The Corporate Parent: Residential Group Homes and the Education of Children and Youth in Care

ABSTRACT

This article is a critical interpretive study of residential group homes as school preparatory environments for children and youth in their care. Utilizing social pedagogic analytics, the paper analyzes the role of residential group homes in the education of the children and youth under their care. Evidence gathered in this study suggests that residential child and youth care staff does not play the expected in loco parentis roles as expected of all care givers by Canadian Family Law. Against the established view that there are healthy and conducive home environments that enhance school learning, group home environment is assessed. Building upon narratives from child care workers, observations of group homes and analysis of documents, the main conclusion derived from this study is that it is high time that child and youth care workers give equal attention to safety concerns for and educational progress of the children and youth in their care.

KEYWORDS:

• Corporate parent
• social pedagogy
• residential child and youth workers
• children and youth in care
• school achievement
• residential group homes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Munyaradzi Hwami

Munyaradzi Hwami is an Associate Professor at Nazarbayev University's Graduate School of Education, in Astana, Kazakhstan. His research experience and interests are in international higher education and development, citizenship and social justice education, postcolonial studies in education and sociology of higher education. Munya has authored several journal articles and book chapters on higher education in Zimbabwe and social and/or human rights education for inner-city youth in Edmonton, Canada.