The in/visibilisation of education and care: University staff’s perceptions of, experiences with, and reaction to the needs of care-giving students
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Abstract
Research of university students who provide care for an older adult is scarce. Previous studies have so far focused on the perspectives and experiences of caregiving students themselves. This paper takes on a perspective of micropolitics and actor-centred institutionalism, and analyses perceptions of, experiences with, and reactions to the needs of caregiving students by university staff in Germany. Two group discussions with university lecturers and administrative staff were carried out and analysed by qualitative content analysis. Findings exhibit two themes: (1) university staff perceptions of and experiences with caregiving students and matters of invisibility, invisibilisation and helplessness; and (2) university staff reactions to caregiving students’ needs in terms of distributed responsibility. We discuss these themes as the micropolitics of stabilising power relations within educational institutions, and contrast them with the experiences of caregiving students themselves. Implications for practice and future research are outlined.
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