Educa&onal  support  for  young  people  in  care  –  voices  of  25  

”nominated  adults”    Ingrid  Höjer  

Helena  Johansson  Department  of  Social  Work  University  of  Gothenburg  

Young  People  from  a  Public  Care  Background  -­‐  Pathways  to  Educa&on  in  

Europe  (YIPPEE)    •  Funding:  Framework  7,  EU    

•  Par,cipants:  England,  Denmark,  Spain,  Sweden,  Hungary    •  Coordinators:  Sonia  Jackson,  Claire  Cameron,  Thomas  Coram  

Research  Unit,  London  •  2008-­‐2010  

Ingrid Höjer, Helena Johansson, Dep of Social Work, University of Gothenburg

Aim  of  the  research  •  make   a   substan&al   contribu&on   to  knowledge   about   par&cipa&on   rates  and   pathways   in   post-­‐compulsory  educa&on   of   young   men   and   women  who   have   been   in   public   care   as  children    

•  raise   awareness   among   policy-­‐makers  and  prac&&oners  of  the  need  for  ac&on    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Methods  •  Li[erature  review  -­‐  available  at  website  •  Secondary  analysis  of  na&onal  data  •  Survey  of  the  policy  of  local  authori&es  

•  Interviews  with  8  local  managers    •  Telephone  interviews  with  another  111  local  manangers  (part  of  other  project)  

•  Interviews  •  53  young  persons  -­‐  screening  interviews  •  In  depth-­‐  interviews  with  33  of  theses:  9  men  and  24  women  •  Second  interview  with  26  •  25  young  persons  could  nominate  an  adult  important  for  their  

educa,onal  life  –  these  were  interviewed  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Nominated  Adults  

•  3  biological  mothers  •  13  foster  parents  (12  foster  mothers  and  1  foster  father)  

•  6  teachers  (4  from  secondary  school  and  2  from  upper  secondary  school)  

•  1  school  welfare  officer    •  2  residen&al  home  staff  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Some  reserva&ons  

•  A  miscellaneous  sample,  varies  in  rela&onship  and  &me    

•  Retrospec&ve  interviews    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

25  out  of  33…..  

•  25  out  of  33  could  appoint  at  least  one  person  who  they  had  perceived  as  suppor&ve  for  their  educa&onal  a[ainment  and  achievement  

•  Most  of  the  NA  had  vivid  memories  of  the  young  person,  but  not  all  

•  8  young  people  could  not  appoint  anyone  who  they  perceived  as  suppor&ve  throughout  the  whole  &me  in  school  and  out-­‐of-­‐home  care    

•  No  social  workers  appointed  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

No  expecta&ons  on  high  achievements?  

•  The  only  expecta&on  is  for  them  to  just  have  a  ”pass”  in  school.  If  they  just  manage  to  finish  school,  that’s  fine  then.  The  curricula  for  compulsory  school  states  that  school  shall  create  young  people  who  can  be  part  of  society  –  and  I  think  that’s  how  social  services  think.  There  is  no  need  for  this  group  of  young  people  to  become  high  achievers  (teacher)  

 

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Social  services  focus  on  social  problems  –  not  on  educa&on:  

 – Well,  I  think  when  social  services  start  working  with  a  case,  they  have  other  things  than  school  on  their  agenda.  Children  are  abused  and  neglected,  and….So  social  workers  focus  on  children’s  well-­‐being.  Besides,  I  don’t  think  they  have  any  really  high  expecta&ons  for  this  group  of  children  (foster  mother)    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Unclear  expecta&ons  on  the  fostering  assignment  

 •  I’ve  never  had  an  explicit  fostering  task  where  it  says  that  I  should  support  the  child  at  school.  If  it’s  there  it’s  because  I  said  so.  But  it  should  be  the  first  thing  to  point  out.  It  should  be  the  first.    (Foster  mother  of  more  than  40  children)  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Collabora&on  foster  carer  –  school  is  important    

•  When  my  foster  children  arrive,  the  first  thing  we  do  is  to  visit  their  school.  I  tell  the  staff  what  I  expect  from  school,  and  the  kids  get  to  hear  this.  The  school  staff  tells  me  what  they  expect  me  to  do,  and  together  we  tell  the  kids  what  we  expect  of  them.  And  when  they  are  18  (have  reached  the  age  of  majority,  our  comment)  there  are  rules  that  the  school  is  not  allowed  to  communicate  with  me.  So,  I  take  my  foster  children  to  visit  the  school  office,  and  they  sign  an  agreement  where  they  give  their  consent,  leing  me  get  the  informa&on  I  need.  And  if  the  kids  don’t  agree,  I  stay  put  in  the  office,  un&l  they  sign  (foster  mother  of  40)    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Commitment  

•  We  put  a  lot  of  &me  into  their  school-­‐work.  Doing  home  work  every  night  with  the  teenagers  and  we  go  through  it  and  help  one  another.  Shool  is  really  important.  If  everything  else  breaks  down  we  can  give  them  a  hope,  a  hope  for  the  future,  if  the  have  the  grades  and…  It  makes  a  huge  difference  (foster  mother)  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Intelligence  and  knowledge  as  resilient  factors    

•  I  think  when  it  comes  to  A,  she  has  her  intellegence  and  this  has  been  a  great  asset  for  her.  Being  smart  made  if  possible  for  her  to  cope,  even  with  very  trauma&c  emo&onal  experiences.  The  more  knowledge  she  got,  she  understood  what  she’d  been  trough,  which  people  she’d  met,  how  they’d  been,  what  could’ve  happened…  I  think  it  has  become  something  that  &es  it  together    (teacher)  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

No  “normality”  to  return  to..  

•  According  to  my  experience,  the  reason  why  children  in  care  don’t  do  well  at  school  and  have  problems  when  they  finish  school,  is  connected  to  their  previous  experiences  and  lack  of  social  support.  Other  kids  can  have  all  kinds  of  problems,  but  usually  they  eventually  get  it  right  –  because  the  have  something  ”normal”  to  return  to.    Young  people  in  care  don’t,  that’s  why  it’s  so  much  more  difficult  for  them  (teacher,  residen&al  home)    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Lacking  financial  support  aler  care  

•  In  Sweden  –  possible  to  take  study  loans  –  on  good  terms  –  most  young  people  do  

•  From  our  previous  research  – young  people  from  care  are  reluctant  to  take  the  risk  of  ”being  in  dept”      

– no  support  from  their  social  network  •  Li[le  awareness  of  this  fact  –  young  people  from  care  are  expected  to  have  the  same  possibili&es  as  ”anyone”    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

NA  share  this  view  –  no  percep&on  of  the  need  for  financial  support  

•  Well,  I’ve  experienced  it  in  several  cases  where  I’ve  had  to  cheat  them  out  of  money  to  pay  books  for  them  to  study  (foster  mother)  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Lacking  social  support  aler  care  

•  Young  people  placed  in  out  of  home  care  need  – Advice  –  opportunity  to  discuss  different  op&ons  and  routes  to  educa&on  

– Someone  who  expects  educa&onal  achievements  – Someone  to  give  appraisal  

•  Li[le  awareness  of  the  importance  of  social  support    

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Support  aler  care  is  crucial  

•  NA  –  foster  carers  –  says  that  there  is  no  support  for  educa&on  once  the  young  people  have  lel  care.  All  foster  carers  ask  for  such  support  from  social  services  – They  don’t  have  the  strength  and  the  discipline  to  carry  on  studying  when  they  are  on  their  own.  It’s  not  possible.  They  have  so  many  personal  issues  to  deal  with,  there  is  no  place  lel  for  anything  else,  unless  you  have  someone  coaching  them  (foster  father)  

Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Brief  results  

•  School  comes  secondary  –  focus  on  helping  children  and  young  people  with  social  problem,  abuse  and  neglect  in  the  family  

•  Commited  professionals  a  key  facilitator  •  Social  support  is  important  for  educa&onal  a[ainment  

•  Intelligence  and  a  ”learning  identy”  promote  resilience  

•  Support  aler  leaving  care  is  crucial  Ingrid  Höjer,  Helena  Johansson,  Dep  of  Social  Work,  University  of  Gothenburg  

Further  reading  •  h[p://tcru.ioe.ac.uk/yippee/  •  Jackson,  S.  &  Cameron,  C.  (2014)  Improving  Access  to  

Further  and  Higher  EducaBon  for  Young  People  in  Public  Care.  Jessica  Kingsley  Publishers  

•  Höjer,  I.  ;  Johansson,  H.  (2013).  School  as  an  opportunity  and  resilience  factor  for  young  people  placed  in  care.  European  Journal  of  Social  Work.  16  (1)  

•  Johansson,  H.  ;  Höjer,  I.  (2012).  Educa&on  for  disadvantaged  groups  —  Structural  and  individual  challenges.  Children  and  Youth  Services  Review.  34  (6)  

•   Johansson,  H.  ;  Höjer,  I.  ;  Hill,  M.  (2011).  Young  People  from  a  Public  Care  Background  and  their  Pathways  to  Educa&on.www.socwork.gu.se/forskning  

Ingrid Höjer, Helena Johansson, Dep of Social Work, University of Gothenburg