Student teachers’ opinion of the pastoral role module in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education programme

The Norms and Standards for Educators (2000) recognises a well-defined community, citizenship and pastoral role as one of seven roles of a competent and qualified educator. In 2005 a module dealing with the pastoral role was introduced as part of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE – Senior Phase and FET) programme in the institution under study. The aim of this article is to report the outcomes of an empirical study of student teachers’ opinion on the module. A group-administered questionnaire was used to determine student teachers’ opinion regarding the extent and the adequacy of the module to prepare them for their future pastoral role. The student teachers have an overall positive opinion of the module. Grove's pastoral community model is put forward to enhance the quality of the pastoral role training provided in the programme.