Do parents want death to be included in their children’s education?

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine whether parents of schoolchildren want an education that takes death into account or not. To address this objective, the Death Education Attitudes Scale-Parents (DEAS-P) was designed, validated and applied to the Spanish population, through an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, with suitable values. The reliability test found a Cronbach’s alpha of .90, with two factors. The scale was complemented with a short questionnaire probing opinions on how to approach death in society and schools. The sample comprised 917 mothers and fathers of children and adolescents from early childhood education to sixth form. The results indicated moderately positive attitudes towards an education taking death into account. Variables such as gender, religious beliefs and children’s educational stage were significantly related to parents’ attitudes. The results argue in favour of the educational inclusion of death in families and schools.