Return to education following acquired brain injury: primary caregivers lived experiences

Abstract

Return to education (RtE) following childhood acquired brain injury (ABI)is a complex, dynamic process that extends beyond medical recovery intoeducational, familial, and sociocultural domains. While primary caregivers playa central role in supporting this transition, their lived experiences remainunderrepresented within existing literature, particularly within the NorthernIreland (NI) context. This study explored how primary caregivers experiencetheir child's RtE following ABI, with particular attention to emotional,relational, and systemic influences. A qualitative survey design was employed,with data collected through six semi-structured interviews with sevenparticipants and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) and critical thematicanalysis (CTA). Four themes were generated: (1) Carrying the Weight of ABI; (2)Invisible Injury, Inconsistent Recognition; (3) When Systems Step Back:Informal Networks as Emotional Lifelines; and (4) Parent Power and Pathways toChange. Findings reconceptualise RtE not as a discrete event but as an ongoing,emotional, relational, and systemic continuum. Implications for educationalpsychology (EP) practice, schools, and NI educational policy are discussed,including a recommendation that ABI be formally recognised as a distinctspecial educational need category.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 December 2028.

Date of Award	Dec 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Education Authority
Supervisor	Hassan Regan (Supervisor) & Stephanie Burns (Supervisor)