The article being analyzed in this paper is titled Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students by Testoni et al. (2020). The premise of this study focuses on the concept of death being avoided in all matters of sense (outside perhaps medical field) in Western culture and society. Thus, it creates an artificial boundary where it cannot be discussed or potentially felt thoroughly on an emotional or psychological level. The purpose of this study was to determine how a death education course taught to high school adolescents reflect on the emotional effects, roles of spiritual accounts, and value of life in the context of their own experiences and knowledge learned in this course. The researchers sought to create a healthy discussion on the different ways of conceptualizing death, which would clarify the existential values and self-understanding of the concept for the individual students (Testoni et al., 2020, p.114).
Sample and Methods
The participants for this study include 215 students from three high schools in the Italian rural countryside. The students were ages between 16 and 20 years old (majority 17 years of age), with 116 females and 99 males. The large majority, 82.8%, were of Catholic faith and believed in God (Testoni et al., 2020, p.115). The research design is most representative of correlational research, attempting to observe the effect of death education on student perceptions. The procedures included a comprehensive 5-month course led by health professionals and a religious expert, which included formal lessons as well as informal activities such as watching films or meditating on the concept of death. At the end, the high schoolers toured a local hospice and talked with the medical professionals there (Testoni et al., 2020, p.114-115).
Data Collection and Analysis
Due to the complex and holistic nature of the topic data analysis occurred through a psychological qualitative perspective with a thematic analysis. The sources were evaluated based on existing concepts of themes through two modalities – top-down which is theory based and bottom-up which is more grounded. Data collection method occurred by students filling out a comprehensive qualitative questionnaire at the conclusion with open-ended questions. The answers were carefully analyzed to identify any themes and sub-themes. Thematic analysis was done on the ATLAS.ti software which helped build thematic networks. The data was then coded and tested an emerging understanding (Testoni et al., 2020, p.116).
Results
The results identified four thematic areas which are listed and discussed below:
- Positive change – students identified a deeper understanding on the meaning of death and coming to peace with the concept or even seeing the positive. It allowed students to see better in existence and humanity, and the understanding has led to less confusion and a greater acceptance of life (Testoni et al., 2020, p.117).
- Changes between emotion and cognition – students experienced a greater empathic sensation towards death and those that are dying. They tried to understand the visions and experiences of death from the perspective of others. Some students indicated that their perception has changed, and the lessons have allowed them to come to a greater understanding of the topic, and not to make partial judgments.
- Reflecting on death, life, and afterlife – Here students reflected on different representations of death. Some see it as a passage in the afterlife, others continued to see it as the ultimate end, while others focused on the existentialist questions. For many, they found serenity on the topic of death, while also examining the quality of their own lives and others.
- Openness and confrontation with others – in this theme students reflected that they were able to understand other’s perspectives and emotions regarding death in a much better sense. In many cases, it allowed for discussions on the topic among peers, gaining insight into unique and individual perspectives, and the experiences they may have had with death, generally becoming more aware, sensitive, but inclusive of the topic ((Testoni et al., 2020, p.118).
Implications and Opportunities for Further Research
Although death causes significant anxiety and is an avoided topic in Western culture, this study showed that this can be managed in a healthy manner when directing thoughts and emotions through culturally significant existential content. The study finds that by growing to understand the concept of death and discussing one’s thoughts and experiences leads to healthy interactions, and ability to clarify their beliefs ((Testoni et al., 2020, p.118). This has significant implications for the educational, spiritual, and scientific communities. For education, potentially this concept of education could be introduced for all high school students, as it greatly impacts their perspective and development, potentially fundamentally changing their view on life. From a religious/spiritual standpoint, this indicates the necessity to discuss death only with the population, particularly younger generations, making people more aware of the concept. Finally, for scientific perspective, this opens up possibilities on further psychological research such as measuring how fear of death is impacted by such education and experiences, or whether behavior changes occur in individuals within a 6–12-month period after such education.
Limitations and Threats for Validity
The study’s primary limitation is that the students were not interviewed, but answered written questions, potentially shortening, or leaving out significant chunks of data. Furthermore, because the study is not longitudinal, it is unable to predict negative effects of such death education (Testoni et al., 2020, p.118). The potential threat to validity for the study is bias, as some people have an inherently biased perspective on death to their spiritual upbringing. A skewed radical bias can alter results significantly from a thematic analysis standpoint.
Reference
Testoni, I., Palazzo, L., De Vincenzo, C., & Wieser, M. A. (2020). Enhancing existential thinking through death education: A qualitative study among high school students. Behavioral Sciences, 10(7), 113-123. Web.