What factors influence inequality
between children in care and other
children? Differences in their
intergenerational transitions
Carme Montserrat
Ferran Casas
University of Girona
ISCI Conference
Session: Inequality among children,
intergenerational transitions
July 2011
Contents
1. Inequality of opportunities in the education
system: the case of children in care
2. Quantitative data from YIPPEE project
3. Qualitative data from YIPPEE project
4. Suggestions for establishing a system of
indicators comparable across countries
5. Final considerations about intergenerational
transitions
1. Inequality of opportunities in the education
system: the case of children in care
Premises (1)
• No country has regular statistics on the
educational results of young people leaving care
(except for the UK). The lack of data has traditionally
been used to deny the existence of a social
problem.
• This population is not only at high social risk when
they enter the protection system, but also after they
leave it (O'Sullivan and Westerman, 2007).
• This confirms the need for specific intervention
programmes and objectives which are also relevant
while they are in residential or family care.
Premises (2)
• The social integration of young people provided for by
equal opportunities also depends on achievements in
education and training.
• Those who do not complete compulsory and postcompulsory education  will be at a social disadvantage
 can be considered to be at risk of social exclusion 
should be recipients of preventive programmes
• Of those young people who drop out of education  a
significant percentage come from the protection system 
insufficient training to find qualified work in the labour
market.
2. Quantitative data from the
YIPPEE project
Denmark (Bryderup et al. 2010)
Highest level of % of 17 y.o.
% of all 17 y.o.
education
young people in young people
public care)
(N= 64,286)
(N=1,800)
Non education
20.8%
3.8%
completed
Compulsory
79.1%
96.2%
school
Vocational
0.1%
-education and
training
Denmark
• Do students who fall behind at school
recover over time?
 Let’s look at the results for young people
aged between 27 and 30
Denmark (source Bryderup et al. 2010)
Highest level of
education
No completed
education
% of young people
aged 27-30 who were
in care their 16th
year (N=3419)
% of all young
people aged 2730 y.o.
(N= 257.904)
11.9%
1.3%
Compulsory
school
Post compulsory
secondary
education
50.0%
17.8%
30.8%
46.1%
Higher education
7.3%
34.8%
Total
100%
100%
Pathways in the post
compulsory education in
Spain
Certificate of Compulsory
Secondary Education
A
B
1st Upper Secondary
Education
Intermediate Specific
Vocational Training
2nd Upper Secondary
Education
Course and exam for
entrance to advanced
training
Access
exam
C
Certificate of school
attendance/without
certificate
Non formal
apprenticeship
Advanced Specific
Vocational Training
UNIVERSITY
Children from
care
Spain (Catalonia)
(2009-2010)
Overall
population
In care
Expected level at age 15
69.4%
31.7%
Repeat year during
Compulsory Secondary
Education (ESO)
9.1%
64.5%
Graduated at age 16
60%
20.6%
81.9%
59.6%
1.1%
10.6%
Graduated when in Year 4 of
ESO
Special Education School
Spain (Catalonia) (2009-2010)
• 30.9% of children in care from the cohort born in
1994 left compulsory education at 15 without the
certificate
• 12.9% displayed absenteeism during the 2009-10
school year
• 29.4% had serious behavioural problems and
disciplinary measures were adopted at school.
• Half of them are guided towards PCPI (non qualified
professional courses), while in the overall
population only 4.4% are in such studies
• The longer they stay at the same school, the fewer
attainment and behavioural problems are observed.
3. Qualitative data from the YIPPEE
project in Spain
Characteristics of the young people
interviewed (N=35)
•
•
•
•
•
68% women
66% born in Spain
14% unaccompanied foreign minor
All them living in Catalonia
More in residential care than in family foster care
Living accommodation at the first interview
(aged18 -21)
Residential facility with support (post care service)
Apartment (own tenancy, shared with friends,…)
No.
Foster carers
Older sister
5
1
16
13
Studying at the first interview?
Intermediate Vocational Training (post-compulsory
secondary)
4
11.4%
1st year Upper Secondary Education (postcompulsory secondary)
1
3%
2nd year Upper Secondary Education (postcompulsory secondary)
4
11.4%
Access Course to Advanced Specific Vocational
Training (Higher education)
5
14.3%
Advanced Specific Vocational Training (HE)
4
11.4%
University
Others
They were not studying
4
6
7
11.4%
17.1%
20%
While in the protection system
Facilitating factors to continue in education (1)
•
•
•
•
•
Permanency of placement
Having a stable key adult in their lives
Staying at the same school
The prioritising of education in their foster care
The carer’s high level of involvement in the issue of
education
• The carer’s high expectations with regard to
education
• Carers and teachers transmitting the value of
education: education is the key to leaving their situation
of great social difficulty behind them.
(2) •
Inclusion in a group of friends outside the protection
system and very much integrated in the education
system; acts as a reference group but also as a group to
which the young person belongs, fostering a positive
social identity and therefore to some extent neutralising
their being labelled.
• The involvement of the school, a friendly attitude
which is adapted to children in care.
• Participation in “normal” leisure-time activities.
• Maintaining relationships with siblings if desired.
• The importance of listening to the opinion of these
young people and taking it into account,
 Better in a foster family or residential home with only few
places, although the type of placement in itself is not
sufficient condition for achieving these objectives.
When they leave care
Facilitating factors to continue in education
• Having a stable key adult to turn to.
• Receiving educational guidance that promotes postcompulsory education in accordance with their future
preferences and aspirations. Not focusing only on
immediacy.
• The existence of housing support services, grants for
continuing studying and personalised ongoing support
for those who require it, in order to reduce the fear and
insecurity they feel when they reach adult age without
family support.
Catalan Post Care Service (ASJTET)
No. of young people
BOYS
GIRLS
Total
1481
1600
1400
1202
1200
655
800
482
600
400
200
1005
922
1000
348
343
360
1998
1999
2000
486
487
609
515
476
466
359
310
308 296
298
293
273
218
207
195
194
184
179
176
176
126 136
169
167 165
82 151125
60 66
276
813
739
313
389
0
1995
1996
1997
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
4. Suggestions for establishing a system of
indicators comparable across countries
Suggestions for establishing a system of
indicators comparable across countries
• A system for the routine collection of relevant data
is needed in Europe to monitor the situation of this
population in relation to their educational
pathways.
• We need to agree to establish a system of indicators
that are comparable among European countries and
that can provide information on:
(1) The different achievements of this population in
relation to the overall population of the same age in
each country.
(2) The effectiveness of programmes and policy initiatives
designed to improve the educational opportunities of
young people who have been in care.
Suggestions for establishing a system of
indicators comparable across countries
To propose some steps towards specifying which data
would be desirable in order to:
• Have a more detailed quantitative knowledge of the
situation in each country.
• Make quantitative comparisons possible between
countries.
• Make quantitative evaluations of changes over time
possible for each country and across countries.
Outstanding factors: quantitative and
qualitative information to be collected
Information on student’s schooling:
• Qualifications/Level of studies
• Attendance
• School behaviour
• Repeating years
• Specific support programmes
• Peer group integration
• Reference teacher
• Participation in school activities (trips,
camp, swimming, ...)
• Attention received due to being in
care
Information on foster
care:
• Stability/changes
• Reference carer
• Extracurricular support
• Physical studying
conditions
More complex to measure but affects well-being and
academic success: involvement and expectations of
reference adults
Data that would be desirable in order to establish
a baseline of further and higher education
participation among YPLC in European countries
Disaggregated by:
• Gender
• Type of placement (residential, foster kinship, foster non-kinship,…)
• Duration of each placement (less than 1 year, 1-3, more than 3)
• Receiving after care services (yes/not needing them/missing…)
• Job status
5. Final considerations
Key areas for improvement
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Making their education the main priority.
Accepting their identification as a group with
specific educational needs.
Avoiding changes in residential homes and
schools, working towards permanency.
Increasing collaboration between departments
and their respective services.
Improving expectations with regard to the
group.
Innovating to meet the current challenges
posed by the child protection population.
Delaying their economic autonomy  Post care
services
Final considerations
• A high number of young people in care are delayed at
school after entering the protection system. Most of them
leave the protection system suffering even greater
delays or not having finished compulsory studies.
• How can the welfare system (the child protection
system) and the post-care support system compensate
for deficits and delays? How can we promote equality of
educational opportunities for these children? Without
establishing education as a major priority such
challenges would seem to be insurmountable; as would
also be the case without the after care services
supporting YPLC
• These issues involve establishing a system of indicators
as a first step.
All reports are available at http://tcru.ioe.ac.uk/yippee
Casas, F. & Montserrat, C. (2010). Young People from a Public Care
Background: establishing a Baseline of Attainment and Progression
beyond Compulsory Schooling in Five EU countries. Sonia Jackson
and Claire Cameron (Editors).
Casas, F., Montserrat, C. & Malo, S. (2010) Young people from a
public care background: pathways to education in Spain. The case
study report.
Casas, F., Montserrat, C. & Malo, S. (2010) Spanish national report
summary: Education and young people from a public care
background.
 Other references:
Casas, F. & Montserrat, C. (2009). Sistema educativo e igualdad de
oportunidades entre los jóvenes tutelados: estudios recientes en el
Reino Unido. Psicothema, 21,4, 543-547
Montserrat, C. & Casas, F. (2010). Educación y jóvenes ex-tutelados:
revisión de la literatura científica española. Educación XX1, 13,2
 Contacts:
ferran.casas@udg.edu
carme.montserrat@udg.edu