An institutional ethnographic investigation into the pastoral work of course leaders for college-based higher education

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to investigate the pastoral work carried out by Course Leaders of College-Based Higher Education (CBHE), asking the question of how does the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE happen? Taking the standpoint of Course Leaders for CBHE and using the work of Dorothy E. Smith, I adopted an institutional ethnographic approach to investigate the pastoral work. Informants were purposively sampled, and data was collected from interviews with Course Leaders and managers, observations of Course Leaders, field notes and texts relating to the work of Course Leaders. I found that the pastoral work of Course Leaders for CBHE was taking place. It was taking place in the talk of the Course Leaders and visible through the observations I carried out. Yet this work was unseen in terms of the documentation relation to the work of the Course Leaders and the absence of facilities in which to carry out this work. However, pastoral work is something that is required for Course Leaders to deliver with the requirements of their role due to the audit culture inherent in The College Group, driven by the need for accountability and financial stability.

KEYWORDS:

• College-based higher education
• course leaders
• pastoral work
• institutional ethnography
• accountability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The research formed part of my thesis of a PhD. There was no external funding or grants involved.