Nature and Importance of Pastoral Care in Schools - Literature review Example

Nature and importance of pastoral care in schools PART A Introduction According to Pufall and Unsworth (59), pastoral care programs in schools are meant to ensure the wellbeing of students. Wellbeing refers to the totality of a student’s life at school. It touches on their physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects (White). Wellbeing emphasizes promotion of good relationships between students and teachers; students and students; teachers and teachers and between the school management and parents. This enhances quality education and extracurricular activities in school. Pastoral care can be defined as the ministry of care and counseling provided in the area of spiritual and personal development by the various parties concerned with the student life. Care providers within schools are mostly school chaplains, counselors and teachers. It is important to note that for the needs of students to be met easily, pastoral care programs must not omit the inclusion of teachers, parents or caretakers and the school management in their implementation. Browne and Haylock (31) suggested that teachers need to understand that a relationship of respect, care and mutual trust with their students can be therapeutic and can facilitate their fast recovery. The role of parents and the society from which students come is also evaluated since they influence the social values of young people. This is to say that the environment of a student is crucial to their total wellbeing. Pastoral care givers have the tasks of assisting students with their developmental problems. This is because the adolescent stage of development comes with a lot of stress to most teenagers, leading to their inability to cope with the challenges of this stage. They work with students with this kind of difficulty to help them build life skills and coping skills. A lot of this work has to do with strengthening the esteem of the young people as well as developing their awareness and self-identity. Pastoral care givers are also involved in teaching students how to study effectively by managing their time and enhancing their study skills (Dykstra 62). Students are further taught on how to deal with conflict daily in school. Managing anger and self-control are taught as spiritual values that need to be emulated and practiced. Self-discipline and the ability to make right choices and decisions are taught together with the spiritual and moral implications of not observing them. Pastoral care programs also deal directly with the identity of young people in relation to their spiritual purpose, their attitudes in life, and in addressing both their strengths and weaknesses. Pastoral care programs present in schools mainly deal with the welfare of students. Pastoral care deals with family breakdowns and divorce, bereavement and loss, physical and sexual abuse, friendship problems, non- attendance, low self-esteem and emotional difficulties among other issues. Today’s young people find themselves in families that are broken due to separation and divorce. Consequently, they lack complete parental affection. It is difficult to raise children single handedly. A single parent may not have adequate time for their children because he or she may be too pre-occupied in seeking family livelihood. Today’s children therefore find themselves under the care of employed nannies instead of their parents. Such a child’s self-esteem grows to be injured. However, with the help of pastoral instruction based on sound biblical teachings, their value as human beings could be enhanced. Technology has now become the agent of socialization for young people. Wrong social and moral values are likely to be picked through social networks over the internet. It is the duty of pastoral directors to equip young people with the ability to make right choices in what they watch and do. They should also be made aware of the moral and social consequences of any behavior they engage in. More young people in today’s era are growing up in hostile family environments where violence is the every day occurrence. They end up to be weak individuals devoid of a strong self-identity and are susceptible to the social pressures of sex, drug use and materialism. Resilience This is the ability of a student to bounce back after a drastic event has occurred to them. It is greatly related to their connectedness with fellow students, teachers and parents. There is need for a student to have the capability to resume normal functioning after a traumatic experience so as not to suffer too much damage and loose time. A pastoral teacher can be of help to such a student in providing a conducive environment of trust where the student can talk about their feelings. The teacher is in a better position to offer support to the student as well as strengthen their belief in the ability to cope with the hard situations. This can be done through training in issues of self-esteem and affirming as well as celebrating their past achievements. Relationships in schools School relationships should be based on the respect of the individual. How students behave towards each other and towards their teachers has a great impact on their ability to be learn and be emotionally stable. A poor relationship between a teacher and a student could cause the student to fail in that subject. School programs should value human dignity and structures should be developed where students are taught on how to relate with others. Teachers should be available as a source of support for students in their academic challenges. However, firm boundaries should be observed between students and teachers as this promotes respect between the two parties. Eating disorders and self-harm Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa which is starving oneself by choice and Bulimia Nervosa is binge eating followed by vomiting. The bad habits are caused by low self-esteem. Other self destructive behaviors among students could be cutting oneself, overeating, overdrinking, promiscuity and substance abuse. It is important to have pastoral care programs that address such issues so that a student is helped to overcome such behavior and learn better coping mechanisms. Pastoral care providers can walk the student through lessons of coping skills, enhance their self-esteem and show them the moral and spiritual implications of their indulgence. Students can also be nourished spiritually and helped to understand that these kind of behaviors stem from internal impoverishment. They can also be requested to try practicing calmness through meditation every time they feel like harming themselves. Bullying This can be described as behavior that is usually repeated over time and which is intended to hurt another individual or group physically or emotionally. It is deliberate and involves power imbalance between the bully and their victim. It is important for this issue to be addressed in schools because not only is it rampant, but also could lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression or even suicide in the victim. Bullying takes the forms of name-calling, kicking, hitting, pushing, inappropriate touching, harmful rumors, or taking others’ belongings. A pastoral care provider should encourage respect among students and challenge all forms of prejudice and promote equality. Teachers should also be cautioned against using degrading language on any student in the classroom. Counseling can be conducted with the bullying student to find out why they are doing it. Parents should be included in such a process so that the home environment of the bullying student is evaluated. PART B Teenage and childhood depression Depression is a serious mood disorder which in children is hard to differentiate from normal moodiness. Children and teenagers who are depressed exhibit certain antisocial behaviors. They tend to be grumpy, sad, and bored most of the time. They cease to take part in activities they once enjoyed. Problems with sleeping and eating are also very common. This could take a toll on their studies if the problem is not corrected. Through pastoral care, students can be helped to examine how their negative thinking patterns impact on their moods (Hedahl 30). They can be taught how to think in a positive and constructive manner. Students can also be taught coping mechanisms of dealing with the stress that triggers depression. It is important for them to learn that worrying about a situation beyond their control does not change it, but rather just aggravates their moods. Teenagers and children need to be given plenty of time both by their teachers and parents where they can just talk and be listened to. For relaxation purposes, they can be encouraged to engage in extra-curricular activities such as games, as well as social events in the school instead of withdrawing from others. Drug use and abuse When a child takes drugs or any other chemical substances for any other reason apart from treatment of sickness, they are said to be abusing that element. It is critical for schools to have mechanisms in place through which they can respond to students with this problem. Due to the stresses of life and the pressures to perform well at school, students can easily give in to drug use. Pastoral care providers should concentrate on raising the self-esteem of a student that is using or abusing drugs. Such a student needs also to be taught on the moral and social consequences of drug addiction (Kielbasa, 165). All students in general can benefit from training on the nature and process of drug addiction and taught how to say no to the social pressures that can lead to drug use. An individual who is already abusing drugs would need a lot of life skills. This helps them know how to direct their energy to other helpful activities in the school. For example, they can be pro-active in the extra-curricular activities of the school community. Teachers should also be instructed on how to manage the behavior of a student who abuse drugs. Most importantly, the spiritual resources of such a student need to be nourished so that they can have the inner strength and remain strong. Multi-cultural tensions These are tensions that arise among students due to difference in race, ethnicity and culture. It is important for the school community as a whole to uphold the values of respect, equality and non-prejudice in the sharing of opportunities and resources. Teachers can be good role models in not being partial while dealing with students in class. Chaplains can stress the importance of equality as a biblical teaching, drawing on the fact that we have all been created in the image of God. Teachers or pastoral counselors can assist students to find their identity by asking themselves questions such as, who am I? Why was I created like this? Finding one’s identity and life purpose is one way of ensuring that students from minority races do not fall prey to inferior complex. Gender, identity, self-esteem and teenage suicide Gender refers to being either female or male defined by the roles and expectations of being either. It is important for pastoral counselors in schools to have the ability to address this concern because some young people struggle with who they are in terms of their gender. Identity and self-esteem go together and refer to how a person views self and whether this makes them feel better about themselves or breeds personal hatred. Teenage suicide, which is the third leading cause of the death of 15-24 year olds, is described as the act of causing one’s own death intentionally. All the above problems in students are rooted in the lack of a solid sense of self-worth (McNiff 39). Teachers who provide pastoral care to students should begin by helping them evaluate how they view themselves and how they feel about themselves. There is need of the counselor’s ability to challenge the wrong beliefs about the self. It is important for teachers to take time and create an environment of trust where a student is free to open up about their struggles. Confidentiality should also be observed. Any thoughts or mention by a student about killing self should be taken seriously. Students can be assisted to see how their persistent negative thoughts lead to a low-self esteem which on the other hand triggers suicidal thoughts. The school should work together with the parent of a suicidal student to investigate the environmental factors at home that impact negatively on the student. This will help the concern teachers and parents address the issue adequately. Bereavement, divorce and separation The loss of a loved one through death, or a parent through separation by a law order or by choice, is very devastating to the emotional and mental health of a student. McCall (31) claimed that since divorce and separation have become the daily occurrences of many American families, it is important for the school to ensure that pastoral counselors are equipped to deal with this challenge. The school should provide a caring and supportive environment for the student experiencing these kinds of losses. They should be made to feel a part of a community that cares for them and integrates them. Both teachers and students should be trained how to deal with the needs of such students, and how to offer support. Pastoral care in this context could also include learning of coping skills by the bereaved student. They can learn how to vent their anger and other emotions through journaling. Parents should not be ignored in such a program. They should be provided with both psychological and spiritual counseling services and should also be taught on how to help their children deal with the loss (Patton 241). Chaplaincy, Counseling and God centered pastoral care. A chaplain refers to a spiritual director, priest, pastor, or clergy that is a representative of a faith or a belief. Such an individual if placed within a school institution would be very helpful in addressing the spiritual issues of the entire school community. Most chaplains have had to do a lot of counseling therapy besides offering spiritual support. The kinds of services offered by chaplains are God-centered, meaning that they draw on God’s love, wisdom. They also help to nurture and assist students heal or recover form a devastating event. Chaplains offer trust and safety for those coming to share. Teachers, parents and students can find a refuge where they can share their struggles, fears, problems and heartaches without the fear of betrayal (Doehring 86). This kind of confidential sharing can also lead to the restoration of the identity of the individual. Sources Browne, Ann and Derek Haylock. Professional Issues for Primary Teachers. London: Sage, 2004. Doehring, Carrie. The practice of pastoral care: a postmodern approach. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. Dykstra, Robert. Images of pastoral care: classic readings. Kentucky: Chalice Press, 2005. Hedahl, Susan. Listening ministry: rethinking pastoral leadership. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004. Kielbasa, Marilyn. Ministry Resources for Pastoral Care. Winona: Saint Marys Press, 2004. McCall, Junietta. Bereavement Counseling: Pastoral Care for Complicated Grieving. London: Routledge, 2004. McNiff, Jean. Rethinking pastoral care. London: Routledge, 1999. Patton, John. Pastoral Care in Context: An Introduction to Pastoral Care. Westminster: John 2006. Pufall, Peter and Richard Unsworth. Rethinking childhood. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2004. White, Helen. Methods of Teaching. 13 Nov. 2010. . Read More