What are the factors associated with educational achievement for children in kinship or foster care: A systematic review

Abstract

Children in care lag behind their peers on a number of outcome measures, including education. Interventions have been developed to help them close the gap with their peers but these have had limited success to date. One possible reason for this may stem from our lack of understanding about underlying processes and mechanisms. This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of the factors associated with educational outcomes for children in foster and kinship care. It aims to inform the literature on risk and protective factors and inform the development of future interventions. Eight major databases and websites were searched between 1990 and 2016 using a combination of mesh terms. Studies were included if they tested the statistical association between any variable and educational outcomes for school age children in foster or kinship care in high-income countries. Children in other placement types were excluded. Titles and abstracts were screened for 7135 studies identified through searches. Full texts were obtained for 298 and 39 were retained for inclusion. Over 70 factors were identified. For the purposes of the narrative synthesis, factors were categorised into spheres of influence adapted from Bronfennbrenner's (1979) ecological framework. The findings reveal significant heterogeneity. Male gender, ethnic minority status and special educational needs were consistent predictors of poor educational outcomes, while carers' and young people's aspirations appeared to predict greater success. The findings are discussed with implications for future research and practice.

Educational outcomes of children in contact with social care in England: a systematic review

“…Full search strings are available in Additional file 2. We adapted a search strategy developed by O’Higgins et al [5] and applied it across all databases. References were imported into the Mendeley reference management software with the exception of the results from Westlaw where this was not possible (these abstracts were downloaded into a word document for screening).…”

“…A further limitation of these high-level statistics is that they ignore differences between sub-groups of CiN and CLA and do not take into account how variation in their longitudinal ‘careers’ of contact with CSC services might be related to their educational outcomes. For example, a systematic review by O’Higgins et al [5] examining the factors associated with educational outcomes of children in foster care found that lower attainment was associated with a longer duration in care. DfE statistics also exclude the numerous vulnerable children who are in contact with CSC services but do not meet the thresholds for being designated in need or becoming looked after.…”

Awareness within local authorities in England of autism spectrum diagnoses of looked‐after children

“…The EHC Plan is a formal document that includes the statutory responsibilities of local authorities for supporting children with special educational needs in England, and is usually provided to children with higher levels of support needed. Within the population of looked‐after children, those with SEN are, as might be expected, especially vulnerable to poor educational outcomes (O'Higgins et al ., ). In 2016, 57.3% of looked‐after children had SEN compared to 14.4% of all children (Department for Education, 2017a).…”

‘You've come to children that are in care and given us the opportunity to get our voices heard': The journey of looked after children and researchers in developing a Patient and Public Involvement group

“…1 Looked after children and care leavers (henceforth LAC) are often disadvantaged, and they are more likely than their peers to have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences. 2,3 LAC, aged 11-19 years, have a fourfold increased risk of drug and alcohol use than children not in care, 4 and 50% of those in care meet the diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder, compared to 10% of noncare children who have mental health issues. 5 At age 16, the average attainment score for LAC is 22.8, compared to a score nearly double that for children not in care.…”