A Framework for Studying School Student-Family Reunification:Towards an Empathetic Approach to School Safety

Abstract

This theoretical paper proposes a conceptual and methodological framework for educational leadership to contribute to productive student-family reunification practices in school emergencies using politics of education literature and participatory design methods. A critical, scoping review of current reunification literature in disaster and emergency medicine research identified themes and needs in school emergency preparedness research. Findings from the critical review of family reunification literature indicate a need to understand families’ epistemologies and ontologies in school emergencies. In particular, reunification researchers should make sense of how families are included in decision making processes and the impact of leaders on reunification policies and practices. As schools and communities design student-family reunification procedures, learning sciences approaches hold promise for ensuring their designs are equitable.