Corresponding and Presenting Author: Professor David Berridge, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, England, david.berridge@bristol.ac.uk Conference Theme: Education and Qualifications of Young People in Care... [ view full abstract ]
Corresponding and Presenting Author: Professor David Berridge, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, England, david.berridge@bristol.ac.uk
Conference Theme: Education and Qualifications of Young People in Care
Format: Oral Communication
There is longstanding concern in many countries about the overall poor educational attainments of children in care (‘looked after’). A major, mixed methods study in England has recently investigated this problem, examining care and educational factors linked with educational progress in secondary schooling (broadly 11-16 years of age) (Sebba et al, 2015). It did this by linking two national educational and children in care databases. Overall conclusions from this quantitative analysis included that the care system generally acts as a protective factor educationally; and that educational progress is associated with duration of care, school and placement stability, school effectiveness, special educational needs, and pupil attendance and exclusion.
A qualitative phase was also undertaken (Berridge et al, 2015). This entailed semi-structured interviews with 26 high- and lower-progress young people who had completed their GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education, usually taken at about 16 years of age). With their permission, it also included interviews with their (foster) carers, social workers and teachers. Interviews with young people were undertaken by specially trained care-experienced young adults (‘care leavers’).
This conference presentation includes reanalysis and more in-depth exploration of qualitative data obtained from young people’s interviews. It will also discuss the theoretical implications of these findings.
Young people’s perspectives gave insight into how experiences with their birth families prior to separation impacted on their learning. They described a range of problems in school. There was strong consensus that entry to care benefited their general welfare and progress at school, although this took time to develop. Although helpful in some circumstances, continuing birth family contact or involvement in their lives could be a source of tension.
An important conclusion from the research concerned the ways in which young people managed their circumstances and dealt with adversity and stress in their lives. We saw this as an expression of agency. The high-progress group described how they had engaged with learning once certain preconditions were met: particularly experiencing permanence and security in living arrangements, and birth family problems being addressed. They then explained how individual teachers could make a difference to their learning and contribute to progress. These ‘preconditions for learning’ give a further insight into inter-professional working.
These findings will be set within a theoretical framework to help understand young people’s experiences and responses. In particular this will discuss the ‘new’ sociology of childhood, which positions children as actively constructing their own lives and seeking to ameliorate their circumstances, rather than being subject purely to adult interventions (eg Prout and James, 1990). The presentation will also link this with resilience theory, in which young people strive to achieve successful outcomes despite early adversity (eg Rutter, 2012).
References
Berridge, D. et al. (2015) The Educational Progress of Young People in England: Technical Report 3. Perspectives of Young People, Social Workers, Carers and Teachers. Bristol: University of Bristol.
Prout, A. and James, A. (eds) (1990) Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood. London: Falmer Press.
Rutter, M. (2012) Resilience as a dynamic concept. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 335–344.
Sebba, J. et al. (2015) The Educational Progress of Looked After Children: Linking Care and Educational Data. Oxford: University of Oxford.
28 June 2016
Education and qualification of children and young people in care , Participation of children and families in child welfare interventions
