Dr Chloe Alexander

Image of Dr Chloe Alexander

Health Services Management Centre
Research Fellow

Contact details

Address
School of Social Policy and Society, HSMC
Park House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2RT

Chloe Alexander is an expert on young carers. Her research examines inequalities, family life and the impact of public policies. Her theoretical work develops the use of affect theory and explores the politics of care. She specialises in qualitative research, including ethnography, visual research and creative methods. She is part of the ESRC Centre for Care, undertaking research on lifecourse and transitions.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Social Policy, University of Birmingham, 2020
  • MSc in Gender and Social Policy, LSE, 2010
  • BA (Hons) History and Politics, University of York, 2009

Biography

Chloe Alexander is part of the ESRC Centre for Care, undertaking research on lifecourse and transitions. 

Her PhD research was an ethnography of young carers’ family life. It presented an account of the public and private politics of care that shaped the carer role at the intersections of disability, age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and class. Her PhD was funded by the School for Social Policy Studentship and received the Social Policy Association Excellence in Doctoral Research Award 2020.

As Postdoctoral Policy Impact Fellow, she held discussions with young carers about the findings and how these reflect on the experiences of other families. 

Chloe Alexander has taught social research methods and delivered seminars and lectures on the subjects of gender and sexuality, feminist perspectives on social policy, third sector campaigning and sociological theory. 

Prior to her research she worked as a policy analyst, project coordinator and campaigner in the third sector. Her work included advocating for people receiving mental health services, women in prison, socially excluded parents and young adult carers.

Research

Research interests:

  • Social care
  • Young carers
  • Affect theory
  • Intersectionality theory
  • Ethnographic, creative and participatory research methods
  • Third sector campaigning, particularly Disability activism and feminist organisations
  • Mental health services

Other activities

  • Advisory Board member of advisory board for the project: Reducing barriers and improving access to support for young carers (REBIAS-YC) funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research
  • Fellow of the RSA
  • Member of the Social Policy Association
  • Member of the International Association for Feminist Economics
  • Member of the Women’s Budget Group Early Career Researcher Network

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Alexander, C 2025, 'A methodology for the study of affective policies', Sociological Research Online.

Hall, K & Alexander, C 2023, 'Exploring the distinctiveness of social enterprises delivering adult social care in England', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 2023, 9454428. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9454428

Alexander, C 2021, 'Affects of policy design: the case of young carers in the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014', Social Policy and Administration, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 968-980. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12692

Alexander, C 2021, 'Unequal conditions of care and the implications for social policies on young carers', Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal , vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 505–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-021-00781-w

Book/Film/Article review

Alexander, C 2021, 'Book review: The Politics of Scale in Policy: Scalecraft and Education Governance By Natalie Papanastasiou, Bristol: Policy Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781447343851; £60 (Hbk).', Social Policy and Administration, vol. 2021, no. 00, pp. 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12696

View all publications in research portal