Full Description
Young people who leave care with few or no educational qualifications are at very high risk of social exclusion in adulthood. Yet in the past their education has attracted little attention from researchers or professionals. Studies by the editors and contributors to this volume show that the educational standards attained by young people in care fall progressively behind those of their peers living with their own families. This research-based book looks at the educational experiences of children and youths in nine different European countries and Canada. It identifies the obstacles that prevent them from realising their aspirations and discusses ways of improving their opportunities.
How can countries with different traditions, welfare regimes and administrative systems learn from each other? What needs to be done at national, local and individual levels to give children in care equal chances with those living with their families? At present a child in public care is five times less likely to go to university than others. How can teachers, social workers and carers better support their educational attainment, and enable more of them to succeed and progress to tertiary education? This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Social Work.
Contents
Introduction: Prioritising education for children looked after away from home 1. Delayed educational pathways and risk of social exclusion: the case of young people from public care in Spain 2. School as an opportunity and resilience factor for young people placed in care 3. The importance of social relationships for young people from a public care background 4. Enabling young people with a care background to stay in education in Hungary: accommodation with conditions and support 5. Placement, protective and risk factors in the educational success of young people in care: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses 6. Addressing low attainment of children in public care: the Scottish experience 7. The managerialist turn and the education of young offenders in state care 8. Action competence - a new trial aimed at social innovation in residential homes? 9. The relevance and experience of education from the perspective of Croatian youth in-care
