Abstract
Background: Young carers are young people who care for a relative or a friend with an illness, disability, frailty, a mental health issue or addiction. Across the world, it is challenging to calculate the exact numbers due to the invisible nature of their role that can exist due to stigmatisation and fear of authoritative intrusion. As young carers reach 16 years and over, future career prospects become more significant. Young carers are more likely than their peers not to be in education, employment, or training and are more likely to do poorly at school or college than their non-caregiving peers due to the demands of caring. Recognising that positive engagement at school is a vital correlate of positive employment outcomes, young carers are at risk as their caring role can limit the range of employment opportunities open to them. This paper outlines the protocol for a robust synthesis of the literature surrounding young carers and their career perceptions. The scoping review will address the research question 'What is known from the literature about young carers in school and their career perceptions?' The overall aim of this paper is to present a protocol for the scoping review to map the key concepts, types of evidence, and gaps in research related to young carers in school and their future careers. Methods: The review will follow Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and Levac et al.'s, (2010) scoping review framework. The steps involved include: (1) research question identification; (2) relevant studies identification; (3) selection of studies; (4) data charting; (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results; and (6) stakeholders' consultation. Conclusions: The scoping review is an appropriate first step to employ in presenting the literature to inform a larger research study on young carers' experiences in school and their perceptions regarding their future careers.
Highlights
Young carers are young people who care for a relative or a friend with an illness, disability, frailty, a mental health issue or addiction
More recent research with young adult carers in the UK by Kettell (2020) revealed that when compared with other students, young adult carers were four times more likely to give up on their education course, especially in the absence of policies and supports, where the young adult carers found it all the more challenging to complete their programs of study. These findings suggest there is a mismatch between young carers’ desire for education and career choice with the realities and challenges of being in a simultaneous caregiving role
Recognising that positive engagement at school is a vital correlate of positive employment outcomes (Hamilton & Redmond, 2020), young carers are at risk as their caring role can limit the range of employment opportunities open to them
Summary
Young carers are young people who care for a relative or a friend with an illness, disability, frailty, a mental health issue or addiction. Recognising that positive engagement at school is a vital correlate of positive employment outcomes, young carers are at risk as their caring role can limit the range of employment opportunities open to them. This paper outlines the protocol for a robust synthesis of the literature surrounding young carers and their career perceptions. The scoping review will address the research question ‘What is known from the literature about young carers in school and their career perceptions?’ The overall aim of this paper is to present a protocol for the scoping review to map the key concepts, types of evidence, and gaps in research related to young carers in school and their future careers. Conclusions: The scoping review is an appropriate first step to employ in presenting the literature to inform a larger research study version 3 (revision)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
