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Addressing the needs of lone-parent pupils.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Currently, in the U.K. there are 1.7 million lone parents with 3.1 million children. Children from households where there has been the death of a parent can experience significant difficulties associated with loss in self-esteem, self-efficacy and self-confidence, not only in the months that follow, but also, throughout the ensuing years. Common factors can be found between this group and those children experiencing loss through the separation or divorce of parents This paper argues that children's educational opportunities can be adversely affected following significant loss and that what is needed is an eclectic framework, which will assist educational professionals in meeting the diverse and individual needs of children who have experienced such loss.

Introduction

A growing awareness can be identified amongst educators regarding their perceived need to offer informed and meaningful support to children who have experienced loss following the death of a parent (Holland, 2001). Whilst each child's situation and the course of life following the death of a parent is unique, it is also the case that there are marked similarities between loss following bereavement and loss following separation and divorce (Robinson, 1991; Rowntree, 1998; Brown, 1999). Wallerstein and Blakeslee (1989) cited in (Brown, 1999) have, for example, described the longer-term effects of divorce as including "delayed emotional and social development; diminished capacity for parenting; increased danger of unrelinquished compounded grief from subsequent bereavements; over-burdening responsibility to role-play absent parents "(72).

A growing number of teachers and other relevant professionals are now recognising the need to develop an appropriate knowledge and skills base which will allow them to go further in responding effectively to those pupils, not just in the initial stages of loss after bereavement or divorce, but more particularly in the longer term. The problem of parental loss within school children is not a minor one, nor is it isolated to particular areas or strata of society. It has been estimated, for example (Wells, 1988), that in England and Wales, some fifteen thousand children experience the loss of a parent each year following bereavement. Whilst the number of widows is falling, the number of divorces is rising dramatically. In addition, there is an increase in the number of children living in lone-parent households where parents have chosen to live apart and remain unmarried.

The Need for a Conceptual Framework

Following significant loss, children experience emotions that are characterised by their intensity and by their newness. At the same time, they navigate the complexities of their social lives and academic life at school, often returning to homes characterised by sadness and anxiety, repressed anger and even depression. Painful feelings may be repressed during

the initial stages of loss and may surface only later during...

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