THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES YOUNG children's understanding of death. Research on this topic among preschool children is limited, especially in the context of Chinese culture. A total of 26 young children aged five to six years, drawn from two classes at a preschool in Hong Kong, participated in the study. In documenting children's views on death, this study contributes to an understanding of death education in a preschool context, and explores possible ways of helping children to cope with the associated emotions. Through the use of open-ended measures, the children were asked to describe their experiences and views related to death. The children's conceptions could be grouped into four themes:
1. causality
2. emotional reaction
3. death-related sociocultural practices
4. character status.
Finally, the various factors that contribute to children's understanding of death and use of coping strategies are discussed.
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