F.08. Nurturing Inclusivity: Care Practices and the Transformation of Higher Education

We invite submissions for a panel exploring the multifaceted role of care in higher education, both within and beyond university walls. This panel aims to foster dialogue between two interconnected dimensions of care reshaping our understanding of inclusive educational environments. We examine often-overlooked care responsibilities of academic and administrative staff outside the university. Inspired by the "Towards the care-full university" report (Anglia Ruskin University, 2025), we challenge the "care-free university" paradigm that assumes staff are unburdened by care duties. We encourage papers exploring innovative policies and practices promoting a "care-full university" that recognizes the impact of care responsibilities on well-being, work-life balance, careers, and retention. We're particularly interested in perspectives considering the gendered nature of care work and its intersections with class and disability. We also welcome contributions examining care practices within educational contexts, especially those highlighting neurodiversity-affirmative approaches and intersectional perspectives. These paradigms view neurodiversity, gender, and other aspects of human variation as valuable starting points for reimagining educational spaces, relationships, and pedagogies. We invite theoretical and empirical studies addressing how institutions can care for employees and diverse student populations, exploring how this dual focus can transform organizational structures, policies, and practices towards greater inclusivity. Potential topics include care responsibilities and academic careers, gender/class/disability in care work, neurodiversity-affirming practices, intersectional approaches to inclusive education, and visions for a truly "care-full university."

The proposal has been submitted on behalf of the Scientific Council of AIS - EDU, Italian Sociological Association, section of "Sociology of Education"