Pastoral care - experiences

[Fuuuuuckit]

Just that please - I'm interested in going into pastoral care (from support role in secondary), what are the highs, the lows, and what do you generally find are the issues/policies around behaviour problems?

Thanks in advance!

Are you thinking of student support roles at universities?

The biggest difference from a similar role in secondary school is that in HE your students are adults: you cannot involve parents in discussions without the student's express consent. Also, students are responsible for their own accommodation, food, etc. and social services have no obligation to make sure they have food & shelter as long as they are competent to make decisions on their own behalf.

You will almost certainly encounter students who are failing courses, possibly not attending, engaging in risky behaviours, unable to feed themselves, and possibly even homeless, and who refuse to allow you to contact their parents.

Mental health problems are rife, but you will already be familiar with this from secondary school. The impact of students' mental health on their flat/housemates will be something you also have to deal with, though. You may well have students who are unable to engage fully with their course because one of their flatmates is self-harming, threatening suicide, etc., or behaving in a way that disrupts everyone else's study.

Depending on the institution, you might have students who either don't want to be on their course or don't want to be at university at all, with decisions about course choices having been made for them by family or under excessive influence from school. Even where options to change course exist, some students will leave decisions much too late.

Especially after the disruption to schooling caused by Covid-19, many students will find coping with assessments (exams, in-course assignments with deadlines) very difficult to cope with. There won't be the same kinds of reminders to submit assignments on time, or very much timetabled preparation for exams.

Thanks @NoNotHimTheOtherOne, a lot that I'd not considered there. Are there many positives to such roles?

What sort of behavioural problems do you think adult students have? It's a peculiar thing to focus on - they're not school kids who have to be there - they've chosen to go.

MH is obviously a big issue, but one that is for qualified counsellors to deal with - are you qualified?

Otherwise you're generally dealing with issues around attendance (or lack of...), appeals, potential academic failure, pointing students in the right direction regarding applying for mitigation, or to health and welfare services etc.

Unless you're qualified you wouldn't really be dealing with students' issues, more signposting.

@Fuuuuuckit

Thanks *@NoNotHimTheOtherOne*, a lot that I'd not considered there. Are there many positives to such roles?

The positives would be that it’s very rewarding to help a student and see them succeed, or to see initiatives you’ve been part of go well. Depending on the uni it can also be a good work life balance, good working condition, good benefits and decent pay.

But it’s a completely different role to secondary pastoral support - it’s not really pastoral care as such, more the signposting and advice Titchy has mentioned.

Depending on the set up of the HEI you might also find that a lot of the things you’d consider pastoral care fall under personal tutors remits, who are academic staff.