The need for culturally responsive teaching in death education: a call to action.

Abstract

With an aging population growing in size and diversity, more older adults will need support from the future geriatric workforce. Professional services will face issues related to end-of-life, making knowledge about death, grief, and loss essential. Most, however, report inadequate access to gerontological, geriatrics, or death education, particularly delivered with cultural humility. Colleges/universities can help fill this gap through formal death-and-dying-curricula, but faculty often feel unprepared to teach these sensitive topics. This study explored the experiences (e.g. lessons learned, best practices) of 27 instructors teaching death-related courses via semi-structured interviews. A consistent concern emerged among faculty regarding limited resources on cultural diversity. This prompted a post-hoc analysis of the existing data via a deductive content analytic approach to explore how a culturally responsive-sustaining (CR-S) education framework could inform future work. Evidence to support all four principles of CR-S emerged and three additional principles were identified that may build on the CR-S framework. Findings emphasize the need for more culturally relevant materials and multidisciplinary course delivery. We offer actionable suggestions for integrating cultural humility into death education and advocate for amplifying diverse voices in the field.