Care leavers and higher education: implications for equity practitioners

Background/context Young people up to 18 years who cannot live with their birth families are placed in out-of-home care, including kinship care, foster care and residential care. Approximately 40,000 children require... [ view full abstract ]

Background/context

Young people up to 18 years who cannot live with their birth families are placed in out-of-home care, including kinship care, foster care and residential care. Approximately 40,000 children require out-of-home care in Australia and this number has risen every year over the past decade. People who spent time in care before the age of 18 are subsequently referred to as care leavers when they transition out of the system. Care leavers often experience a dramatic reduction in formal support and an accelerated transition to independence.

Care leavers rarely enter higher education. They are largely excluded from the level of education that brings the highest wage premiums and lifetime rewards. Despite this inequity, there is paucity of Australian research in this area, no national data on the higher education outcomes of care leavers, and no national agenda for improvement.

Our project

La Trobe University led a national research project to explore why care leavers are excluded from the higher education equity framework, and how universities and governments might work to raise participation rates. This project was funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education at Curtin University. A mixed methods approach was adopted which included: a global literature review; analysis of national data sources; an online survey of universities; and interviews with community service organisations.

Findings and implications

Our findings reveal the need for major reforms within the Australian higher education sector to improve the access and achievement of care leavers. The collection of nationally consistent data on higher education outcomes is essential. Initially, data on care leaver status could be collected by universities at application or enrolment. Equity practitioners can play a key role in increasing awareness of this disadvantaged group within institutions and in promoting a range of targeted financial and accommodation support measures.