Supporting bereaved students and exploring their educational outcomes in mainstream school

This thesis explores the topic of bereavement for a child or young person attending school. The thesis is presented in five chapters: an introduction, a systematic literature review, an empirical study methodology, an empirical journal article and the implications for educational and psychological practice. The systematic literature review synthesised qualitative and quantitative research published since 2000 on how teachers in mainstream primary schools understand and support bereaved students. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings highlight the role of teachers in supporting bereaved students and their need for more support and training. The empirical study analyses secondary data from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) longitudinal cohort study, using three waves of data (at ages 9, 13 and 17/18). Using multivariate analysis methods, this study examines whether parental death has an impact on the educational outcomes of a young person in the context of the Irish school system and whether this relationship is moderated by self-concept. Findings showed that parental bereavement did not impact academic achievement at age 15/16 when demographic and socioeconomic covariates were accounted for. While the death of a parent had a significant effect on academic self-concept, academic self-concept did not moderate between the death of a parent and academic achievement. Finally, the implications for educational and psychological practice that stem from the findings are discussed using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework.