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MA in Counselling
Educational Support and Inclusion - Courses
Counselling Courses - MA Pastoral Care and Counselling
Skills
This is an innovative programme,
designed to promote inter-disciplinary understanding of the complex needs
of children and young people within the education system. It combines
existing units from three separate MA/MEd programmes, i.e. the MA in Counselling
Studies, MEd in Educational Psychology and MEd in Special and Inclusive
Education. These units are combined into a new area of study, with the
addition of a new unit in counselling skills. The programme promotes inter-disciplinary
teaching and learning, as it is expected that students will be participating
in units with other students following programmes in educational psychology,
counselling and special and inclusive education.
Background to the programme:
The reasons for developing the programme arise out of the convergence
of a number of key themes in current education policy and practice. These
include:
- a recognition of the high levels of mental health problems
amongst young people
- a policy shift within primary, secondary and tertiary
education towards greater inclusivity, with associated higher levels
of pupil and student support
- awareness of the inter-relationships between social
disadvantage, emotional literacy and educational attainment
- a growing range of complex and overlapping systems
for support of pupils and students, such as counselling, pastoral care,
mentoring, special needs support, mental health support, and personal
advice via Connexions, New Deal, and Learning Gateway
Proposed target audience:
Training provision for teachers, mentors, special needs staff and staff
with pastoral care responsibilities is currently fragmented and divided
according to professional specialism, rather than coherent and holistic
in nature. The programme therefore provides training for professionals
involved in pastoral care and counselling provision for young people up
to the age of 18 within the education system. This training is informed
by current best professional practice and linked to research evidence.
The course is designed to meet the needs of:
- teaching and management staff with pastoral care responsibilities
in schools and colleges
- learning mentors and Personal Advisors
- special needs coordinators
- supervisors and line managers of school and college
counsellors
The title of MA in Pastoral
Care and Counselling Skills has been chosen to give an attractive
and accurate representation of the focus and content of the programme.
It is intended to:
- clarify the secular and non-theological nature of the
award
- specify the intended level and outcome of counselling
competence, i.e. the use of counselling skills as a supporting element
of a primary role such as teacher
Entry requirements:
Candidates must be able to satisfy the general admissions criteria of
the University of Manchester and the School of Education regarding the
specific requirements for admission to the MA in Pastoral Care and Counselling
Skills:
a) a first degree of an approved university, or other
approved institution of
higher education, in a relevant subject; or
b) an approved professional qualification and appropriate
experience in a
relevant field, or,
c) an approved and relevant postgraduate qualification;
or
d) such other evidence of previous study and experience
as Senate, on the
recommendation of the Board of the Faculty of Education, accepts as qualifying
the candidate for entry to the course.
e) access to practice in pastoral care in education
The English Language requirement for Overseas students consists of a Pass
at IELTS test (available at any British Council Office) at score of 7.0
or TOEFL score at 600 = TWE 4.5 (paper based test) or 250 plus Essay rating
4.5 (computer based test)
Educational level of the
programme:
This is a programme at Masters level, designed as a postgraduate, postqualifying
award for professionals involved in the design, management and implementation
of counselling and support services for students and pupils in the education
system from primary level to Further Education level. The course is located
within the Educational Support and Inclusion Research and Teaching Group
of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manchester, which has
widely acknowledged expertise in undertaking research and providing training
and continuing professional development to practitioners in education
and related professional fields.
Staff teaching on the programme are involved in ongoing
research and scholarship e.g.:
- research into staff attitudes to undergoing counselling
skills training in a sixth form college
- research into the experience of students undergoing
the groupwork element of counselling skills training
- publication in the area of confidentiality and legal
aspects of counselling in schools
- RSF funded national survey of counselling provision
in secondary schools in England and Wales
- Research into the comparative effectiveness of counselling
methods for pupils in secondary schools for Behavioural, Emotional and
Social Disadvantage
Other staff who are involved in the delivery of the
modules are also engaged in research and publication in relevant areas.
Current research will directly inform teaching on the range of models
of counselling and pastoral care operating, for example in secondary schools,
and the debate within institutions about the relative advantages and disadvantages
of out-sourcing versus in-house provision of counselling services.
Course content:
The curriculum content will enable students to achieve the learning outcomes
by providing a broad-based, but theoretically rigorous coverage of key
aspects of contemporary support systems in education. This will be complemented
by the acquisition of effective interpersonal skills via a programme of
counselling skills training and assessment. The focus of the programme
is on the application of theory, skills and personal awareness to the
development, maintenance and evaluation of a range of appropriate support
systems, such as counselling within education. In order to facilitate
this process of student learning, the programme offers a rich and diverse
balance between different learning formats. This will cover:
- subject specific skills, in the field of counselling
skills, such as building rapport, using open questions, and summarising
responses
- knowledge and understanding of inclusive education,
classroom processes and professional aspects of pastoral care
- cognitive skills and transferable skills, in terms
of critical reflection and evaluation of current research, and of programme
management in pastoral care
- personal development of the student via involvement
in and assessment of interpersonal skills, reflective learning, group
work and use of a personal journal
Structure of the programme:
Year 1 : Semester 1- 30 credits
- Counselling Skills (Double course unit)
- MD 612 Understanding the development of inclusive schools
Year 1: Semester 2 - 30 credits
- Counselling Skills (Double course unit)
- MD 600 Alternative perspectives on special education
Year 2: Semester 1 - 30 credits
- Counselling skills in education
- Practitioner-Based Counselling Research
Year 2: Semester 2- 30 credits
- MD 504 Pastoral Care and Learning
- MD 528 Psychology of Learning and Classroom Processes
Year 3 Semester 1 and Semester 2 - 60 credits
Placement:
Students are required to have access to practice or to the management
of provision of pastoral care as part of the selection process, in order
to ensure career relevance and to facilitate research opportunities for
the dissertation.
Learning process:
The programme provides a route for a coherent learning process. The purpose
of the programme is to enable the student to develop interpersonal skills
appropriate for front-line professionals in education, such as lecturer,
learning mentor, personal adviser, etc. These skills are related to the
student’s institutional context, in school or college, through the
modules on pastoral care, and inclusive and special education. The emphasis
on a critical understanding, application and interrogation of these skills
is facilitated via the course unit on practitioner based research, and
the process of preparation for the activity of engaging with research
at postgraduate level. The course units and, critically, the review process
associated with the use of personal tutorials, will ensure that the central
core and identity of the programme revolves around the theme of pastoral
care and the provision of counselling skills within educational settings.
Learning approaches:
The programme uses a range of different teaching and learning methods
to enable students to achieve the required learning outcomes, taking into
account that these will be experienced practitioners with prior professional
experience to bring to their learning. Teaching methods will provide opportunities
for students to share these experiences via group discussion and seminar-based
sessions. Teaching methods include:
- Use of guided reading for seminar discussion
- Group discussion, work on set tasks and reporting back
- Oral presentation to the group
- Skills practice and assessment via use of audio-tapes
of counselling interactions
- Individual tutorials and dissertation supervision.
These methods will provide a broad and stimulating range
of learning experiences for students, which will also be accessible to
students with disabilities.
Learning outcomes:
The programme will meet the differing needs of students, while ensuring
that a common threshold of learning outcomes is achieved. These differing
needs could be grouped broadly in terms of management, counselling skill
development and research. Certain students may have a primary interest
in the design and management of student support systems, which would be
addressed within the programme. Others may have a focus on the extension
and development of their interpersonal skills within the context of student
support. Another group of students may have a particular interest in the
evaluation, monitoring and researching of student support systems. While
each of these interests is complementary to the others, and integral to
the programme as a whole, it is acknowledged that different students may
prioritise certain outcomes over others, and the programme needs to be
sufficiently coherent and flexible to respond effectively to these needs
within the context of their overall learning experience.
Exit Awards provided by the programme:
In terms of exit awards, students can exit the programme with:
- Postgraduate Certificate
in Pastoral Care and Counselling Skills: 60 credits. This would
require Pass for four course units, including a minimum of two course
units from the following: Counselling Skills (double course unit), MD
504 Pastoral Care in Counselling; Counselling Skills in Education.
- Postgraduate Diploma in
Pastoral Care and Counselling Skills: 120 credits. This would
require Pass for eight course units, excluding the dissertation.
- MA in Pastoral Care and
Counselling Skills: 180 credits. This would require Pass for
eight course units at the appropriate level, plus the dissertation.
Although the programme is not designed to provide counsellor
training as such, students could progress from this award to undertake
a Diploma in Counselling, on the basis of receiving Accreditation of Prior
Learning for units of the programme specifically related to counselling
skill training. This progression would be attractive to, and, in fact,
essential for, completing students who wanted to undertake a formal qualification
in counselling, in addition to the extensive grounding in counselling
skills provided by the programme. Students wanting to undertake more extensive
research activity on completing the programme would have the option of
applying to undertake a PhD or Professional Doctorate in Education or
Counselling within the Research and Teaching Group.
Teaching arrangements:
Teaching will take place on Tuesday afternoon
and evenings between 1.00pm and 8.00pm from September 2004 to June 2006.
There will be no formal teaching in the third year i.e. 2006/7, as students
will then be working on their research and on producing their dissertation.
Students will instead meet on a regular basis with their research supervisor
for individual tutorials in order to plan, carry out and write up their
research.
In addition, students are expected to keep in close contact with their
research supervisor regarding the progress of their research activity
via e-mail or telephone.
Course fees:
Course fees for a comparable MA course in the Faculty of Education were
£980 per year for 2003/4, and fees are expected to be £1000
approx for 2004/5. Fees can be paid in instalments by arrangement.
Summary:
The programme will enable students from a range of professional roles
and orientations within the education system to develop high quality practical
and essential interpersonal skills, with the opportunity to practise these
in appropriate work-based settings. It will provide learning and teaching
as a proper complement to evidence based practice in the area of pastoral
care and counselling provision in education. Finally, it will provide
key opportunities for students to undertake continuing professional development
and to take advantage of chances for career enhancement in a strategically
important aspect of educational policy.
Further information:
Information about and application forms for the MA in Pastoral Care and
Counselling Skills are available from:
Mary Boardman, Secretary for the Counselling Courses, Faculty of Education/ESI,
Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
e-mail: Mary.Boardman@man.ac.uk
phone: 0161 275 3510 / 3307
Peter Jenkins
Programme Director, MA in Pastoral Care and Counselling Skills
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