How do you care?

Care has multiple meanings but basically ‘it is a basic human capability serving fundamental human need’. Feeling loved and cared for throughout our lifespan is a prerequisite to human development and flourishing. ‘True caring’ according to Maier (1979) represents the reciprocity of care received and care given. This small scale study draws on the feminist ethic of care and looks at what care means to young people living in care, social care practitioners who are paid to give that care and social care students learning how to provide care. Holland (2010) found that the young people in her study defined care as: an enduring relationship with a fair and reliable carer that manifests in everyday acts. This survey highlights that doing care is something that is difficult to define because for the people who give and receive care it can be confused and contested. That could also apply to those teaching care. The words used by the social care students suggest that care is an action rather than a feeling. This raises a necessary question; can social care students be taught how to care?