Care and gender: A time worn narrative? Perceptions of carework in the Scottish out of school care workforce

Anderson, Penny (2023) Care and gender: A time worn narrative? Perceptions of carework in the Scottish out of school care workforce. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This is a small-scale temporal study that highlights the lived experiences of five women practitioners employed in the Scottish Out of School Care (OSC) workforce, also known internationally as school-aged childcare (SAC). The five practitioners entered the childcare profession without a relevant professional qualification. Whilst play and learning are central themes of school-aged childcare both nationally and internationally, the focus of this study examines the temporal nature of care experiences in relation to gender, seats of power and constructions of the good enough mother. It focuses on the care experiences, careers, and aspirations of the women over their life course: past, present, and beyond. The five practitioners were initially interviewed through the aid of a temporal tool, the biographical life grid, which was employed to assist reflexive biographical narrative interviews. The biographical life grid is a visual method frequently used to capture past and present memories of life events, and as such often offers a further window into the perceptions surrounding those memories. The life grid was substituted reflexively for two simple 24-hour clocks to map both chronological and felt-time reflections as the study progressed. This study aims to capture a time element, relating not only to professional aspirations but also to the constructions of the women’s developing sense of a caring self. A feminist Foucauldian, poststructural lens is applied to interpret the biographical narratives in what is arguably a gendered profession. The analysis of the narratives considers how constructions on caring both in private and professional lives may be influenced over time through engagement with family, society, professional requirements and discourse in policy. Foucauldian discourse analysis is employed to interpret how seats of power, particularly emanating from the self, may affect the practitioner’s decision making in relation to career choices. Interpretations arising from the discourse analysis on the findings subsequently considers any resulting relevance for the future of recruitment, retention, and career resilience not only for the Scottish Out of School Care (OSC) workforce but also potentially for all professional caring employment.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > LC Special aspects of education
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Read, Professor Barbara and Hedge, Professor Nicki
• Date of Award: 2023
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83853
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 20 Oct 2023 10:50
• Last Modified: 20 Oct 2023 10:52
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.83853
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/83853