The drawback of getting by-implicit imbalances in the educational support of young people in and leaving care in Germany

Abstract

Young people who grow up in institutions with public-sector responsibility (e.g. residential homes, foster families) are disproportionately affected in nearly all countries by social disadvantages and exclusion. Throughout their educational careers and on their way to adulthood, they often are unable to fall back on family support and are, in this respect, dependent on public infrastructure and extra-familial forms of informal support. As a result, the path to adulthood for these young people, as shown by nearly all international studies, is marked by many barriers to transition. Extensive research indicates that care leavers are one of the most vulnerable and excluded groups among young people. Educational failure is the root of many problems faced by young care leavers during their transition to adulthood. Although educational policy has been at the centre of European politics for several years, the group constituted of young people growing up under public-sector responsibility has scarcely been considered. To date, social and educational policies have concentrated on the integration of socially disadvantaged young people into the labour market. Consequently, the educational aspirations and capabilities of young people leaving care have been systematically neglected. One can find this lack of awareness of post-secondary education for care leavers in higher education institutions (HEI), in social policy, and in the care facilities. In this paper, we present results from a mixed-method study of young people in, and after, care. Both, the survey of 237 students (aged 16-18) and the 17 in-depth, narrative interviews with care leavers who entered HIE (aged 18-25) show that young people in care in Germany do receive support in their educational careers. However, this support focuses on certain groups of young people in care: those with severe problems in school and, to a certain extent, also ambitious young people who aim to enter higher education. The cluster analysis of the survey and the narrations of care leavers who entered HEI inform each other and point out that particularly those who come to terms with the demands in school experience less support. This results points out to challenges for both the care and the school system.