ABSTRACT
This conclusion reflects on the topicality and social significance of care in academia. Drawing on international perspectives of care in higher education, it is argued that care is critical to the development of academic cultures which are inclusive. Care-free, gendered norms remain firmly in place within the academy where the idea of the ideal worker and/or student as care-free profoundly disadvantages those with caring responsibilities, particularly women and other minoritised groups. Rather than summarise the findings chapter by chapter, the conclusion teases out some of the key themes emerging from the book’s diverse contributions. Some key concerns covered in the conclusion include resisting the ‘ideal’ care-free student and calling for care-centric academic cultures; questions of intersectionality and diversity in academic norms and carers’ identities; and negotiating spaces of participation beyond a rhetoric of access.
