A newly released, first-of-it-kind report has shone the spotlight on male young carers in the UK revealing their ‘superpowers’ and how the education system is stifling them.
The groundbreaking report, Boys who Care - Inequality and the educational identities of young male carers was produced by Dr Alex Blower, Research Fellow, and Dr Aliki Tennant, Senior Research and Evaluation Officer, both from Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), in partnership with MYTIME Young Carers, a national charity dedicated to providing support and opportunities for young carers.
Krista Cartlidge, CEO of MYTIME Young Carers, explains, “The challenges experienced by young carers are definitely more visible now than ever before, but to date, there’s been very little activity in research, policy or practice which has focused on the experience of male young carers.”
The Boys who Care project seeks to address this imbalance. The team worked with a group of 10 male young carers using an innovative, creative approach to explore their own experiences.
Alex says, “Through their voices, the report explores the valuable social and cultural resources the young men accrued through their caring responsibilities, and how they struggled to use or transfer these valuable skills within their day-to-day school environments.
“It illustrates how, for many of the young men, there’s a huge disconnect between their caring identities at home and the normalised masculine expectations within their peer groups. This can often lead to feelings of anxiety, marginalisation and alienation for these young men.
“Research suggests that this disconnect could be due to difficulties young men may have in expressing themselves openly, especially when they’re dealing with thoughts or feelings which may be uncomfortable. Sadly, there also appears to have been little motivation in research, policy or practice to make young men with caring responsibilities a primary focus.
He adds, “Their issues are sadly compounded with the re-emergence of manosphere actors such as Andrew Tate; although, on a positive note, Adolescence was successful in shining a light on the significant challenges facing young men and women in a digital world.
“For young male carers, care, maturity, and emotional intelligence are their superpowers, but all too often in education they are overlooked, squeezed, and diminished. As a society, we have a responsibility to cultivate the conditions in which these young men can thrive. To shine a light on their strength and bravery, highlighted through their empathy and compassion. If we can only learn from them, these young men give us hope for something better.”
The Boys who Care project used creativity as a way to make a safe, engaging space where reflections by male young carers on their lives and experiences could be shared openly. Drawing on the creative course portfolio at AUB, the project utilised creative writing as an exploratory way for young men to engage in reflection on the role that care and masculinity played within their own lives and experiences.
“The Boys who Care project demonstrated the value of creative practice as a vehicle for self-expression," says Alex, "providing deep insight into how the young carers involved navigated their caring responsibilities alongside school.”
Facilitated by novelist, poet and visiting tutor for BA (Hons) Creative Writing at AUB, Dr Ashley Hickson-Lovence, the workshop involved the exploration of poems, novel extracts and creative writing pieces written by men from various backgrounds, about their life experiences. Over the course of the day, the 10 young men were gently guided to write their own creative writing pieces and given the opportunity to share them with the group.
In talking about the process for writing his most recent novel, Wild East, Ashley shared his experiences of growing up as a young working-class black man in London, his experience of losing a friend to knife crime, and how his personal journey fuelled a sense of purpose for much of his writing.
“The young male carers on the workshop said that it wasn’t just the fact that Ashley was willing to be so openly vulnerable in talking about his experiences, but that they were given the space to talk with him about them,” Alex says. “That’s what we’re not doing currently – we’re not giving young men the space they need to just ‘be’ and to safely explore their softer skill sets.”
The report ends by making the following recommendations:
- Investment in further research
- A public campaign recognising the contribution of male young carers
- Training and CPD for professionals
- Mechanisms to better identify young male carers in schools
Professor Saul Becker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Health and Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, says of the project, “The Boys who Care project sheds crucial light on the overlooked experiences of male young carers, addressing gaps in research, policy and practice that have persisted for far too long.
“Through the voices of these young men, the report not only highlights the unique challenges they face in balancing caring responsibilities with identities and educational demands but also emphasises the untapped potential in their social and cultural capital.
“I fully support the calls for immediate action as outlined in this report, including investment in further research, a national campaign to raise awareness, and the development of tailored support systems for male young carers within schools and the community."
The full Boys who Care report is available to read on the Boy's Impact website.
