Fostering educational prosperity: A randomized controlled trial of home tutoring in foster care

Abstract

The educational gap between children in out-of-home care and their non-placed peers is well-documented. However, tutoring stands out as a promising intervention to raise children's educational attainment in out-of-home care. This study randomized 105 children in foster care (62% girls, aged 7–15 years [M = 10.3, SD = 2.0]) to the home tutoring program Foster Caregivers as Tutors (FCT) or regular public school services (treatment as usual [TAU]). In the FCT group, the foster caregivers tutored the children for 2.5 h/week for 40 weeks. The program effect is measured in learning and developmental outcomes, including reading and math ability, learning skills, IQ, executive function, and psychosocial function. Follow-up was 17.5 months after baseline. The results show a significant effect over time in both groups on IQ (effect size [ES] = 0.40, P < 0.001), verbal comprehension (ES = 0.29 P = 0.02) and perceptual reasoning (ES = 0.60, P < 0.001) measured by WISC IV. Neither the FCT nor TAU provided any significant academic recovery in reading and math nor progression in executive function, learning skills or psychosocial function. These findings, implications for practice and future efforts to support the schooling of children in out-of-home care are discussed.