The Three Rs of Pastoral Care:

Relationships, Respect and Responsibility

MICHAEL GROVE, Faculty of Regional Professional Studies, ECU, Australia
The author argues that over the last twenty
years we have witnessed an evolution in
pastoral care that is unparalleled in any other
eld of education. There has been controversy
over the denition and these different views
are discussed. The paucity of research and
literature in the eld and particularly in
relation to the pastoral needs of teachers
and staff is emphasized.
In this paper it is suggested that the needs
of school staff in respect of pastoral care are
relatively neglected in the literature. Using the
three Rs of pastoral care relationships,
respect and responsibility this paper focuses
attention on teachers and their needs in the
workplace. It is argued that attention to
relationships, respect and responsibility
enables a proactive collaborative approach in
which all members of the school community
play a crucial role in the pastoral care of
students.
Keywords: pastoral care; staff needs; respect,
responsibility and relationships.
Introduction
In this paper, the Three Rs of Pastoral Care, refer to
the fundamentals of the sound practice of pastoral care.
More importantly, it could be argued that for students
to achieve success in the basics of education they also
need to experience success in the Three Rs of Pastoral
Care, namely, relationships, respect and responsibility.
This paper aims to go beyond the success of the
students alone and investigate the essentials for
developing a positive and healthy community. Whilst
this paper is written for the context of an educator in
the Catholic system in Western Australia, it is the
opinion of this researcher that the concepts and
principles addressed could be equally applicable in
other educational systems.
There is entwined among the complexities of pastoral
care the needs of school staff and it is on this particular
group that this paper will focus. It is this area of
pastoral care that has received the least amount of
attention in the past and, in which there is the least
information to be found in the current literature
(Lodge, McLaughlin and Best, 1992).
For the purpose of this paper pastoral care will be
dened as, all measures to assist an individual person
or a community reach their full potential, success and
happiness in coming to a deeper understanding of
their own humanness.
Relationships
The rst of the Rs refers to that of relationships, these
being the basis for all human interactions. To have a
relationship that is functional and positive there is the
need for open and honest communication. Feelings
need to be shared freely while respecting the rights of
the other. For this to occur it is necessary to have a
high level of trust so that there is the strength within
the relationship to weather the storms that are part
and parcel of human interaction.
Covey (1999) uses the analogy of the Emotional Bank
Account. In all our interactions with others we are
either making emotional deposits or emotional
withdrawals. Where there is a high emotional bank
balance there is enough trust within the relationship
to ride out a few storms with the relationship more or
less remaining intact. However, in the reverse situation
where there have been continual emotional with-
drawals, trust is low, communication becomes difcult
and fragmented where misunderstandings are likely as
each person is walking on eggshells. Covey takes
34 PASTORAL CARE JUNE 2004
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R
Diagram 1.1. Grove 2003
relationships one step further, suggesting that in a
positive relationship where there is a high level of
interdependence rather than independence; that
one add one equals three.
By this Covey means that when we work together
in a relationship we can achieve greater total success
and personal happiness than the sum of what two
individuals could attain independently. In addition, he
emphasizes the need for individuals and the commu-
nity, as a whole, to have a mission at both the
community and the personal level. The community
mission needs to be one that is shared by all members
of the community, promoting a sense of ownership
and belonging. Success and personal happiness require
a sense of purpose and direction to give individuals
and communities goals to strive for and the unity to
work collaboratively to achieve them. Therefore,
according to Covey (1999), within the context of the
school setting, it is also necessary to work interdepend-
ently, to set and achieve goals collaboratively and to
promote a harmonious community environment. The
relationships are not stratied or inhibited by patri-
archal hierarchies and therefore all persons being equal
are free to contribute to the school (community) in
their own particular way. For this to happen a truly
collaborative approach is required in practice, not
merely a rhetoric espousing collaboration when the
reality is actually dictatorial.
At the theoretical level, the view of Symbolic Inter-
actionism is that we derive our understanding and
associate meanings through our interactions with
others. These meanings and our understandings are
learned from birth and are instilled in us as we develop
within the surrounds of our culture (Cohen, 1985). This
theoretical perspective proposes that we develop and
express these common meanings linguistically. It is
necessary for schools to understand pastoral care at the
theoretical level before implementing changes at the
practical level.
The danger inherent in implementing change without
thorough understanding of the theory behind the
change is to leave oneself open to faddism (Sergio-
vanni, 1994). One such example of educational
faddism occurred in Western Australia in the early
1990s with the introduction of First Steps, a pro-
gramme designed to identify the educational needs of
students at risk. This was adopted on an ad hoc basis
across the board by educational bodies both govern-
ment and private. Teachers were forced to implement
the developmental continuum without having a solid
understanding of the original theoretical background.
The result was a dramatic and unnecessary increase in
the workload of teachers, which in some cases saw the
abandonment of sound teaching pedagogy.
Relationships occur at a multitude of levels and meet
the basic human desire for a sense of belonging.
Through our interactions within the school community
we come to a common understanding of what it means
to belong to that particular group. It may also mean
that there is likely to be some form of consensus as to
the meaning associated with the term pastoral care.
Sergiovanni (1994), Hunter (1994) and Treston (1989)
suggest that at the broadest level we need to have a
sense of belonging to a community and that the values
of all communities should be modelled on those of the
positive, functional family. In the ideal family there is
unconditional love, consideration of the needs of
others and this sometimes means putting the needs
of the family as a whole unit before individual needs.
Compassion, understanding and empathy are just
some of the characteristics of a family that school
communities might aim to emulate.
One must acknowledge that in using the family as a
model upon which schools are to base themselves it
must be realized that this is an ideal, that it does not
exist in perfect form in reality. Naturally enough, in
schools there is large variety in relationships among
the students, parents, teachers and the wider commu-
nity. The aim of the family, the school and the
community is to strive to achieve the best possible
relationships in the circumstances in which they nd
themselves.
Treston (1989, p. 5) suggests that:
Pastoral care is developing empathetic relationships
so that the people in the school community are
nurtured into wholesome maturity. Pastoral care is
an expression of the philosophy and vision of the
school.
According to Bolton (1987) there are three main
principles of any relationship in any situation, which
need to be considered. The rst he suggests is, open
and honest communication and for this to be possible,
it could be argued that, there needs to be a high degree
of trust and integrity so that each person is able to
learn to become more relaxed and reduce anxiety.
Having more of ones personal and professional needs
met is going to result in a more effective relationship.
Learning social skills that form closer interpersonal
relationships is also essential. This rst principle would
also be supported by Coveys notion of character ethic
(1999).
By this he means being able to communicate ones
positive and negative feelings, thoughts and emotions
without experiencing undue amounts of anxiety or
guilt and without violating the dignity of others. The
second principle is taking responsibility for what
happens to one in life. This involves making more
decisions and free choices, being a friend to oneself
and maintaining ones own dignity and self-respect.
The third is recognizing that one has certain rights and
a value system that need not be sacriced, that one is
able to protect oneself from being victimized and taken
PASTORAL CARE JUNE 2004 35 r NAPCE 2004.
advantage of by others. This involves learning to dis-
criminate as to when assertive behaviours may lead to
negative as well as positive consequences (1987, p. 117).
In the Catholic school, the notion of the collective life
also encompasses the parish community, due to the
history of Catholic schools originally being started,
staffed and funded totally by individual parishes. This
link is still an intrinsic part of the Catholic school
community. The Gospel values, which in turn are
derived from the Holy family, are central to the
Catholic school. The role of the Catholic school is to
emulate these same values for all the members of its
community. I deliberately choose the word emulate
over instil as it has for this author connotations of early
days of Catholic education where students were
indoctrinated rather than educated in the values of
the Catholic faith. It does, however, recognize that
there is a spiritual dimension to pastoral care. Some
authors, such as Cadmore (1997), go to some lengths
to distinguish between religious education and the
spiritual element of the human person that must be
acknowledged and catered for in the pastoral care
plans of the school community.
The focus centres more on what it means to be human.
This entails addressing some of the eternal questions
such as by whom or by what process were we created?
I would argue that there is a difference between
spiritual development and religious education in
secular and denominational contexts. However, it
could be argued that in our quest to come to an
understanding of our humanity and creation we have
to accept that we are all struggling to come to grips
with how we construct our knowledge and perhaps
experience a dimension of humanity that is beyond
logical reasoning. It could be argued that at the end of
the day we are talking about how the human person
experiences God. One may not use the term God or in
fact any deity, but are acknowledging the paranormal
dimension of our existence.
Although the relationships of students and teachers
were specically targeted in the opening paragraph
it is essential to understand that all members of the
community need to develop positive relationships for a
pastorally caring and functional community. The lack
of literature relating to the pastoral care of teachers is
notable and as Tomlinson (1995) contends, whilst the
pastoral care of students is of great importance, so too
is the need of teachers and school staff. Therefore,
in the context of the school all members need to feel
that they belong and are valued, not only for the role
that they play in the school community but also for
who they are as a person (Lodge et al., 1992).
Respect
The second R, is the notion of respect, which is a vital
ingredient in the development of positive, nurturing
relationships. We could all tell tales of schools where
we have worked in an environment where there is little
or no respect. These workplaces are destructive at both
the professional and personal level. Little is achieved
in this type of environment where there is a dominance
of individualism, with classes, teachers and parents
striving to attain their personal goals, often at the
overall expense of the needs of the whole community.
One of the common signs of such school communities
is the high turnover of staff and students and the
difculty of attracting staff to the school in the rst
place. This is not to say that all schools experiencing
difculty in nding staff are the ones with poor
pastoral care, as the reasons for these phenomena
are more complex than that.
However, good pastoral care is often associated with
schools where people are respected and valued and the
community is dynamic, enthusiastic and vibrant. One
of the common characteristics of such schools is the
respect accorded to all persons within that community.
Whether the person is the school cleaner, single parent
or student with an intellectual disability is of no
signicance in such schools. They are not hierarchical
systems, but communities where all persons are
welcomed and valued for the contribution that they
bring in their own giftedness as a person. In many
schools the hierarchy of roles can confuse or inhibit the
levels of respect accorded to various individuals.
One might argue that where the difference is
signicant there is a lack of respect given to a person
within the school community based purely upon the
role they play within the community, then there is the
potential for divisive grouping with a strong likelihood
of acrimony between groups. As Chittenden (1993,
p. 30) notes, in so called effective school and schools
known for their excellence there is a shared culture that
cuts across groups.
Regardless of a persons role in the school, it is
important to acknowledge that they can contribute
to the community beyond the scope of their duty
statement. A staff members value should not be
directly related to the job they perform. Respect should
be directed to any human person, for their intrinsic
value as a person rather than the task they may be able
to perform or the nancial or other kind of tangible
reward they may be able to offer.
A similar point is made by Covey (1999, p. 2) when he
describes a culture of character ethic as one:
where the traits of temperance, courage, humility,
sincerity, integrity, honesty, industry and thrift are
prominent within the community. The character
ethic taught that there are certain basic principles of
effective living and that people can only experience
true success and enduring happiness as they
integrate these principles into their basic character.
36 PASTORAL CARE JUNE 2004 r NAPCE 2004.
Therefore, in a community that respects a person for
their character rather than their job title or position in
the socio-economic ladder, there is a far greater chance
of obtaining an effective community that is functional,
successful and happy. It is important to note that
Covey (1999) does not equate success with monetary
wealth; rather the achievement of ones personal goals.
In the context of the Catholic school community, such
an attitude is underpinned by the gospel value that all
persons are created in the image and likeness of God
and therefore are persons worthy of respect because
we are all Gods children.
Responsibility
The third aspect of Pastoral Care is that of Responsi-
bility and is often one of the more problematic aspects
of developing a strong, effective pastorally caring
community.
The nature of society and schools is such that it is
impossible for any one person to take full responsibility
for the pastoral care of any school community. Given
that teachers often receive little or no formal training in
the pastoral roles that will be an integral part of their
school day, it is understandable that some are reluctant
to accept responsibility for the pastoral care of their
students or other staff members. High schools often
have year leaders, school social workers, school
chaplains and counsellors and are often able to offer
a degree of pastoral care to students and staff that are
not so readily available in the primary school. This is
not to say that high schools, by any stretch of the
imagination, have the ideal situation and are not faced
by different but equally challenging dilemmas. Neither
should this be understood as a claim in any way that
high schools are more successful in caring for the
members of their community. However, one might
argue that the nature and structure of the high school
is more conducive to facilitating the staff to assist in the
development of pastoral care procedures. The primary
school on the other hand is not as specialized in its
stafng arrangements. Its advantage, in most in-
stances, is the fact that primary school students for
the most part have the same teacher, the schools are
generally smaller than their high school counterparts
and so there is arguably a more intimate connection
between staff, students and parents.
Schools are forever changing and at the same time are
reective of societal changes. The only constant in the
world is change and for many this can be a point of
stress. Lodge et al. (1992) suggests that schools need to
take a more proactive approach to pastoral care rather
than the reactive methods employed in the past. There
is a place for individual casework in dealing with
unexpected crises as they arise. However, presenting
students and teachers with the social and emotional
skills needed to cope with challenging life situations
through a strong pastoral curriculum and in-service
training is of vital importance.
There will always be those who do not embrace
change, are resistant to it and face extreme crises in
trying to deal with it. Therefore, at any one given point
in time there are going to be any number of students,
teachers or parents who are having difculty in
managing some aspect of their life. For one person to
attempt to deal with the multitude of issues presenting
at any given time is neither practical nor desirable.
Every person within the school community or asso-
ciated with the school has responsibility in some form.
Teachers have a duty to attempt to meet the pastoral
needs of their students, that extends well beyond them
achieving academic success for that year, even though
it is an important part of their role. The difculty lies in
the fact that many teachers have had little or no
training in meeting the pastoral needs of the students
in their class and in fact also those outside of their
class. In this respect schools and institutions providing
preservice training have a responsibility to prepare staff
for their pastoral roles. However, some may have no
interest in this vital aspect of education, feeling ill
equipped to deal with the issues of students in our
contemporary society. A collaborative approach with
all members of the community taking on some role is
the model recommended by this researcher. Not only
does involving others in the pastoral care of the
community ease the workload of those responsible for
coordinating the pastoral care programme but also
gives each member of the community a sense of
belonging and self worth. This extends to bringing in
outside agencies when the issues at hand are beyond
the level of expertise within the immediate staff and
community.
Summary
The difculty for many schools is the vacuum between
the pastoral care needs of the school and the
theoretical and practical knowledge of how to ll that
void. For schools to effectively meet the needs of all the
persons in their community they need to think with a
community mindset. Sergiovanni (1994), in particular,
writes of the need to develop a we rather than I
mentality. He bases this assumption on the work of the
German sociologist, Ferdinand Tonnies (1887) who
suggested that a community that is predominantly a
gemeinschaft consists of like-minded people who
place the greater needs of the community before
personal goals. Hunter (1994) and Treston (1997)
adopt a similar stance. If schools are to keep up with
the plethora of demands being placed upon them in
the twenty-rst century, then the collaborative build-
ing of communities is essential. Within these commu-
nities relationships need to be built upon mutual
respect with responsibility shared across all groups
associated with the school.
PASTORAL CARE JUNE 2004 37 r NAPCE 2004.
It is the opinion of this researcher that further research
into the pastoral care of staff is needed to give the
theoretical support school communities need in
their endeavours to meet the future positively and
proactively.
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Correspondence
Michael Grove
Faculty of Regional Professional Studies
ECU South West Campus
Robertson Drive
Bunbury, WA 6230
AUSTRALIA
E-mail address: mgrove@student.ecu.edu.au
38 PASTORAL CARE JUNE 2004 r NAPCE 2004.