Negotiating Caring and Education: A Small-Scale Study of Young Carers and Their Transitions Towards Independence and Adulthood

Abstract

This article reports on findings from a pilot study with eight young carers, aged 15–21, in the Midlands region of England. The study looked at the impact of caring responsibilities on young carers' life worlds as they negotiated transitions towards independence and adulthood. It explored the aspirations and future plans of five younger members of the group (15–18) who were on the cusp of adulthood and post compulsory schooling and three slightly older carers in the group (19–21) who had made the transition to further study and employment. Two peer researchers with caring experience conducted semi-structured interviews with the young carers. Three main empirical themes were identified: (1) the distribution and normalisation of care, (2) balancing caring and education and (3) educational futures. Together, these themes begin to illustrate the relationship and sometimes mismatch between the young carers' ‘project-of-self’ and ‘project-of-family’ in terms of how they balanced their caring with their education, moving through the life course. They show the importance of schools and educational institutions recognising the challenges experienced by young carers, not only in compulsory schooling but also as they make choices for further education and employment.