Supporting Care Leavers to Fulfil their Educational Aspirations: Resilience, Relationships and Resistance to Help

Abstract

Most children in state care do not do as well in school as their peers, but the period of leaving care and transition to adulthood may offer a ‘turning point’ for positive change. Based on a small study of care leavers in England, this article employs the concept of resilience to explore the significance of supportive relationships in enabling this group of young people to make decisions about their future and encouraging them to overcome setbacks in educational attainment.

Supporting care‐experienced adults' educational journeys: “Linked lives” over the life course

“…Work by Rios and Rocco () resonates with these findings suggesting that teachers, guidance counsellors, foster carers, relatives, and members of local communities were key in providing academic support. Finally, Driscoll (, p. 145) notes the sometimes “informal and surprising sources” of educational support in her study of the significance of supportive relationships when it comes to educational aspirations, for example, neighbours of a foster carer who provided support to one particular participant.…”

“…Participants in Driscoll's () study cited practical and emotional support and encouragement provided by foster carers, lecturers, and teachers as important. Driscoll also notes that participants were willing to accept support where “trust and care” was established (, p. 145).…”

‘Man up!’ bullying and resilience within a neoliberal framework

“…This is not a discrete or fixed quality, and children may be more or less resilient at different points in their lives, depending on the interaction and accumulation of individual and environmental factors (Rutter 1985). As such, resilience is perceived as a dynamic process that varies over time, where an individual displays positive adaptation in the light of adversity or trauma (Driscoll 2013;Kolar, Erickson, and Steward 2012). Moreover, children may develop resilience in one area of their lives but not in others (Kim-Cohen et al 2004).…”

“…This confirms the role of the teacher as educator; someone who helps their students learn. Driscoll (2013) argues that schools have an important role in the promotion of resilient trajectories, for example, through supportive relationships with staff. This is only hinted at in the extract above, where support is offered by down-playing the incident (again, through a three-way-list completer): '•this is life•', followed by 'sorry it happened this t↓ime' (line 7) and 'I'm sure it wasn't anything malicious' (line 8).…”

An empirical test of a model of academic expectations among youth in residential care

“…For this reason, academic expectations of disadvantaged adolescent groups have been studied extensively, informing interventions aimed at promoting education among these disadvantaged populations (e.g., Byun, Meece, Irvin, & Hutchins, 2012;Carranza, You, Chhhuon, Hudley, & 333, 2009;Driscoll, 2013;St Clair & Benjamin, 2011). Such studies, however, were not conducted among one of the most vulnerable groups: youth in out of home care.…”