Experience, difficulties, and needs of French teachers welcoming students with cancer in kindergarten and primary school

Abstract

International research suggests that the success of re-entering school for cancer survivors is multifactorial. The quality of the school-family-hospital liaison and the promotion of social links between the child with cancer and his or her classmates appear to be central points. In France, the schooling of children with cancer is not frequently examined, and the teachers’ experiences are never discussed. The aim of our study is to investigate the professional practices and experiences of French teachers in kindergarten and primary schools welcoming students with cancer, regarding international studies, to contribute to improving the handling of these children. By using an international survey based on the Delphi method as well as qualitative data, we investigated the point of view of 66 French teachers working in kindergarten and primary schools. Both methods highlight that strong collaboration with parents, the information provided by medical staff, and social connections with classmates constitute needs for interviewed teachers. In parallel, keeping a constant link with the children and their families, raising the awareness of peers, and providing personalized support to the survivor student appear to be major resources for these teachers. In terms of difficulties, both methods attest that teachers request training and more support to manage both survivor students’ academic difficulties, peer awareness, and mutual understanding. Besides, qualitative results suggest a lack of efficiency in school-hospital liaison and in institutional support, which might be strengthened through standardization of the re-entry process and systematic monitoring of the school career of these children.