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Death--a plan for action in Nebraska schools
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the plans of action utilized in Nebraska public schools to contend with death situations that may have a physical or psychological impact on students and/or employees and to identify common components among these plans. Specifically, five research questions were designed to guide the study: (1) Have Nebraska superintendents encountered death situations during their tenure as superintendent? (2) Have Nebraska superintendents and their employees been involved in inservice related to handling death situations in the school? (3) Is there a need to develop or design a plan to handle death in Nebraska public schools? (4) How many schools in Nebraska have written plans and/or board policies to assist in coping with death? (5) What components should Nebraska schools include in a plan to address death situations? The population for this study included all Nebraska public schools having a superintendent during the 1988-89 school year. Of the 319 schools having a superintendent, 268 participated in the study. Through the use of a questionnaire and interview schedule, data were collected. Analysis of data seemed to support the following conclusions: (1) More than one-half of the superintendents had encountered a death situation while serving in the district at the time of this study. (2) Approximately one-third of the Nebraska superintendents had received inservice training related to handling death, and one-third had provided programs for their employees. (3) Only 33 superintendents, or 33 percent, participating in the study revealed their school had a plan for handling death, while 156 or 58 percent expressed a need for such a plan. (4) The four most common components included in plans for handling death situations were: counselors will be provided for students and/or employees; one individual in the district shall handle the media; specific roles of school employees will be identified and clarified; getting school back to normal as soon as possible is a priority.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Randall Alan, "Death--a plan for action in Nebraska schools" (1989). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9004696.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9004696