Supporting Foundation Phase children experiencing disenfranchised grief

Abstract

A cultural belief held that young children lack the ability to experience grief, based on the assumption that children have not yet developed to understand, or to be emotionally affected, by the concept of death. 'Disenfranchised grief', a term first coined in 1989, refers to grief that escapes notice due to emotions not finding expressive outlets. Disenfranchised grief afflicts young children in particular. The aim of this study was to provide guidelines and identify support structures that teachers can use to help a child that is experiencing grief in the Foundation Phase classroom due to loss of a parent, sibling or grandparent. Multiple case studies were utilised to investigate children's experiences with disenfranchised grief within different contexts, and existing support systems for children who suffered the loss of a loved family member. Three Grade 3 learners experiencing grief were purposively selected from a state school to participate in semi-structured individual interviews, drawings activities and verbal narratives. Three themes emerged from the data: experiences of grief, emotional experience and support. The findings indicate that children do experience grief, but need support in giving expression to their emotions, and to process their losses. Recommendation is made to teacher-training institutions to incorporate counselling as part of their teacher-training curriculum.