Preparing for the future: understanding collective grief through the lens of the Kubler-Ross crisis cycle

Abstract

Purpose This paper explored collective grief through the case of a Business Management College which suddenly and unexpectedly went into administration. The aim was to gain and apply insight to future crises in collective grief such as what occurred during Covid 19. Design/methodology/approach 120 EVRE submissions with weekly reflective journal entries and 121 Capstone submissions including reflections were analysed as secondary textual data using content-thematic analysis and inferential statistics. Findings This study confirms the theory that grief is not linear. However, even though no positive correlation was found between two different cohorts (EVRE and CAPP submissions), who did experience the same crisis in different ways, those people did all seem to share the stage of avoidance. Research limitations/implications The textual data was limited in scope as not all students chose to express their grief through the written submission or the Kubler-Ross lens. Practical implications This research does suggest that initially, institutional responses to collective grief should address initial stages of “avoidance”. Social implications In responding to collecting grief, such as Covid 19, institutions need to recognise the non-linear process of grief and not expect a “one-size-fits-all” approach to be a viable solution. Originality/value There is not much research available looking at student experience and emotional pressures (if at all) collectively during a crisis.