Guiding Social Mobility? A Psychosocial Praxis for Pastoral Care in Teaching and Teacher Education

• In Event: International Views on Health and Well-Being in Education

Abstract

Critical studies in education illuminate how teachers engage in anti-oppressive pedagogies. However, the psycho-socialized pedagogies of pastoral care have not figured prominently in teaching for social justice. Drawing upon observational fieldwork and qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with teachers and support services staff in Hong Kong secondary schools (between 2017 - 2021), this thematic analysis reveals four institutionalized issues that explain the professional tensions shaping whether/how equity is addressed through pastoral care: 1) triumph of academics over pastoral 2) prioritization of learning and wellness over social mobility 3) relegation of pastoral responsibilities to ‘more qualified professionals’, and 4) unresolved relations of pastoral care with discipline and behaviour management. Implications for a psychosocial praxis responsive to equity are discussed.

Author

• Andrew Pau Hoang, Hong Kong University