of future depression, smoking, drug use, risk taking behaviour, poor educational attainment, unemployment and criminal activity. There are pressing calls to make grief education part of the curriculum for all children, not just those who are bereaved.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the project is to work with professionals to enable children to see bereavement as part of life; drawing on their educational experiences and enriched knowledge of the past, to transform feelings of loss into celebrations of life and relationships, building confidence and wellbeing.
Building on the success of models and resources developed in the Continuing Bonds Projects, our objectives are to:
Work with the bereavement sector (through partnership with the Child Bereavement Network (CBN) and Child Bereavement UK (CBUK)) and school teachers, using archaeological resources to co-create age-appropriate activities that promote discussions on death, loss and bereavement;
Develop creative methods based on archaeological case studies, to open up understanding of the diversity of human responses to death;
Use these stories from the past to generate creative responses, showing how the sharing of stories around death, grief and loss can deepen empathy, create a space for memory, and enhance understanding of the human life-cycle;
Celebrate this creativity and empower reflection through the sharing of workshop outcomes in Celebration of Life events;
Develop and promote a training pack and resources based on our workshops, available free of charge and online, to provide primary education and the bereavement sector with the tools to deliver activities beyond the conclusion of the project, while also providing evidence for policy reform around death education and the curriculum.
The title of the project, Lost and Found, is drawn from British folklore tales which suggest that undergoing 'loss' can lead to the 'finding' of greater compassion and empathy, helping us to become more rounded human beings and strengthening resilience to face other life-events.
Applications and benefits
The project will support the bereavement sector's work with schools, through our co-production of novel workshop content, informing policy change. It will benefit a new audience of primary school teachers and pupils by providing free, open access resources. Its dissemination will champion the contributions archaeology can make to wellbeing, through 'deep time' knowledge of past human practices. Finally, its dissemination will inspire future work by interdisciplinary scholars and professional bereavement practitioners working on death, dying and bereavement.
