Who enrolls in college death education courses? A longitudinal study.

A major concern for the pioneers in death education at the college level was the need to recognize those students who enrolled in the course in order to get help with death related issues, primarily suicidal thoughts and unresolved grief. Despite anecdotal evidence of these at-risk students, this concern has yet to be addressed adequately. This may be due in part to the paucity of empirical evidence. The authors bring over 30 combined years of experience in teaching death education at the university level. They have their own anecdotal stories. They also have empirical evidence. This article addresses the question of why students take death education courses in college by examining data collected from death education classes over a span of 20 years and 3 decades (1985-2004). The results document the magnitude and consistency of the at-risk student. The authors discuss the precautionary steps they take and call for a renewed discourse on ethical considerations in death education.