Preparation for the priesthood: A training needs analysis

Commentators on professional education have laid stress on the need for students to acquire sound communication skills. Training programmes in interpersonal skills have been reported in the literature for many professionals (Hargie et al, 1994, p. ix). Such skills are regarded as important in relationships, not only with clients, but also with other professionals, peers and anyone else with whom the professional has to communicate. The seminarians who formed part of this research are students studying for the priesthood. As candidates for the priesthood the yattend a seminary which may be classified as a special purpose educational institution as distinct from a multipurpose one in that its primary goal is the preparation of its students for a specific objective shared by all the students in the institution. The focus here was to examine the seminarians' views on the education and training they had received and to reflect on whether or not it had in their perception adequately prepared them for their future mission as priests, especially in terms of learning interpersonal communication skills in order to work effectively and confidently with specific kinds of people in different contexts.