Caregiver Youth & Online Courses

By Carolyn Bennett 

What does it mean to provide learning opportunities that meet students’ unique needs? For years, education leaders have considered students’ health and learning needs when providing accommodation, support, and options for students to access their education in equitable ways. As a nation, we are just beginning to understand how students’ family needs can impact their learning. Education is evolving to meet the needs of caregiving youth.

Caregiving youth devote significant time to providing care for a loved one. In the United States, more than 5.4 million minors provide care for family members who are aging or require assistance due to health needs. Additionally, an uncounted number of teens provide care for younger children or provide other essential services for their family. Consider how the following scenarios might impact a student’s learning:

• Avery sets an alarm for 1 am every morning, to make sure her grandmother takes important medication and to aid with any physical needs. Then, she tries to go back to sleep until it’s time to get ready for school.
• Alex has been encouraged to stay after school for academic support, and to strengthen social bonds by joining clubs or sports. Instead, he leaves school promptly every day, so he is home in time to get his first-grade brother off the school bus.
• Lee holds a steady after-school job, and their family relies on the extra income to make ends meet. Lee rarely opens a notebook outside of school, and their homework is often unfinished.

VHS Learning can be a valuable partner for schools as we meet the needs of caregiving youth. It is critical to provide flexible options that can meet the diverse needs of each youth’s unique caregiving situation. This empowers students to make choices that meet their needs and celebrate the unique strengths they have gained in their caregiving roles. Caregiving youth deserve to have their unique experiences recognized as assets, not liabilities, on their learning journey.

• Avery might enroll in The Human Body, a course not offered at their local school. Their immense background knowledge is an asset in the course, and they are motivated to learn more as they recognize ways their learning is helping them meet their loved ones’ needs.
• Lee might choose Accounting and is enthusiastic about how their newfound skills can lead to a promotion at work.
• Alex is excited to learn more about Early Childhood Education and is considering how their childcare experiences might help them successfully jump into a career in education.

All of the students benefit from the ability to choose when and where to work on their course. With increased schedule flexibility, they can use in-school time to visit support staff without missing their face-to-face classes. When they have an absence from the school building, they can continue working online. If they need to devote more time to caregiving for a few days, they can re-balance their weekly workload and continue making progress. If they need a lighter load during the school year, they could incorporate summer classes into their path to graduation.

Online asynchronous learning provides the opportunities and flexibility to help caregiving youth feel great about their academic work, too.

References:

Armstrong-Carter E, Johnson C, Belkowitz J, Siskowski C, Olson E. From the Editor Intro for SPR 34.2 “The United States should recognize and support caregiving youth”. Soc Policy Rep. 2021; 34: 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/sop2.14