Death and bereavement in Early Childhood Education institutions: the challenges in the pedagogical and curricular proposal

The challenges in the pedagogical and curricular proposal

Abstract

Death and bereavement are present in the daily life of early childhood education institutions in different ways, but they are not always addressed with children in the same way as other subjects in the curriculum of nurseries and pre-schools. The way in which society deals with death and mourning and the gaps in the training of Early Childhood Education professionals on this subject have an impact on the way in which this content is understood and dealt with in the day-to-day running of Early Childhood Education institutions. The search for knowledge and appropriate devices for dealing with death and bereavement in schools is an ethical, political and pedagogical requirement for all those involved. In the case of addressing these issues with children, it is essential to use languages that allow them to express their points of view and embrace their feelings and emotions, including dramatic play. It is hoped that this text will make significant contributions to the debate on death and bereavement in the field of education, to teacher training and to resizing the place of the theme of death and bereavement in the pedagogical and curricular proposal for Early Childhood Education.