Asset-Based Responses to Grief and Loss Among Malawian Community-School Educators

Background and Purpose: Malawi also known as “The Warm Heart of Africa,” possesses rich natural resources and simultaneously struggles with health epidemics and environmental stressors, compounded by poverty and educational challenges. Resulting in increased vulnerabilities for children and families, while impacting educational outcomes ^1,2.

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is globally recognized as both a conceptual framework and a method for centering the strengths and resiliencies of communities viewed as under-resourced by Western standards ^3–5. An ABCD perspective prioritizes local wisdom and knowledge while considering various assets, including relationships, processes, and collective visions for the future ⁵ .

Methods: As part of a 15-day faculty-led service-learning program, researchers from the United States collaborated with educators at a local Malawian community school to understand the cultural and contextual considerations of applying an ABCD framework in schools. Researchers facilitated semi-structured individual interviews with five educators to extend knowledge and perspectives of: (1) grief-related experiences faced by children and families within Rise Community School (RCS), (2) educators’ responses to the experiences of grief and loss, and (3) resources available to children and families when confronting grief-related challenges.

Results: Using Braun and Clark’s Reflective Thematic Analysis ^6–8, to analyze the data, researchers generated three interrelated themes underscoring ABCD principles: (1) loss experiences and responses are varied and interconnected, (2) relationships serve as a foundation for action across the school and broader community context, and (3) future responses to loss emphasize practices that will build, leverage, and mobilize both individual and community assets.

Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of strength-based asset-oriented perspectives when engaging within global community contexts; highlighting the value of cross-cultural, transnational, interdisciplinary collaborations within the school context for advancing the Social Work Profession. Such community-engaged research and learning partnerships draw emphasize opportunities to reimagine local assets, resiliencies, and relational practices that can serve as critical responses to the losses faced by vulnerable children.

References

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