Researching Barriers to Cultural Change for Those in Loco Parentis

Drawing on recent research on professional fears around touching children, and also on the consequences for those professionals who find themselves the subject of a false allegation of abuse, this paper considers some of the barriers to changing the \'parenting\' culture of those in loco parentis. It consists of three linked sections. The first sets the scene by describing briefly the research relating to \'touch\' and to \'false allegation\' as well as outlining the particular ethical and methodological approach of the latter. This leads into the central section of the paper which comprises a first person account of the experiences of a male teacher who was wrongly accused and convicted of touching young children inappropriately in the classroom, serving a prison sentence before being found not guilty. In spite of this verdict his career is ruined and he will not be able to teach or work with children/vulnerable adults in the future. The final section reflects on the implications of this and other accounts, and offers tentative suggestions as to how accusations could be dealt with in a more appropriate way. The challenge is to identify principles and practices which are in keeping with our joint responsibility in relation to human rights (ie those of both children and professionals), and which also contribute towards encouraging the changes required in the \'parenting\' culture of those in loco parentis.False Accusation, Sensitive Research; Carers' and Educators' Lives and Careers; Parenting, Touch

"It was then that I thought 'whaat? This is not my Dad”: the implications of the ‘still the same person’ narrative for children and young people who have a parent with dementia

This research used auto/biographical interviews to explore the experiences of 19, 8 to 31 year olds who had a parent with dementia. Thematic analysis revealed challenges occasioned by the master narrative that people with dementia are ‘still’ the same person they were prior to the onset of their condition. While this notion is – rightly – at the heart of person-centered care in dementia services, the ‘still’ discourse conflicts with the experiences of young people. Their accounts suggest that the construction of their parent as the same person is not helpful and that, furthermore, expectations that they will behave and feel towards that parent as they did before are a source of distress in what is already a challenging situation. This paper highlights the need to equip young people with support that acknowledges that their parent may well be drastically different to the Mum or Dad they previously ‘knew

'It would be easier if she’d died’: young people with parents with dementia articulating inadmissible stories

In the U.K. context where the emphasis is (quite rightly) on living well with dementia, on positivity and enabling approaches, it can be difficult for researchers to investigate and report negative experiences. Failing to re-present perceptions and experiences as they are lived, however, does a serious disservice to the research endeavor and can prevent policy and service development and positive change. In this article, we present some stories told by participants in an Alzheimer’s Society (United Kingdom) Funded project uniquely investigating the perceptions and experiences of children and young people who have a parent with dementia. Sometimes the stories were not easy to hear, especially when they challenged dominant master narratives around dementia. We discuss our view that when the young people we spoke with told us how things were for them, we were ethically bound to respect and disseminate their accounts

"From ‘What the hell is going on?’ to the ‘Mushy middle ground’ to ‘getting used to a new normal’: Young people’s biographical narratives around navigating parental dementia"

The number of young people who have a parent with dementia is rising as a result of improvements in diagnosis of young onset variants and demographic shifts. There has, however, been very little research focusing on this group. Accounts elicited as part of the Perceptions and Experiences of Young People With a Parent With Dementia described the period, usually some years, leading up to a diagnosis of a dementia and then the progress of the condition post diagnosis. These narratives were characterised by confusion, uncertainty, trauma and distress as the young people struggled to make sense of the significant and often extreme, behavioural and attitudinal changes that were symptoms of the illness. This paper describes and discusses how the young people experienced and navigated the temporal messiness and consequent biographical disruption arising from parental dementia

‘Every time I see him he’s the worst he’s ever been and the best he’ll ever be’: grief and sadness in children and young people who have a parent with dementia

Research suggests that the grief experienced by the family members of persons with dementia has a distinctive nature that differentiates it from sorrow attendant on most other ill health causes. Over a variable period of time, the way in which dementia manifests in cognitive and physical changes tends to be experienced as a series of serious losses, each of which can be a source of grief leading to significant stress and emotional, mental, psychosocial and physical ill health. Research to date has focused on spouses and adult children: here we seek to add to the literature by re-presenting the grief-related perceptions and experiences of children and young people who have a parent with a young onset dementia. We draw on findings from a narrative auto/ biographical investigation to describe what dementia grief was like for study participants and to make suggestions for resources and support for those in this position

All teachers are vulnerable but especially gay teachers: using composite fictions to protect research participants in pupil-teacher sex-related research

The ways in which the media searches out, depicts, and writes about teacher—pupil sex-related topics have implications both for researchers working in the area and, sometimes more seriously, for the people who participate in and contribute to that research as respondents. In this article, the authors discuss, and provide an example of, the composite fiction strategy they developed and decided to adopt primarily for purposes of protection when writing up a project that investigated the perceptions and experiences of teachers (and those of members of their families, their friends, and colleagues) who had been accused of sexual abuse of pupils, which they said they had not committed and of which they were eventually cleare

Researching allegations of sexual misconduct in schools: The need for a narrative approach

The Anglophone world is gripped by a moral panic focused on child abuse in general and fear of the paedophile in particular. Evidence suggests an alarming rise in the number of false allegations of sexual abuse being made against teachers and demonstrates that the fallout from being falsely accused is far-reaching and sometimes tragic. In the UK, master narratives which influence and shape child protection policies and procedures privilege the stories told by accusers and, in effect, silence the accused who are considered guilty until shown to be innocent (which is not in any way a straightforward matter). This paper reports research which focused on the narratives of male school teachers and of members of their families, their friends and colleagues, who have been accused of sexual misconduct with female students which they say they did not commit and of which they have eventually been cleared or the case has been dismissed (Sikes and Piper, 2010). The narratives of our informants evoked and made real the lived consequences of policies and showed the damage that could be done to individuals in a way that no statistics are ever likely to be able to do (see Richardson, 2000; Smith, Auto/Biography, 10(1), 131–121, 2002). We reflect on how our findings have influenced policy and their implications for initial and in-service teacher education