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Masters of Arts in Educational Studies with Distinction: Counselling (M.A.)

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2008-2014: Bangor University (in collaboration with Coleg Llandrillo)
Part-time taught course ran from Sept 2008 to June 2010
Part-time thesis submitted Sept 2013

 

Thesis

'Impact of Communication Skills Training on Pastoral Care' under supervision of Mr Phil Thomas and Dr Enlli Thomas

Literature in the field of communication has identified numerous critical factors associated with positive engagement (Egan, 1994, etc). The current investigation has identified ten key features of effective communication assembled from the literature across the fields of psychotherapeutic communication, pedagogical communication, and managerial communication, and evidence suggests that training in effective communication can support the development of these skills (Kuntze, Molen, & Born, 2009). These key skills are Other Focus, Attendance Indicators, Expressions of Understanding, Questions for Understanding, Sensitive Challenges, Selective Self-Disclosure, Signposting and Informing, Non-Judgemental Approach, Maintaining Boundaries, and Modelling. The research question under investigation in the current study was whether training in communication skills had a positive impact on the delivery of pastoral care to students in Higher Education. This research question was addressed through investigation into three topics: opinions about pastoral care in Higher Education, perceived importance of communication skills in pastoral care, and pastoral care confidence. Academics registered on a PGCert-HE course at Bangor University were invited to comment on these topics. The PGCert-HE is a compulsory training course for academics and PhD students who are new to the role of teaching. Questionnaires exploring these topics were administered before and after the delivery of communication skills training focusing on the ten key skills outlined above. An exploratory investigation of attitudes revealed that the participants appreciated the importance of effective pastoral care in enhancing academic performance and improving student retention, believed that pastoral care skills were trainable, and felt that pastoral care training should be institutionally available. Further analysis revealed a significant increase in the perceived importance of communication skills after the training event. The findings of this study also revealed a significant increase in confidence in the ability to demonstrate effective communication skills when delivering pastoral care after the training event and this confidence did not significantly decrease over the subsequent semester. Furthermore, responses on the final questionnaire indicated that all respondents felt that the skills training had a positive impact on their pastoral care abilities.Evidence from this research suggests that there is a clear need for embedding general pastoral care training into the induction process for academic staff in Higher Education. The wide variety of perspectives recorded in relation to pastoral care suggests that there is an absence of clear understanding about the pastoral roles and responsibilities of a tutor, and all participants reported a desire for further training in this field. Furthermore, the current study suggests that there is a significant benefit to the provision of specific communication skills training during induction and possibly refresher courses for all staff at regular intervals.

 

Modules

Advanced Counselling Skills 72%
Approaches to Counselling 1 71%
Approaches to Counselling 2 79%
Integration and Eclecticism 73%
Dissertation 74%

Placement

300+ hours supervised practice

1st Aug 2008 to 31st Aug 2010

Delwyn Hypnotherapy at Wrexham Wellness Centre
15hrs between August and September 08 (Supervision DCB group 3.5hrs per month)

Rape and Sexual Abuse Service
73hrs between August 09 and January 10 (Supervision WP 2hrs per month)

Bangor University Student Counselling Service
33hrs between January 10 and August 10 (Supervision LS 1.5hrs per month)

1st Aug 2011 to 31st Aug 2014

Bangor University Student Counselling Service
58hrs between October 11 and June 12 (Supervision LS 1.5hrs per month)
62hrs between October 12 and July 13 (Supervision TU 1.5hrs per month)
51hrs between October 13 and December 13 (Supervision TU 1.5hrs per month)

Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (UK Affiliate of Albert Ellis Institute)
12hrs between November 11 and December 11 (Supervision RB 2hrs per month)

Teaching

Scholarship