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By this Covey means that when we work together Sergiovanni (1994), Hunter (1994) and Treston (1989)
in a relationship we can achieve greater total success suggest that at the broadest level we need to have a
and personal happiness than the sum of what two sense of belonging to a community and that the values
individuals could attain independently. In addition, he of all communities should be modelled on those of the
emphasizes the need for individuals and the commu- positive, functional family. In the ‘ideal’ family there is
nity, as a whole, to have a mission at both the unconditional love, consideration of the needs of
community and the personal level. The community others and this sometimes means putting the needs
mission needs to be one that is shared by all members of the family as a whole unit before individual needs.
of the community, promoting a sense of ownership Compassion, understanding and empathy are just
and belonging. Success and personal happiness require some of the characteristics of a family that school
a sense of purpose and direction to give individuals communities might aim to emulate.
and communities goals to strive for and the unity to
work collaboratively to achieve them. Therefore, One must acknowledge that in using the ‘family’ as a
according to Covey (1999), within the context of the model upon which schools are to base themselves it
school setting, it is also necessary to work interdepend- must be realized that this is an ideal, that it does not
ently, to set and achieve goals collaboratively and to exist in perfect form in reality. Naturally enough, in
promote a harmonious community environment. The schools there is large variety in relationships among
relationships are not stratified or inhibited by patri- the students, parents, teachers and the wider commu-
archal hierarchies and therefore all persons being equal nity. The aim of the family, the school and the
are free to contribute to the school (community) in community is to strive to achieve the best possible
their own particular way. For this to happen a truly relationships in the circumstances in which they find
collaborative approach is required in practice, not themselves.
merely a rhetoric espousing collaboration when the
reality is actually dictatorial. Treston (1989, p. 5) suggests that:
At the theoretical level, the view of ‘Symbolic Inter- Pastoral care is developing empathetic relationships
actionism’ is that we derive our understanding and so that the people in the school community are
associate meanings through our interactions with nurtured into wholesome maturity. Pastoral care is
others. These meanings and our understandings are an expression of the philosophy and vision of the
learned from birth and are instilled in us as we develop school.
within the surrounds of our culture (Cohen, 1985). This
theoretical perspective proposes that we develop and According to Bolton (1987) there are three main
express these common meanings linguistically. It is principles of any relationship in any situation, which
necessary for schools to understand pastoral care at the need to be considered. The first he suggests is, open
theoretical level before implementing changes at the and honest communication and for this to be possible,
practical level. it could be argued that, there needs to be a high degree
of trust and integrity so that each person is able to
The danger inherent in implementing change without learn to become more relaxed and reduce anxiety.
thorough understanding of the theory behind the Having more of one’s personal and professional needs
change is to leave oneself open to faddism (Sergio- met is going to result in a more effective relationship.
vanni, 1994). One such example of educational Learning social skills that form closer interpersonal
‘faddism’ occurred in Western Australia in the early relationships is also essential. This first principle would
1990s with the introduction of ‘First Steps’, a pro- also be supported by Covey’s notion of ‘character ethic’
gramme designed to identify the educational needs of (1999).
students at risk. This was adopted on an ad hoc basis
across the board by educational bodies both govern- By this he means being able to communicate one’s
ment and private. Teachers were forced to implement positive and negative feelings, thoughts and emotions
the developmental continuum without having a solid without experiencing undue amounts of anxiety or
understanding of the original theoretical background. guilt and without violating the dignity of others. The
The result was a dramatic and unnecessary increase in second principle is taking responsibility for what
the workload of teachers, which in some cases saw the happens to one in life. This involves making more
abandonment of sound teaching pedagogy. decisions and free choices, being a friend to oneself
and maintaining one’s own dignity and self-respect.
Relationships occur at a multitude of levels and meet The third is recognizing that one has certain rights and
the basic human desire for a sense of belonging. a value system that need not be sacrificed, that one is
Through our interactions within the school community able to protect oneself from being victimized and taken