The education of children and adolescents in out-of-home care: a problem or an opportunity? Results of a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

The education of children in care is an issue that often falls into a no man’s land in which responsibility always seems to be attributed to the other ‘department’. Furthermore, all too often, teachers, educators and foster parents find themselves working with these children with no support, as if they were isolated cases. The aim of this study is to get to know the school situation of children in different types of out-of-home care: residential, kinship and non-kinship care. Systematic data on the school situation of 11–16-year-olds (on class attendance, school behaviour, academic results and guidance towards post-compulsory education) were gathered over a period of 5 consecutive school years. A 3-year longitudinal study on the same items (N = 391) was made and time-series data were gathered for 5 years (N = 1841). Results show that the in-care population is at a clear disadvantage and inequality of opportunities compared to the general population in relation to their educational pathways and outcomes; the most disadvantaged being the population in residential care. Recommendations are included, posing the challenge that what has to date been considered a ‘problem’ should become an opportunity for these children.

RESUMEN

La situación escolar de los niños tutelados cae a menudo en un terreno donde la responsabilidad parece ser siempre del otro ‘departamento,’ encontrándose a menudo los maestros, los educadores y los acogedores trabajando en solitario como si se tratara de casos aislados. El objetivo del presente estudio es el conocer la situación escolares de los niños tutelados en las tres modalidades de acogimiento: acogimiento residencial, en familia extensa y en familia ajena. Por ello, durante cinco cursos escolares consecutivos se han recogido datos sistemáticos sobre la situación escolar de los niños tutelados de edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 16 años, y más concretamente sobre su asistencia a clase, su comportamiento, los resultados académicos y la orientación para la educación postobligatoria. Se hace un análisis longitudinal de tres años con los mismos sujetos (N = 391) y se recogen series temporales durante 5 años (N = 1841). Los resultados muestran la clara desventaja en que se encuentra la población tutelada comparada con la población general respecto a sus itinerarios y resultados formativos, siendo la situación más negativa aún por los que se encuentran en acogimiento residencial. Se incluyen recomendaciones para la agenda política, la práctica profesional y la futura investigación planteando el reto que lo visto hasta ahora como un ‘problema’ debería convertirse, por estos niños y adolescentes, una oportunidad.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• residential care
• kinship care
• family foster care
• education

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• niños y niñas
• acogimiento residencial
• acogimiento en familia extensa
• acogimiento en familia ajena
• educación

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Carme Montserrat, PhD, is tenured professor and deputy dean in the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University of Girona (Spain) and researcher in the Research Team on Childhood, Children’s rights and their Quality of Life (ERIDIqv). She had previously worked in the welfare system in the city of Barcelona as well as being consultant with the Council of Europe. Her main areas of research are related to children and young people in social services and public care. She is a member of the International Association iaOBER (www.outcome-evaluation.org/).

Ferran Casas, PhD in social psychology, is Emeritus Professor at the University of Girona (Spain) and co-coordinator of the ERIDIqv research team (www.udg.edu/eridiqv), within the Research Institute on Quality of Life (www.udg.edu/irqv). He is a member of the Executive Committee for the International Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) and for the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS). He received the ISQOLS Distinguished Fellow QOL Award 2014 for evidence of a lifetime and substantial contribution to Quality of Life Research.