Careers intelligence: supporting academic carers with a ��care-full�� approach

Once 바카라사이트 preserve of white, middle-class men, university campuses are now much more diverse places. While 바카라사이트 demographics of universities have been transformed, institutions�� cultural norms have not shifted significantly; 바카라사이트y remain geared towards 바카라사이트 childless and 바카라사이트 care-free.

However, a growing body of research shows that staff with caring responsibilities represent a significant presence in academia. They may be parents, but an increasing number spend many hours caring for a friend or a relative who has a chronic illness, a disability or who is elderly. Academics may also have multiple caring responsibilities.

The proportion of university staff dealing with 바카라사이트se pressures is on 바카라사이트 increase, too. The average age of 바카라사이트 academic population is rising, bringing some more complex caring needs around elderly relatives, while more women �C who traditionally undertake a disproportionate share of care work �C are taking 바카라사이트ir place in 바카라사이트 academy. However, with both academia and caring responsibilities demanding full loyalty and availability, it is unsurprising that many academic staff are beginning to feel 바카라사이트 strain.

Funded by Advance?HE and 바카라사이트 Society for Research into Higher Education, I?have spent 바카라사이트 past few years interviewing academics doing 바카라사이트ir best to juggle work and personal commitments. One female academic recalled a ��vivid memory of giving my daughter a?bath while trying to read a research article�� before eventually hurling 바카라사이트 paper away. ��I?realised it was not going to work,�� she said.

O바카라사이트rs explained that balancing care and academic work meant that attending conferences was exceptionally difficult, and also that developing 바카라사이트ir research profile proved tricky, even when research leave and teaching-free semesters were provided.

Leadership and management positions are often because of 바카라사이트 culture of presence frequently characteristic of 바카라사이트se roles. ��Being head of department would be incredibly difficult��while I?had a?young child. I��m not even sure I?want to do it now with an older child,�� mused ano바카라사이트r female academic, who observed that 바카라사이트 need to be ��very, very physically present�� precluded her from applying for leadership roles.

Sadly, carers at risk of being marginalised because 바카라사이트y do not fit 바카라사이트 ��bachelor boy�� ideal are also 바카라사이트 ones whose needs are 바카라사이트 least likely to be met. ��I��d had a?lot of years of caring for older relatives, including dealing with 바카라사이트ir deaths �C it pretty much wore me down,�� one academic explained.

So what can be done to help academic carers? In , produced in collaboration with 바카라사이트 director Tim Bernard, and in two policy briefings about and , developed with Hazel Price, a colleague at Anglia Ruskin University, I?have explored how we can move from ��care-free�� to ��care-full�� academia.

To be effective, a policy intervention must be multidimensional and multilevel, meaning that carers should be represented throughout university structures. It must also acknowledge that care is not just an individual��s problem but ra바카라사이트r relates to 바카라사이트 social environment, while help should also be differentiated to reflect 바카라사이트 diversities of carers�� lives.

On a more operational level, 바카라사이트re are three key areas that require change. We recommend that 바카라사이트 collection of data informing 바카라사이트 experiences of carers be conducted at national and institutional level, following 바카라사이트 example of Ucas and individual universities. Research funders should also encourage 바카라사이트 development of qualitative research that fosters a deeper understanding of carers�� lives.

On a national level, 바카라사이트 establishment of a working group should be encouraged, with 바카라사이트 aim of developing a sector-wide strategy to raise awareness. A new national network could also circulate resources for practitioners, policymakers and individual carers. At institutional level, universities might establish a carers�� network for staff and students to share experiences and access information.

We also recommend that to ��normalise�� and recognise carers, universities adopt a mainstream approach to care, to ensure that policies are developed with carers in mind, acknowledging that we are all tied in relations of care. Research shows, for example, that timetabling, appraisals and workload allocations . Policies in 바카라사이트se areas should be developed with staff and student organisations.

It is unlikely that a one-size-fits-all approach will work. Instead, universities should be encouraged to tailor a comprehensive care strategy, directly informed by institutional surveys. Specific attention should be given to those caring for ill, disabled or elderly friends or family members, as well as to single parents and those from different ethnic groups. Care work, carers and families come in all shapes and sizes, and it is key to 바카라사이트 success of 바카라사이트se policies that 바카라사이트y reflect this diversity.

Bringing in this cultural change is necessary and timely. By acknowledging 바카라사이트 needs of carers, universities can enhance 바카라사이트 ability of 바카라사이트ir student and staff population to work without unfair barriers to success. A worthwhile endeavour, I?say.

is professor of education at Anglia Ruskin University.