The Experiences of Care Leavers (Post-care Adults) in Social Work Education

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of social work students on qualifying degree programmes in the UK who have previously been in care or 'looked after.' Using a sample drawn from three social work programmes in the North West of England, a semi-structured interview schedule was constructed, with the support of social workers who had been in the care systems, to examine the individual journeys of 11 students. This paper aims to explore, with this group of students, how their experiences relate to their decision to apply for a place on a social work course, their experience of admission and the duration of the programme. The paper is of particular relevance to social work educators and makes specific suggestions regarding how current practice in social work education might improve.

‘It was me, but it was them that helped me’: Exploring the issues for care experienced young people within higher education

“…Our study evidences strongly that course choice is closely related to childhood experiences for this group of young people. This was similarly reflected in the study by Mayall et al (2015) who conducted interviews with 11 social work students who had been in care. The students had been cautious about disclosing their care status on their application form, and once on the course, were selective about who they told.…”

Care‐experienced students in higher education: A case for re‐figuring higher education worlds to widen access and further social justice

“…The figured world lens highlights the assumption that all students have experienced a smooth upbringing without any life changing and traumatic experiences, resulting in pedagogical delivery that implies that issues discussed happen to 'other people' outside of the classroom. However, Ward et al (2017) and Mayall et al (2015) discuss how a number of care-experienced social work students found particular aspects upsetting, including a deterministic approach to teaching attachment theory, a focus on poor outcomes from care or emphasising the negatives of corporate parenting. The students felt that such approaches consistently denigrated care experiences and portrayed them as entirely lacking.…”

“…In this paper, we argue that the figured world lens helps us to understand how negative interpretations of care‐experienced students can serve to make their lives more difficult. We know that care‐experienced students face some of the most pronounced marginalisation (Hauari et al, 2019) resulting in many resisting this label completely or until later in their HE journey (Mayall et al, 2015; Pinkney & Walker, 2020). For the most part, this seems to be connected to the level of societal stigma attached to the label (Bluff et al, 2012).…”

“…For the most part, this seems to be connected to the level of societal stigma attached to the label (Bluff et al, 2012). However, other reasons include receiving intentional or unintentional differential treatment (O'Neill et al, 2019) and fear of being excluded or turned down by institutions (Ellis & Johnston, 2019; Mayall et al, 2015). This is due to specific realms and understandings of people which empower those who conform to understandings of the typical student while marginalising those who deviate from these norms.…”

“…For example, interviews with social work students who had previously been in local authority care suggested that entering HE and particularly this professional pathway later in life allowed them the time to process prior (traumatic) experiences and feel emotionally prepared for a course that can ‘bring up a lot of things that you sort of put in the past’ (Ward et al, 2017, p. 342). Moreover, entering a programme such as social work later in life can mean having more time to gain skills, professional expertise and relevant life experiences that may allow students to thrive (Mayall et al, 2015). Gazeley and Hinton‐Smith (2018) add further weight to this anti‐deficit argument, suggesting that prior experiences can, later in life, resource people with a range of strategies to navigate HE and particular motivations including wanting to ‘give back’ or ‘help others’.…”