The nature and extent of pastoral care in five Western Australian government secondary schools

The research is centred upon the nature and extent of pastoral care provision in five Western Australian Government secondary schools. The project took the form of five case-studies, set in schools which each had well established pastoral strategies in place. The schools plans and policies were influenced by contexts of State and Federal education programmes, by the community setting of each school, by community concerns, and by other priorities within the school itself. In the study, information was collected through interviews and written responses from school staff, through documentary evidence of plans and policies for pastoral care, and through the observation of meetings which related to pastoral concerns. The study found that each school had complex structures in place which were resource intensive and which were designed to deliver pastoral care. The basis of those structures rested upon the presumption that pastoral care delivery took place at classroom level, particularly in Form classes. Findings suggested that such delivery was adversely affected by time constraints, and by deficiencies in pre-service and in-service training For teachers in the area of pastoral care. The services of specialists in the schools had decreased due to expenditure restraints, at a time of increased pastoral demands. Little evaluation of the outcomes of plans, policies, and delivery structures for pastoral care was found.

Grantor dc:publisher

Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia

Year dc:date

1994

Author dc:creator

• MacDonald, W. L.

• Education
• Pastoral care
• Western Australia

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1101

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-2102