Article

Adoption & Fostering

One size does not fit all: the 2015, Vol. 39(2) 135–144
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DOI: 10.1177/0308575915588721
in out-of-home care adoptionfostering.sagepub.com

Kathy Mendis
La Trobe University, Australia

Abstract
It is well established that the educational achievements of children in care often lag behind those
of their peers in school. This article explores the needs and experiences of a particular group that
has been overlooked: women from a care background who go to university. It charts the adult
careers of 18 women who were in care in Australia between the late 1950s and 2005 and
identifies five groups with regard to their life histories: Destined, Decided, Determined,
Denied and Delayed. The importance of context for understanding the educational needs of
children in care is emphasised, along with practice recommendations regarding: attention to
existing academic deficits; facilitating recovery and growth; ensuring support, guidance and
encouragement; providing practical and financial support; ensuring stability and security; respond-
ing sensitively to social and cultural differences; and acknowledging the importance of professional
contributions.

Keywords
Children in care, education, attainment, university, women, Australia

It is universally recognised that the educational achievements of children in care lags behind
those of their peers in the wider community (AIHW, 2011; Berridge, 2012; Courtney, 2008;
Jackson and Höjer, 2013; Montserrat, Casas and Malo, 2013; Racz and Korintus, 2013;
Sallnäs, Vinnerljung and Westermark, 2009; Strijker, 2010; Tveit and Arnesen, 2004;
Vinnerljung, Oman and Gunnarson, 2005). This seems to apply irrespective of whether
countries follow a predominantly ‘child protection’ model of welfare or a European
approach based on a ‘social pedagogical’ model of looking after children in care.
Research studies have identified the factors that promote and hinder these outcomes and
this article extends this knowledge by focusing on the needs of women from a care back-
ground who experience further education.

Corresponding author:
Kathy Mendis, School of Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Email: kathymd10@gmail.com

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136 Adoption & Fostering 39(2)

The research
The research comprised a qualitative study of 18 Australian women university graduates
who had spent at least three years in care after the age of seven. The sample was restricted to
women because the social and educational experiences of girls and boys in state care in
Australia were very different in earlier decades (van Krieken, 1991) and because the
researcher believed that she was especially well qualified to understand the women’s experi-
ences (Hanmer and Hearn, 1999). It was hoped, nonetheless, that the research would serve to
benefit all children in care regardless of gender.
The data were collected through narrative interviews that explored educational path-
ways from primary school through to university graduation. Personal views on how to
improve the education of children in care were also gathered. The interviews were audio-
recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis, and University
Human Ethics guidelines were followed. Each participant was then offered a transcript
of their interview but, interestingly, only seven took this opportunity and only three
requested alterations.
The participants had all been in care between the late 1950s and 2005, three entering care
in the mid- to late-1950s, seven in the 1960s, four in the 1970s and two each in the 1980s and
the 1990s. In the early decades, the predominant type of provision in Australia was institu-
tional but foster care became the most common placement later on.
From a socio-demographic perspective, 13 of the 18 participants were mothers and three
were grandmothers. Six said or implied that they were currently living alone while the others
were in relationships with husbands and partners. Some participants were enjoying what
they described as successful marriages or relationships, while others recalled bitter or failed
ones. However, regardless of their relationship status, all the participants claimed that aca-
demic qualifications had given them financial independence, a benefit that was highly valued
given their memories of childhood poverty and, in some instances, impoverished adulthood.
Each participant had completed at least a bachelor degree. A number had obtained two
such degrees and many others had acquired additional diplomas. Six of the women had
completed, or were completing, a master’s degree while one had a PhD and another was
finishing a doctoral thesis at the time of the interview.
The participants had worked or were currently employed in jobs that fitted into the
middle- to high-status tier of Australia’s employment hierarchy. They were grateful to edu-
cation for giving them this status and noted that success earned them greater respect than
they had experienced as children and adolescents. All except one were working or had
worked in a helping profession, such as social work, teaching or nursing.
Nine of the participants had continued with higher education direct from school and the
other nine had returned to study sometime later. As the aim of the research was to inves-
tigate the factors contributing to their educational success while in care, the school experi-
ences of the latter group were used to explore what prevented them from continuing with
higher education once they had left school.

Findings
Five groups of participants were identified according to their educational experiences. These
were labelled Destined, Decided, Determined, Denied or Delayed, and each will be discussed
in turn.

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Mendis 137

Destined group
The women in this group had received resources for, and assistance with, education during
their schooling that can be considered to be above the standard level of public care. For
example, they attended private schools and received private tuition. The group was so called
because the women thought that they had been ‘destined’ to go to university since they were
middle-school age. When asked why they thought so, they all responded along the lines of:
‘What else should you be doing after leaving school? It was just expected of you.’ This was
because they believed that by investing in their education, their carers were holding high
expectations for them. As a result, the women did not want to disappoint these aspirations
and strived for high academic achievement.

Decided group
The women in this group ‘decided’ that they wanted to pursue higher education. They were
exposed to both negative and positive influences with regard to education while at school but
consciously chose to internalise only the positive messages. This was predominantly because
they had a significant female adult consistently stressing to them the importance of education
and representing it as their gateway out of childhood adversity. As the women had a deep
relationship with this adult, they trusted the information conveyed and ‘decided’ they needed
a decent education. The following reflection from Doreen1 provides an example of this type
of positive influence:
My education was not supported at home [group home] but my holiday mother2 was very
focused on making sure that I did have an education all the way through my life . . . even as I
got older she said, ‘You know, you will have a university degree.’

Determined group
This was a very ‘determined’ group that developed a motivation to go to university while at
school despite not having adequate resources or receiving active support. These women
embodied strong resilience, demonstrating agency, courage, determination, perseverance
and help-seeking behaviour that countered the effect of not having a significant adult in
their life. They did not allow adverse circumstances to interfere with their educational aspir-
ations, actively enlisting help from professionals for problems which they were not able to
handle alone. Tessa, who lived in a youth hostel as an adolescent, explained how she had
managed to complete school:
The student welfare officer [from whom I sought assistance] at school was hugely instrumental in
making sure that I didn’t have to worry about a whole bunch of things like textbooks and school
uniform. Those sorts of things that, if I had to pay for those things, I couldn’t have been able to
afford it so I couldn’t have done schooling.

Denied group
The women in this group had been encouraged by a significant adult to pursue an education
for a short period sometime during their schooling. Although short-lived, this experience
stimulated them to aspire towards a professional career. However, around the age of 16,

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138 Adoption & Fostering 39(2)

accommodation crises forced them out of school and left them struggling to cope with
everyday survival. As Beth explained:
I turned 16. Once you turn 16 the money stops [policy of the time] so the foster mother kicked me
out. I didn’t finish the year. I wanted to do my HSC [Year 12] because at that time I wanted to
work for the DoCS [Department of Community Services]. And I think life just took a complete
turn that I wasn’t expecting because then I had nowhere to live  so all of a sudden it’s not about
getting an education, it’s about surviving. At 16 I was living on the streets.

Delayed group
The school experience of women in this group was very different from those elsewhere. Their
experience, both inside and outside of school, was negative all the way through. They were
not made aware of the importance of education, career options were not explained and those
responsible for their welfare, such as carers, teachers and social workers, gave little assistance
with classroom studies and homework. This lack of support contributed to poor perform-
ance and difficult behaviour in school. Thus, the women performed poorly and some began
to act out when they were unable to complete allocated tasks. This, in turn, attracted con-
tinual criticism from teachers and carers who attributed their low academic achievements to
a lack of ability, hence early employment seemed the most suitable option. Having developed
a dislike of school due to extensive humiliation, criticism and the stigma associated with
being in care, they left as soon as possible for unskilled employment. Later, though, on
realising the value of education, they began to regret their lack of qualifications and decided
to remedy this. The following reflection by Jenna sums up the experience of this group:
I didn’t know about a future. I didn’t know my options. I didn’t know professions. I didn’t
know that I could have a choice. I really didn’t know the world. . . . I wish I had known at
that time that education was available to me. If I had known then I would have taken
advantage of it. And that would have helped me, I think. Probably I may not have married
so young. I may have made different choices throughout life rather than 25 years, 30 years
down the track.

Discussion
The experience of the Destined group demonstrates that when adults who are responsible for
children’s well-being invest resources in their education, children in care internalise this as
the adults holding high expectations for them. This belief has the propensity to drive these
children to strive for academic achievement.
With this in mind, a concern must arise when carers, teachers and social workers hold low
expectations for children in care (DfES, 2005; Jackson, Ajayi and Quigley, 2005; Mendes,
2010). This is understandable given the chaotic lifestyles, sense of hopelessness and lack of
direction displayed by many older children in care. Yet, the adults in question are in an ideal
position to remedy this and facilitate the transformation of positive values from adverse
circumstances.
This lack of optimism could reflect the perception that children in care are by definition a
low functioning group (Smith, 2009; Tveit and Arnesen, 2004), a view reinforced by evidence
on the higher rates of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that they display
(AIHW, 2014). However, research also shows that these children also have persistent

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Mendis 139

traits of resilience (Ajayi and Quigley, 2006; Cameron, 2007; Johnson and Mendes, 2014;
Stein, 2005). Thus, there appears to be an urgent need to change the prevailing negative view
regarding their potential and ensure that children in care are surrounded by optimistic adults
who believe that with adequate support surprising achievements are possible. There is also
scope for researchers to effect this change at a broader level by highlighting the strengths and
achievements of children in care and of ex-care adults, as the narratives of the women in the
Destined group show that children tend to absorb the optimism (or pessimism) of adults
around them.
The experiences of the Decided group confirm the importance of having a significant
adult in their lives. Children in care often experience multiple placements and this makes
it hard for them to bond with a particular carer (Bryderup and Trentel, 2013). However,
Doreen’s experience demonstrates that the ‘significant adult’ does not necessarily have to live
with the child on a day-to-day basis.
The Swedish concept of ‘contact person/family’ found in that country’s child and family
welfare system is relevant here because a similar arrangement might work for children in
care. Having a contact person/family is a statutory service for children living in families with
social problems or who have severe learning disabilities (Andersson, 2006), but is different
from ‘youth mentoring’ programmes because of its statutory status. The ‘contact person’ in
Sweden is commonly used for older children and teenagers who may need ‘help with school
work, access to an adult outside the home with whom to discuss problems, company for
constructive leisure activities, or support in independent living’ (Andersson, 2006: 181).
The ‘contact family’ is used for children in need to visit one or two weekends a month
and perhaps for a few days during holidays, or when temporary accommodation is required
owing to difficulties at home. As they are statutory services with measures in place to moni-
tor the well-being of children in their care, they are also in a better position to screen and
match the adults to children and scrutinise and assess developing relationships, so reducing
the risk of harm.
The experiences of the Determined group emphasise the importance of practical and
financial support for children who strive to get an education in the absence of a supportive
adult in their life. These children are resilient and resourceful people who would seek support
on their own initiative. However, their educational needs vary according to their personal
goals and the available resources available at the time. Professionals and carers need to
appreciate this behaviour and attend to children’s requests without interpreting their ‘self-
reliant approach’ as being ‘difficult’ (Cameron, 2007: 48).
The Denied group responses highlight the importance of placement stability during the
last years of schooling. As the stories of these women reveal, instability at this stage can
seriously jeopardise children’s aspirations, even if these hopes and ambitions are deeply
rooted in their minds. Unfortunately, children in care still experience multiple placements
despite efforts to minimise them (Fernandez, 2010; Sallnäs, Vinnerljung and Westermark,
2009; Strijker, 2010; Wulczyn and Chen, 2010). The point to note, therefore, is the signifi-
cance of secure placements for adolescents who are in their final years of schooling. Boarding
schools might be an alternative for some of them if the usual options appear fragile
(Maxwell, et al., 2009).
The Delayed group experience draws attention to the importance of carers, teachers and
social workers giving children in care clear and accurate information about their options and
the harmful effects of not doing so. As Jenna’s reflection implied, if children in care know the
value of education, they might make an effort to stay in school. But the experience of

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140 Adoption & Fostering 39(2)

disrupted schooling makes this difficult and usually means they lag academically behind their
classroom peers. This, along with many other barriers they face, makes them susceptible to
early leaving (Cashmore and Paxman, 1996, 2006, 2007; Cashmore, Paxman and Townsend,
2007; Montserrat, Casas and Malo, 2013). Making the children aware of the benefits of
education and the options available to them is, therefore, a crucial aspect of motivational
behaviour. Social workers have a special responsibility in this respect because placement
movements and disjointed schooling often prevent children from receiving this information
from sources like carers and teachers available to other children.
In summary, the research found the following points and suggestions to be especially
important for the education of children in care. Although many of the points have been well
documented in the literature, it is hoped that this summary will provide care workers with a
framework with which to assess the educational needs of children in care according to their
particular circumstances.

Attending to existing academic deficits

The education of children in care is negatively affected by their pre-care abuse and/or neg-
lect; thus, their performance level is generally lower than the national standard at the time
they are taken into care. They need to be individually assisted in order to bring their per-
formance up to a level consistent with the standard curriculum. Carers, volunteers and
private tutors are all possible resources from whom additional academic help may be
obtained.

Facilitating recovery and growth

Although external resources are necessary, they are not by themselves sufficient to promote
the children’s education because they are so emotionally vulnerable. The capacity to focus
on learning can be significantly reduced by emotional instability. Assisting children to under-
stand, cope and recover from emotional issues should be prioritised. Consequently, organis-
ing access to psychological support, both professional and informal, is important.
Another aspect to consider during the early stages is building resilience (Bryderup and
Trentel, 2013). All the participants in this research equivocally asserted that children in care
need to be given the opportunity to participate in after-school activities of personal choice,
such as sports, dancing and music, in order to not only build their confidence, resilience,
social skills and hopefulness, but also to make them feel ‘normal’, given that such activities
nowadays tend to be the norm for so many children in western societies.

Ensuring support, guidance and encouragement

As the urgency of dealing with emotional issues diminishes, children taken into care need to
be encouraged to develop a sense of purpose and hope. An effective way in which to facili-
tate this is to encourage them to view education as a way to escape disadvantage. An adult
who has gained their trust is well placed to convey this message, so ensuring that such a
person exists is critical. Psychological parenting3 is the desired outcome and thus the adult
need not live with the child every day. For children who do not have a supportive carer or a
significant adult from their previous relationships, a caring adult from the community could
be considered, with stringent screening and supervision on a statutory basis.

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Mendis 141

Regardless of whether the children have a psychological parent or not, those adults who
have an ethical responsibility for their welfare need to hold a positive outlook for them
because the child in care is likely to internalise the optimism, or lack of it, of the adults
around them. Even the carers who, for whatever reason, are emotionally distant can instil
hope in these children by showing a special interest in their education, for example, by
providing resources for learning.
Children in care may experience multiple placements that can hinder the chances of
bonding with a carer. Despite the common limitations of their role, such as frequent turn-
over, limited resources and bureaucratic constraints, social workers should recognise that it
is the quality, not the quantity, of their relationship with the child that matters.
Social workers may strive to be more involved in the education of children in care and
succeed in finding a suitable school, monitoring the child’s progress and providing a space in
which to study. But, without continual monitoring, some children may struggle to maintain
a routine, may experience stigma and bullying or simply miss support opportunities, and so
leave school early.
Above all, children in care need to be informed of their educational options and the career
pathways available to them. Given that these children often experience irregular schooling
and attend several establishments, it would be prudent for social workers to take on the role
of providing or reinforcing relevant information.

Providing practical and financial support

No amount of resilience or determination can make children in care succeed if they do not
have the physical means with which to reach their goals. In particular, if a child does not
have a supportive carer or other significant adult, social workers may need to attend to a
broader range of needs. Such children may require sustained support, specifically practical
and financial, not only while in care but also after leaving until they complete their educa-
tion, and this involves providing and finding accommodation.
It is difficult to pre-assess or predict the educational needs of individual children in care
because they revolve around the specific aims and goals at different points in time and the
social context of that period. Therefore, the services to them need to be located in a flexible
framework so that workers are not required to ration or deny help to children because of
workplace restrictions or fear of breaching contractual obligations.

Ensuring stability and security

Particular significance is attached to placement stability during the last few years of school-
ing. Instability and associated hardship at this time pose a very high risk to education.
Attempts need to be made to ensure stability at least during the last two years of schooling
while preparing for the final school exams, as in many circumstances satisfactory completion
of these leads to higher education, the outcome of which is a further boost to positive life
chances.

Social and cultural influences

Subjecting children in care to negative comments about their academic achievement is
extremely unproductive, while praising their efforts can make a significant impression. All
those involved in the child’s welfare need to take an active role in praising educational

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142 Adoption & Fostering 39(2)

endeavours and educating critics about the ramifications of negative comments, given chil-
dren’s predisposition to absorb influences that could lead to disengagement from education.
A pivotal factor to consider in this regard is the geographical location of the school.
Avoiding schools situated in areas with known negative factors is a prudent measure if
there is scope to do so. Conversely, exposing them to positive influences, such as role
models, can be productive. In particular, exposure to ex-care peers who have been academ-
ically successful may facilitate motivation to strive educationally.

Importance of professional contribution

Finally, the staff contribution to the welfare of children in care also needs to be acknowl-
edged because of the direct correlation between the quality of out-of-home care services and
the well-being of children (Gilligan, 2009). The suggestions presented in this article are not
feasible if staff are low paid, under-resourced, poorly supported and inadequately trained.
Making the argument for sufficient funding for child welfare services is appropriate since one
of its effects is to promote the education of children in care.

Conclusion
The findings of this research demonstrate that the educational needs of children in care are
considerable and especially so for women who struggle in many countries to achieve parity
with men. But these needs are also bound to context and different approaches are required to
meet the educational needs of different groups rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. For
example, children who have not bonded with a significant adult may need greater profes-
sional assistance to persevere and succeed. It was also clear that children who were fortunate
enough to connect with a significant adult had a much more supportive and positive edu-
cational experience. Consequently, the workers at the forefront of helping children in care
are required to make judgements regarding how best to support their education in various
care circumstances. This involves determining priorities and developing clear strategies as
well as good communication between all parties involved. The characteristics of the five
groups identified in this study provide a useful preliminary guide to help this process.
This research also supports the notion that the educational needs of children in care are
inherently intertwined with many other factors, for example, emotional well-being and safe
and secure accommodation. Efforts to promote education must therefore also involve
attending to other needs. But, in conclusion, it is especially important for all sections of
society to appreciate that with support many of these children are capable of achieving a
decent education and that girls are just as capable of doing so as boys.

Notes
1. All names are pseudonyms.
2. Children in institutions had been sent to a family in the community during school holidays with the
intention of giving them ‘family experience’.
3. Psychological parenting happens within an adult–child relationship in which the child feels valued
and ‘wanted’ during ‘day-to-day interaction, companionship and shared experiences’ in which the
adult does not necessarily have to take care of the child’s day-to-day upbringing (Goldstein, Freud
and Solnit, 1973: 17, 19).

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Mendis 143

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Kathy Mendis is a Social Researcher in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, La
Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.

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