Going to university from care: What helps care experienced students transition to higher education?
There is often an assumption that care-experienced young people do not go to university. However, whilst it is true that care-experienced young people are under-represented in higher education, many do go to university and succeed in their degree studies. My research, funded by the Society for Research into Higher Education and published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education, aimed to understand what helps care-experienced young people transition to university and complete their degree level studies.
My research with care-experienced students found that one of the things that helped young people to transition to university was having people in their lives who support and believe in their academic abilities and potential. Having a supportive and encouraging adult such as a teacher at school was important in fostering confidence in their academic abilities and a perception that transitioning to university was possible. It was also important for young people to have connections with an adult, be that a social worker, teacher, a boyfriend or girlfriend’s parents, who had been to university and were able to provide advice and information about applying to and studying at university. For some care-experienced students, having people in their wider social networks who had been to university was important in encouraging them to apply to university and fostering a view that going to university was achievable.
What do these findings tell us about going to university from care? Firstly, they confirm that young people’s transitions to university are informed by circumstances in their wider social contexts including the presence of supportive adults and connections with people who have experience of higher education. They also encourage us to question the notion that care-experienced young people who go to university are in some way extraordinarily resilient or determined. Whilst traits such as resilience or determination may be important, and indeed, the students in my research showed exceptional resilience in getting to university, it is crucial to avoid viewing their success as the result of intrinsic traits alone. Instead, we must acknowledge the wider social and educational circumstances that both support and prevent care-experienced young people in getting to university. When we fail to acknowledge these circumstances by emphasising the inner ‘resilience’ of the individual, we risk blaming and further stigmatising young people who have not yet transitioned to university or not completed their studies. If we are to support transitions to university for care-experienced young people, we must foster their positive learning identities and provide them with opportunities to view university as an acceptable and achievable destination.
Dr Ceryn Evans, Senior Lecturer in Education, Department of Education and Childhood Studies, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Swansea University
You may also be interested in these related blogs.
CLASS Cymru: Supporting care-experienced people into higher education in Wales
Reflecting on Pathways to University from Care
A wider view of education for Children in CareHow do transitions shape the educational journeys of adult care leavers?
