Dataset Information

Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students.

ABSTRACT: The censorship of death-related issues is widespread in contemporary Western culture because the boundary between death and life is substantially managed in medical areas. In the context of Italian educational initiatives, to remove this limitation, 215 high school students in Southern Italy were educated on death through conventional and informal lessons. The students answered a questionnaire with open questions to survey their emotional and reflective experiences. Their answers were qualitatively, thematically analysed to explore how the representation of death can follow a death education course, and if this experience can be managed without harmful effects. The students' answers narrated how the course reduced their anxiety linked to these themes, on the one hand improving communication between peers by making it more authentic and empathic and, on the other, providing alternative perspectives on life. Indeed, the project offered an opportunity to discuss something strongly heartfelt but rarely faced, and the survey confirmed that the research objectives were fully achieved.

SUBMITTER: Testoni I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7407960 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students.

Testoni Ines I Palazzo Lorenza L De Vincenzo Ciro C Wieser Michael Alexander MA

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) 20200707 7

The censorship of death-related issues is widespread in contemporary Western culture because the boundary between death and life is substantially managed in medical areas. In the context of Italian educational initiatives, to remove this limitation, 215 high school students in Southern Italy were educated on death through conventional and informal lessons. The students answered a questionnaire with open questions to survey their emotional and reflective experiences. Their answers were qualitativ ...[more]

PMID: 32645853

Similar Datasets

Project description:One of the main goals for physical education is to develop the students' moral and ethical domain, where sportsmanship promotion is considered a key curricular component to tackle the achievement of this goal. This research aims to examine the influence of sport education on sportsmanship orientations in high school students. The participants were 148 (52.70% female; Mage = 17.04, SDage = 0.99) high school students who were randomized into an experimental group (n = 74), which received 16 basketball lessons under sport education conditions, and a control group (n = 74), which received 16 basketball lessons following a traditional teaching approach. Pre-intervention and post-intervention measures on sportsmanship orientations were collected in both groups. A 2 (time: pre-test and post-test) x 2 (group: Sport Education and Traditional Teaching) multivariate analysis of variance test was performed on the five sportsmanship orientations. The results showed, for time x group interactions, the absence of significant multivariate effects in the level of the five sportsmanship orientations among both groups at pre-test (Pillai's trace = 0.06, p = 0.145). At post-test, significant multivariate effects were found in the level of each sportsmanship orientation between both groups in favor of the Sport Education group (Pillai's trace = 0.38, p < 0.001). Furthermore, regarding within-group pre-test to post-test differences, while there were nonsignificant multivariate effects (Pillai's trace = 0.03, p = 0.469) for the Traditional Teaching group; significant multivariate effects (Pillai's trace = 0.43, p < 0.001) were found for the Sport Education group, showing an increase in the level of respect for social conventions, respect for rules and referees, and full commitment and respect for opponents. There were also nonsignificant effects across gender (inter-group analysis: Pillai's trace = 0.08, p = 0.068; time x gender interaction: Pillai's trace = 0.03, p = 0.497) and after-school sports (inter-group analysis: Pillai's trace = 0.02, p = 0.776; time x after-school interaction: Pillai's trace = 0.01, p = 0.981). In conclusion, sport education is an effective pedagogical model to be taken into consideration by physical education teachers in order to optimally promote the high school student's moral and ethical education via the development of sportsmanship orientations in the context of school physical education.

Project description:ObjectiveAlzheimer disease (AD) risk factors are present throughout the lifespan. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of various online education strategies concerning AD risk reduction and brain health in younger populations.MethodHigh school and college students were recruited via social media (Facebook and Instagram) to join AlzU.org, an evidence-based education portal, and were randomized to 1 of 4 courses: highly interactive webinar lessons narrated by actor Seth Rogen (celebrity webinar) or a physician (doctor webinar), minimally interactive video lessons with Seth Rogen (celebrity video), or minimally interactive video lessons (control). Surveys were administered at baseline and postcourse. The primary outcome was change in knowledge of AD risk reduction assessed by pre vs post lesson quiz scores. Secondary outcomes included change in awareness of AD research, hopefulness about AD, interest in pursuing health care, willingness to volunteer, and likelihood of recommending AlzU.org.ResultA total of 721 participants joined. A total of 281 (38.9%) completed the course. Among college students, quiz score improvements were greater in celebrity webinar and celebrity video vs doctor webinar and control. Among high school students, no differences were found in quiz scores. In both groups, celebrity webinar, celebrity video, and doctor webinar resulted in greater improvements in awareness that nutrition and exercise may reduce AD risk vs controls. Among college students, celebrity webinar and celebrity video group participants felt more hopeful about the future of AD and more likely to recommend AlzU.org vs doctor webinar and control participants. Among college students, celebrity webinar, celebrity video, and doctor webinar participants were more willing to volunteer for AD causes and pursue health care careers vs controls.ConclusionOnline education involving a celebrity may be an effective strategy for educating college students about AD risk reduction strategies. Further studies are warranted in high school students.

Project description:ImportanceDeaths from self-injury are increasing. Understanding the sources of risk is important for prevention and treatment.ObjectiveTo estimate the risks of suicide and drug poisoning deaths among adult men whose adolescent occupational expectations were not met in adulthood.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study included a sample of men interviewed as part of the High School and Beyond study, a nationally representative study of US high school sophomores and seniors in 1980, who were interviewed every 2 years through 1986; those who were sophomores in 1980 were reinterviewed in 1992. Men who survived to 1992 and reported occupational expectations were included in the present study. Death records prior to 2018 were linked to mortality databases and released in 2019. Data analysis was conducted from May to October 2020.ExposureOccupational expectations.Main outcomes and measuresSurvival or death by suicide, drug poisoning, chronic liver disease, heart disease, cancer, or some other cause, categorized from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and Tenth Revision codes. Competing risk Fine-Gray survival models regressed cause of death on adolescent occupational expectations and covariates.ResultsThe 11 680 men in the High School and Beyond cohort study had a median (interquartile range) age of 29 (28-30) years in 1992, when the analysis of their future mortality began. Most men survived until 2015 (11 060 [weighted percentage, 95.0%]). Reported causes of death were suicide (60 [weighted percentage, 0.5%]), drug poisoning (40 [weighted percentage, 0.4%]), chronic liver disease (20 [weighted percentage, 0.2%]), heart disease (130 [weighted percentage, 1.0%]), cancer (100 [weighted percentage, 1.0%]), and other (280 [weighted percentage, 2.0%]). Subhazard ratios for death by suicide and drug poisoning were 2.91 (95% CI, 1.07-7.88; P = .04) and 2.62 (95% CI, 1.15-5.94; P = .02) times higher, respectively, among those who in 1980 expected to hold a subbaccalaureate occupation that later declined in labor market share compared with those with professional occupational expectations. The actual job held by men did not attenuate the hazards of deaths from suicide and drug poisoning.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study, men whose occupational expectations were not met because of labor market declines were at a higher risk of death from suicide or drug poisoning than men with different occupational expectations. Interventions to mitigate labor market changes should account for individuals' expectational ideals.

Project description:Developing a position on a socio-scientific issue and defending it using a well-reasoned justification involves complex cognitive skills that are challenging to both teach and assess. Our work centers on instructional strategies for fostering critical thinking skills in high school students using bioethical case studies, decision-making frameworks, and structured analysis tools to scaffold student argumentation. In this study, we examined the effects of our teacher professional development and curricular materials on the ability of high school students to analyze a bioethical case study and develop a strong position. We focused on student ability to identify an ethical question, consider stakeholders and their values, incorporate relevant scientific facts and content, address ethical principles, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of alternate solutions. 431 students and 12 teachers participated in a research study using teacher cohorts for comparison purposes. The first cohort received professional development and used the curriculum with their students; the second did not receive professional development until after their participation in the study and did not use the curriculum. In order to assess the acquisition of higher-order justification skills, students were asked to analyze a case study and develop a well-reasoned written position. We evaluated statements using a scoring rubric and found highly significant differences (p<0.001) between students exposed to the curriculum strategies and those who were not. Students also showed highly significant gains (p<0.001) in self-reported interest in science content, ability to analyze socio-scientific issues, awareness of ethical issues, ability to listen to and discuss viewpoints different from their own, and understanding of the relationship between science and society. Our results demonstrate that incorporating ethical dilemmas into the classroom is one strategy for increasing student motivation and engagement with science content, while promoting reasoning and justification skills that help prepare an informed citizenry.

Dataset Information

Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students.

Publications

Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure