The Pedagogy of Loss and Grief
Developing Grief Literacy
Course Description
Grief Literacy refers to the ability to recognize, understand, express, and meaningfully engage with experiences of loss and grief across the lifespan. Developing grief literacy enables individuals and communities to respond to loss with empathy, critical awareness, and emotional competence, while acknowledging the cultural, social, spiritual, and ethical dimensions of grief.
This course explores loss and grief not only as individual emotional experiences but as deeply relational, cultural, and pedagogical processes. Participants will be invited to reflect on how grief shapes identity, memory, relationships, and meaning-making, and how educational and creative practices can support people—children, adolescents, and adults—in living with loss.
The course offers a balanced combination of theoretical grounding, experiential learning, and reflective practice, drawing on philosophy, psychology, sociology, pedagogy, religion, and the arts.
Training Program
Day Activities
- Welcoming of the Participants
- STANDOutEdu Overview
- The necessity of grief literacy in contemporary societies Loss and grief as lifelong experiences
- Theoretical framework: From Death Education to Grief Literacy Purpose, objectives, and pedagogical approaches
- Exploring loss through children’s and young adult literature (workshop)
- Brief introduction of: Loss and grief through the lenses of Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, Sociology, and Pedagogy
Day Activities
- Cultural diversity and meaning-making in grief
- Educational and reflective approaches using literature, cartoons, and film
- Brief introduction to the role of memory in grief processes
- Personal and collective memories
- Research findings: challenges, dilemmas, and emotional labour of educators and facilitators
Day Activities
- Exploring memory through literature and short film
- Introduction to photovoice as a method for engaging with memory and loss
- Brief introduction to designing reflective and dialogical spaces for discussing loss and grief
- Workshop: engaging with loss through a children’s book written with grief literacy in mind
- Critical discussion of pedagogical approaches
Day Activities
- Photovoice workshop: seeing, narrating, and sharing experiences of loss
- Brief introduction to understanding children’s grief: needs, misconceptions, and adult responsibilities
- Lessons from Lions and Dinosaurs: what Disney films teach us about grief (based on Greg Adams’ “Lessons from Lions”)
- Grief beyond childhood: grief as a universal and lifelong human experience
- Reflection, integration, and closing dialogue
Day Activities
- Final activities
- Course evaluation
- Certificate of Attendance awarding
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Develop grief literacy, understood as the ability to recognize, understand, express, and respond meaningfully to experiences of loss and grief across the lifespan.
Acquire pedagogical and experiential tools to facilitate conversations about loss and grief with children, adolescents, and adults in educational, community, and professional contexts.
Support learners in recognizing and coping with loss and grief, fostering emotional awareness, empathy, and resilience.
Encourage reflection on mortality and finitude as part of a meaningful engagement with life, relationships, and values.
Explore loss and grief both emotionally and intellectually, integrating affective experience with critical reflection.
Critically engage with the moral, religious, spiritual, cultural, and ethical dimensions of loss and grief in diverse social contexts.
Understand the role of memory, narrative, and meaning-making in individual and collective grief processes.
Although examples from educational settings are included, the course is not limited to schools and is relevant to educators, youth workers, trainers, caregivers, facilitators, and professionals working with people of all ages.
Upcoming Sessions
If you are a group of 4 or more from the same organization and don’t see suitable dates, email us your proposed schedule.
Need a course longer than 5 days? Contact us and we’ll be happy to customize a program that suits your needs.
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Course Packages
Bronze
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affiliations, recognition & collaborations
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Talk To Us!
Fill out the form to express your interest or ask questions. Our training coordinator will provide details and guide you through the application process. We look forward to welcoming you!