Editorial

Welcome to the first issue of Pastoral Care in Education for 2016. You will find five articles that report on research from different fields of activity. As you will see, three of the articles specifically look at the issue of bullying, but from differing perspectives. Also included is an article on the work of school nurses in Swedish schools, as well a contribution that looks at well-being and environmental action. The selection of articles for publication is always based on how useful they might be in increasing knowledge and understanding of the complex needs and challenges faced by many young people and the role of schools, and other institutions and organisations, in creating effective pastoral support systems, networks and activities. We welcome research-based contributions (normally around 6K words) as well as shorter critically reflective pieces (maximum 2.5K words) that meet our objectives.

Our first article focuses on the challenges faced by health service personnel in working in Swedish schools. The authors, Rosvall and Nilsson, specifically focus on the work of school nurses who support students with ‘recurrent pain’. Consideration is given to the difficulties that many young people face in securing appropriate support to meet their psychological needs and the difficulties they encounter in reporting mental health problems because of ‘stigma and embarrassment’. It is clear from the article that the building of trust between school nurses and students is an essential element in the development of effective relationships and interventions. Alongside this a strong case is made for the promotion of pedagogical practices that serve to integrate personal, social and health education within the curriculum of the school.

Purdy and York provide a critical insight into the impact of cyberbullying in two post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Employing a mixed methodological approach involving the use of questionnaires, focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews, a revealing account of the experiences of young people is provided. In addition consideration is given to how schools are addressing the issue of cyberbullying with their students. It is this latter aspect of the research that perhaps produces the most important data in terms of the development of more effective policy and practice. Most revealing of all is the reported ‘lack of pupil confidence in the school’s ability to discuss cyberbullying openly’.

The issue of bullying is taken up again by Cowie and Colliery – except a very different question is posed in their article ‘Who cares about the bullies?’. Here, the authors consider cultural aspects of bullying in an attempt to explain the actions and activities of young people who bully. Consideration is also given to the emotional difficulties faced by bullies and the importance of developing a range of interventions that are designed to meet their specific needs. The article is largely constructed from a thorough examination of key literature. What is particularly significant is the attention paid to the range of ‘supportive approaches’ that are required to bring about change in individual behaviour. The authors return to a theme advanced in other articles, i.e. the need to develop a school environment that ‘both promotes positive mental health’ and deals with ‘mental health problems’.

Kyriacou and Zuin focus their article on a particularly important aspect of cyberbullying and what they describe as the ‘moral disengagement’ of some young people. Here, a very different perspective is provided from previous articles, in that specific consideration is given to issues connected with the theory and associated practices of social pedagogy in terms of understanding and responding to ‘moral disengagement’. Central to the discussion is what the authors describe as the need to understand and engage with ‘morally disengaged individuals’. Consideration is given to, from a practice perspective, how previously published work on the ‘five dimensions of social pedagogy’ (Kyriacou, 2009) could be utilised to work with both the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying.

The final article by Waite et al provides a fascinating and engaging account of environmental action initiatives – in this instance tree-planting programmes – and the medium and ‘longer term perspectives’ of young people who have been involved in such work. Specific emphasis is placed on exploring the value of such programmes in terms of their ability to promote a sense of well-being and happiness, as well as the need to capture other positive aspects of such activity. Using a mixed methods approach including an electronic survey (n=113 participants) and discussion groups (n=18 participants), it proved possible to explore issues related to experience and knowledge acquisition. The research should be seen as ground breaking in the sense that it provides a framework for critically evaluating and understanding both the advantages and limitations of such programmes in promoting a sense of well-being in young people.

Stan Tucker
Newman University, Birmingham, UK