Foster children often experience school problems and perform less well than average. This may result in failed school careers and compromised future career paths. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the perspective of foster children regarding education.
Method:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 foster children (M = 14 years, range = 12–18 years) placed in long-term family foster care about their experiences regarding “school.”
Results:
A thematic analysis distinguished four main themes: (1) the importance of school for foster children; (2) the impact of the foster care placement on the school performance (3) support foster children receive with regard to their functioning and performance at school; and (4) the fear of stigmatization.
Discussion:
Foster children attach a great importance to school and receive support from different persons. Yet, many foster children are confronted with school difficulties, such as bullying, hindered concentration, and negative reactions to being placed in foster care. Interventions should be developed to support this group and improve their performances. Furthermore, actors who get in touch with foster children should be better acquainted with foster care.
BenbenishtyR.SiegelA.AstorR. A. (2018). School-related experiences of adolescents in foster care: A comparison with their high-school peers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(3), 261–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000242
2.
BerlinM.VinnerljungB.HjernA. (2011). School performance in primary school and psychosocial problems in young adulthood among care leavers from long term foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(12), 2489–2497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.08.024
CléA.Van HolenF.VanderfaeillieJ. (2016). Een ondrzoek naar de begeleidingsnoden van pleegkinderen. Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
6.
ClemensE. V.HelmH. M.MyersK.ThomasC.TisM. (2017). The voices of youth formerly in foster care: Perspectives on education attainment gaps. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 65–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.06.003
7.
DayA.RiebschlegerJ.DworksyA.DamashekA.FogartyK. (2012). Maximizing educational opportunities for youth aging out of foster care by engaging youth voices in a partnership for social change. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(5), 1007–1014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.02.001
8.
DayA.SomersC.DardenJ. S.YoonJ. (2015). Using cross-system communication to promote educational well-being of foster children: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda. Children & Schools, 37(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdu027
9.
Del QuestA.FullertonA.GeenenS.PowersL., & The Research Consortium to Increase the Success of Youth in Foster Care. (2012). Voices of youth in foster care and special education regarding their educational experiences and transition to adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(9), 1604–1615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.04.018
10.
DurbeejN.HellnerC. (2017). Improving school performance among Swedish foster children: A quasi-experimental study exploring outcomes of the Skolfam model. Children and Youth Services Review, 82, 446–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.014
11.
ForsmanH.BrännströmL.VinnerljungB.HjernA. (2016). Does poor school performance cause later psychosocial problems among children in foster care? Evidence from national longitudinal registry data. Child Abuse & Neglect, 57, 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.06.006
12.
GoemansA.van GeelM.WilderjansT. F.van GinkelJ. R.VedderP. (2018). Predictors of school engagement in foster children: A longitudinal study. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.029
13.
GrietensH. (2011). Kleine stemmen, grote verhalen!? Over pleegkinderen in orthopedagogisch onderzoek. Garant.
14.
GypenL.VanderfaeillieJ.De MayerS.BelengerL.Van HolenF. (2017). Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 76, 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.02.035
15.
HedinL.HöjerI.BrunnbergE. (2011). Why one goes to school: What school means to young people entering foster care. Child & Family Social Work, 16(1), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00706.x
16.
HedinL.HöjerI.BrunnbergE. (2012). Jokes and routines make everyday life a good life—on “doing family” for young people in foster care in Sweden. European Journal of Social Work, 15(5), 613–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2011.579558
17.
JohnsonR. M.StrayhornT. L.ParlerB. (2020). “I just want to be a regular kid”: A qualitative study of sense of belonging among high school youth in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, 104832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104832
18.
KitchenhamB.PfleegerS. L. (2002). Principles of survey research. Part 5: Populations and samples. Software Engineering Notes, 27(5), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.1145/571681.571686
19.
MadiganS.QuayleE.CossarJ.PatonK. (2013). Feeling the same or feeling different? An analysis of the experiences of young people in foster care. Adoption & Fostering, 37(4), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308575913508719
20.
MageeC.GuhnM.Schonert-ReichlK. A.OberleE. (2019). Mental well-being among children in foster care: The role of supportive adults. Children and Youth Services Review, 102, 128–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.05.005
21.
MasoI.SmalingA. (1998). Kwalitatief onderzoek: Praktijk en theorie. Boom.
22.
MintyB. (1999). Annotation: Outcomes in long-term foster family care. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(7), 991–999. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00518
MortonB. (2016). The power of community: How foster parents, teachers, and community members support academic achievement for foster youth. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30(1), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2015.1105334
25.
MoyerA. M.GoldbergA. E. (2020). Foster youth’s educational challenges and supports: Perspectives of teachers, foster parents, and former foster youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 37, 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-019-00640-9
26.
O’HigginsA.SebbaJ.LukeN. (2015). What is the relationship between being in care and the educational outcomes of children? An international systematic review. University of Oxford, UK: Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education.
27.
OkpychN. J.CourtneyM. E. (2017). Who goes to college? Social capital and other predictors of college enrollment for foster-care youth. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 8(4), 563–593. https://doi.org/10.1086/694897
PoncianoL. (2013). The voices of youth in foster care: A participant action research study. Action Research, 11(4), 322–326. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750313502554
31.
RutmanD.HubbersteyC. (2018). Fostering educational success of children and youth in care: Perspectives of youth with experience living in care. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.10.022
32.
SandhS.DonaldsonV. M.KatzC. C. (2020). Students connected to foster care: An overview of high school experiences. Children and Youth Services Review, 113, 104905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104905
33.
SebbaJ.BerridgeD.LukeN.FletcherJ.BellK.StrandS.ThomasS.SinclairI.O’HigginsA. (2015). The educational progress of looked after children in England: Linking care and educational data. Rees Centre.
34.
SelwynJ.Briheim-CrookallL. (2017). Our lives, our care: Looked after children’s views on their well-being. School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.
35.
SelwynJ.MagnusL.StuijfzandB. (2018). Our lives, our care: Looked after children’s views on their well-being in 2017. School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.
36.
SinclairI.LukeN.FletcherJ.O’HigginsA.StrandS.BerridgeD.SebbaJ.ThomasS. (2020). The education of children in care and children in need: Who falls behind and when?Child and Family Social Work, 25, 536–547. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12719
37.
SteenbakkersA.van der SteenS.GrietensH. (2016). To talk or not to talk? Foster youth’s experiences of sharing stories about their past and being in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 71, 2–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.008
38.
SutcliffeA. G.GardinerJ.MelhuishE. (2017). Educational progress of looked-after children in England: A study using group trajectory analysis. Pediatrics, 140(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-0503
39.
TidemanE.VinnerljungB.HintzeK.IsakssonA. A. (2011). Improving foster children’s school achievements. Promising results from a Swedish intensive study. Adoption and & Fostering, 35(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/030857591103500106
40.
TordönR.BladhM.SvedinC. G.SydsjöG. (2020). Challenging intellectual, behavioral and educational prerequisites for interventions aimed at school aged children in foster care. A compilation of Swedish test results. Children and Youth Services Review, 108, 04598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104598
41.
Van HolenF.TroghL.CarlierE.GypenL.VanderfaeillieJ. (2020). Unaccompanied refugee minors and foster care: A narrative literature review. Child and Family Social Work, 25, 506–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12716
42.
Van HolenF.VanderfaeillieJ.VanschoonlandtF.De MaeyerS.StroobantsT. (2015). Explorative study into support needs of caregivers in short-term foster care regarding problem behaviour and dealing with biological parents. European Journal of Social Work, 18(1), 97–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2014.883365
43.
VanderfaeillieJ.Van HolenF. (2018). En chemin vers la parentalité d’accueil en Flandre. In ChaponN.PremoliS. (Eds.), La parentalité d’accueil en Europe: Regards théoriques et pratiques professionnelles (pp. 143–166). Presses Universitaires de Provence.
44.
VanderfaeillieJ.Van HolenF.De MaeyerS.VanschoonlandtF.AndriesC. (2012). De ontwikkeling van probleemgedrag bij pleegkinderen: Een Vlaams longitudinaal onderzoek. Pedagogiek, 32(1), 13–31.
