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The educational experiences of children in care across five decades: A new perspective on the education of looked after children in the UK

The educational experiences of children in care across five decades: A new perspective on the... Children in care have consistently lower educational attainment than peers who live with their birth families. However, metrics often define ‘education’ narrowly, focusing on traditional in-school achievements with which this population typically struggles. In this study, interviews with current and former children in care (n = 7, ages: 11–59) revealed that they perceive education in a much broader way, occurring across their life experiences and encompassing both life and social skills. Regardless of their performance in school, participants storied themselves as achievers in the context of this broader concept of ‘education’ and described positive outcomes such as independence, agency, development of authentic identities and capacity to strive for and achieve goals. These reflections have implications for the provision of social support services and the evaluation of outcomes for children who are taken into the care of the state. For example, it may be valuable to redefine ‘education’ to include a wider range of activities and to therefore encompass a variety of potential interventions to support development and success. Additionally, there seems to be scope for working more closely with children in care when making decisions, centring their lived experiences and drawing on their insights so as to achieve a better balance of support for both formal and informal educational opportunities. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Adoption & Fostering SAGE

The educational experiences of children in care across five decades: A new perspective on the education of looked after children in the UK

Kenny, Karen
Adoption & Fostering , Volume 47 (1): 18 – Mar 1, 2023
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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023
ISSN
0308-5759
eISSN
1740-469X
DOI
10.1177/03085759231157415
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Children in care have consistently lower educational attainment than peers who live with their birth families. However, metrics often define ‘education’ narrowly, focusing on traditional in-school achievements with which this population typically struggles. In this study, interviews with current and former children in care (n = 7, ages: 11–59) revealed that they perceive education in a much broader way, occurring across their life experiences and encompassing both life and social skills. Regardless of their performance in school, participants storied themselves as achievers in the context of this broader concept of ‘education’ and described positive outcomes such as independence, agency, development of authentic identities and capacity to strive for and achieve goals. These reflections have implications for the provision of social support services and the evaluation of outcomes for children who are taken into the care of the state. For example, it may be valuable to redefine ‘education’ to include a wider range of activities and to therefore encompass a variety of potential interventions to support development and success. Additionally, there seems to be scope for working more closely with children in care when making decisions, centring their lived experiences and drawing on their insights so as to achieve a better balance of support for both formal and informal educational opportunities.

Journal

Adoption & Fostering – SAGE

Published: Mar 1, 2023

Keywords: Children in care; looked after children; achievement; education; social pedagogy; reflexivity; agency; habitus

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