Careful Teaching: researching a special career

In this paper I examine one specific stage of my career development, the period from 1977 to 1982, when I was teaching in a special care unit for young people with profound learning difficulties. Reflecting on what I learnt in this context, I discuss what constitutes ‘significant’ teaching and learning. In describing my own experience in a caring role, I evaluate what I gained from this as a teacher and researcher in higher education. As a female carer playing a role predominantly taken by women, I examine my own feelings in moving from a low‐status into a high‐status area of education.