Pastoral and Wellness
When I began researching for this paper, I started reflecting and casting my mind to my student days. I don’t have a conscious recollection of a tutor discussing well-being or pastoral care with me or to my peers. Maybe it was theorised but not intently practised during my educational journey.
The term pastoral care was first used by Marland to signify ‘looking after the total welfare of the pupil’ in his book in 1974. He went on to specify that pastoral care has a ‘central educative purpose in itself’ and should not be substitutable with academic work. (Marland, 1974, pp. 8–9). In actual fact, the term can be traced back to the ancient Christian religious communities referring pastoral care to the role of the shepherds caring for their herds.
In recent years, even before Covid19, there has been renewed attention to pastoral care/well-being generally. Schools and Higher Education have identified a strong parallel between effective pastoral care in education and academic outcomes. By way of enriching the learners’ well-being ascertained higher retention levels for the Educational Institutes (Best, 2014). Effective pastoral care has been linked to greater academic engagement and performance. This has been linked to a sense of belonging to the institution by way of fostering nurturing relationships with peers (Furrer & Skinner, 2003). I can actually recall my experience as a learner amongst a few BAME communities in my cohort; there were events that required pastoral care from some of the learners. Unfortunately, I don’t remember it being addressed in a pastoral capacity. Whereas now, effective pastoral care/well-being has been identified as a solution to improve truancy and other forms of absenteeism and attainment (Reid, 2003).
More than ever, learners are experiencing remote, online and blended learning. The learners’ social, mental, physical, and emotional health is inextricably intertwined with their academic success. Therefore, there is an ever-growing need for pastoral care to improve learner experience and minimise attrition (Thomas 2006). The minimised interaction with peers had an adverse effect on confidence and sense of belonging. This is even more crucial when dealing with minority groups (Wooley and Ebdon 2020).
From my experience, educational settings need to foster a learning environment that promotes tolerance, resilience, fairness and equal opportunities for all. With such approaches, we should see a reduction in racism, inequality and discrimination and other hindrances to learning (Benard, 1995, pp. 3–4). Tutors have a duty of care to signpost relevant welfare agencies to the learner.
The tutor-learner relationship is not equal. Teachers have the position of trust, care, responsibility, authority and influence with their learners. This means that there is always an inherent power imbalance within the teacher-learner dynamic. With this in mind, here is a list of
When working with learners one must:
- Observing the confidentiality of learner information within the guidelines
- Acting professionally and with integrity
- Teach without discrimination or stereotyping
- Maintain the confidentiality of learner information
- Act professionally and with integrity
- Do not do something which is part of someone else’s role (Sarah Morgan)
References
Marland, M. (1974). Pastoral care. Heinemann Educational Publishers, London pp. 8–9)
Best, R. (2014). Forty years of pastoral care: An appraisal of Michael Marland’s seminal book and its significance for pastoral care in schools. Pastoral care in education, 175–185.
Furrer, C. and Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of relatedness as a factor in children’s academic engagement and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, [online] 95(1), pp.148–162. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.148. [Accessed 4 FEB. 2023]
Reid, K. (2003). The search for solutions to truancy and other forms of school absenteeism. Pastoral Care in Education, 21(1), 3–9.
https://journal.uwp.co.uk/wje/article/248/galley/267/view/ [Accessed 3 FEB. 2023].
Benard, B. (1995). Fostering Resilience in Children. ERIC Digest. (n.d.). Available at: https://mytraumainformedschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Fostering-resilience-in-children.pdf [Accessed 4 FEB. 2023].
Sarah Morgan www.shropshirealt.org.uk