An exploration of contemporary pastoral care practices used by teachers and leaders in Australian Catholic schools and their connection to Catholic identity

Abstract

This research provides a snapshot of the perceptions of 14 teachers and leaders who had just completed the Pastoral Care and the School course, offered as part of their Master of Education programme by The University of Notre Dame, Australia (UNDA). The participants were surveyed at the completion of the course through a qualitative survey that included both open and closed questions. The survey was designed to provide a snapshot of their understandings of pastoral care practices from their course and experiences as teachers/leaders. Results indicated that 29% of the participants were unaware of their school’s pastoral care policy or programmes. Many envisaged leadership support and early career mentoring as influential in planning pastoral care interventions, considering 43% of participants were still in their early stages of teaching {3rd to 7th years of teaching}. Four common themes were found across the study that strongly link pastoral care to the heart of leading Catholic identity in a Catholic school. These were: providing a contemporary definition of pastoral care that links Catholic identity for staff; the role of pastoral care in supporting Catholic identity through sacramental programmes; the importance of leadership in providing clear dialogue to staff about pastoral care and student wellbeing concerns; and implementing training of pastoral care programmes to assist early career teachers. As such, pastoral care becomes more than knowledge about student or staff welfare, it embodies a key element of leading and promoting Catholic identity within a school itself.