Research Findings from Slipping Down Ladders and Climbing up Snakes

The Educational Experiences of University Students who were in Foster Care as

Teenagers

Iain Matheson, Wellington, New Zealand ACWA 2014

QUOTATION

All games have morals; and the game of Snakes and Ladders captures, as no other activity can hope to do, the eternal truth that for every ladder you hope to climb, a snake is waiting just around the corner, and for every snake a ladder will compensate. But it's more than that; no mere carrot-and-stick affair; because implicit in the game is the unchanging twoness of things...but I found, very early in my life, that the game lacked one crucial dimension, that of ambiguity - because, as events are about to show, it is also possible to slither down a ladder and climb to triumph on the venom of a snake. (Rushdie, 1980, p.161)

OVERVIEW

• Study design• Schooling and university findings• Foster care and leaving care findings• Family friends, partners and community

findings• Findings on participants’ feelings and

attitudes• Will not cover…

STUDY DESIGN

• Doctoral research• Qualitative study with Sam, Lisa, Rose,

Jacqui, Elicia, Fran and Ruby • Participant recruitment• Ethical considerations• Conversational interviewing

PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLING (YEARS 1-6)

• Most had a conventional primary education• Mainly an absence of behavioural issues• Established recreational reading habits• *Positive relationships with teachers• Strong engagement with intermediate

schools

SECONDARY SCHOOLING (YEARS 7-13)

• Large state schools with high decile rankings • Comparatively few school changes• Some behavioural issues at school• Significant periods without schooling for some• *School support through individual

relationships• Playing to their academic strengths• Completion of secondary schooling

UNIVERSITY

• Going to university straight from school• Some scholarships but mainly year one only• *Staying local• Professional degrees; mainly in social work,

education or law• Course progress – mixed fortunes• No reported use of university support

services

FOSTER CARE

• Came into care aged 13 or 14• Series of temporary placements & lack of permanency• Mixed quality of foster care placements• *Some foster carers creating an educationally rich and

supportive environment – others not• Challenging behaviours exhibited• Poor, and limited, relationship with social workers• Ltd educational support provision for children in

OOHC

LEAVING CARE

• Most participants discharged prior to 17th birthday • No statutory leaving care support but non-

statutory support services valued where provided• *Finishing school very challenging once discharged

FAMILY, FRIENDS, PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY

• Education always valued by family• Friends• Partners• Community interests and hobbies

PARTICIPANTS THEMSELVES

• Coping with feelings of loss and change• Feeling cared for and cared about• Being ordinary or extraordinary• School and belonging• Wanting a different kind of future• Views on foster care as a help or a hindrance?• Resilience• Serendipity

CONCLUSION

• Participants slid down plenty snakes• Participants also moved up ladders presented

to, or built by, them• Participants can also be seen to have climbed

to triumph on the venom of some of their snakes

Thanks!

For copy of presentation or for further information/contact

iain@mathesonassociates.co.nz