Educational Success, Resilience and LookedAfter Children in Higher Education

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Educational Success, Resilience and Looked-After
Children in Higher Education

• Jacqueline Stevenson
• j.stevenson_at_leedsmet.ac.uk
• Sean Dirrane
• Amanda Wilson
• Leeds Metropolitan University

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Resilience

• Resilience
• The ability to bounce back or cope successfully
  despite substantial adversity (Rutter, 1985)
• The ability to recover rapidly from difficult
  situations as well as being the capacity to
  endure ongoing hardship in every conceivable way
  (Walker et al, 2006, p. 251)
• Referring specifically to looked after children
  (LAC) a set of qualities that helps a person to
  withstand many of the negative effects of
  adversity.Bearing in mind what has happened to
  them, a resilient child does better than he or
  she ought to do. (Gilligan, 2000)

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LAC/Care Leavers
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• Stein's (2005) Research
• LAC fall into three groups those 'moving on',
  those 'surviving' and those who were 'victims' of
  their care experience in their current lives.
• Those care leavers with most resilience were
  likely to be in the first and second group and
  less likely to be in the third.
• Evidence that early educational success is
  critical in enhancing resilience in LAC
• Jackson and Martin (1998) compared the
  different outcomes in adult life between two
  groups of LAC who had experienced similar
  adversity - one group who had done very well in
  school and who had not

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LAC/Care Leavers
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• The educational achievement of LAC is notoriously
  low
• At the end of school year 11
• only 13 of LAC obtained 5 GCSEs (or equivalent)
  at grades A- C (compared with 62 of all
  children)
• only 66 remained in full-time education compared
  to 80 of all school-leavers (DfCSF, 2008)
• No statistics available for attainment at
  A-Level or participation in HE, but Jackson et al
  (2005) estimate that only 1 of care leavers go
  to university (compared with 43 of all children)
• Therefore, those who do go to university are
  likely to be those who have shown the greatest
  resilience in the face of adversity and who have
  developed resilient traits

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Seans story....
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Resilience Assessment Theoretical Framework
(Constantine et al, 1999)
Internal Asset Clusters
External Asset Clusters
E-1. Caring Relationships Adults in home
Adults in school Adults in community Peers
I-1. Social Competence Cooperation
and communication skills Empathy and respect
Problem solving skills
E-2. High Expectations Within the home Within
school Within neighbourhood and community
Within peer network
I-2. Autonomy and Sense of Self Personal
conviction Self-efficacy Self awareness
I-3. Sense of Meaning and Purpose Optimism
Goals and achievement motivation
E-3. Meaningful Participation In the home In
school In the community
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Undertaking the Project

• Interviews with LAC, White working class students
  and students from diverse BME backgrounds
• Leeds Met Book of Resilience Structure based
  on Benard (1996) four traits of resilient people
• Getting on with people
• Social competence able to establish positive
  relationships and function within dominant
  cultures(s)
• Problem solving
• Problem-solving skills critical thinking,
  creativity and the ability to be reflective
• Independence and self direction
• Autonomy the sense of own identity and the
  ability to be independent
• Sense of purpose
• A sense of purpose and future goal setting,
  aspiration, motivation and persistence (an
  elaborated possible self)
• Case studies

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Sara

• Final Year student
• Overcome long-term mental health difficulties to
  reach University in first place
• Family problems reared their head while student
  was at University made academic career
  particularly difficult
• Resilient traits
• A clear goal and sense of purpose is important
• Flexibility, adaptability and determination are
  also crucial
• Take advantage of support services on offer at
  University and making positive steps to talk to
  people about the problems
• It is important to laugh at things when the going
  gets tough

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David

• Final year sixth form
• Overcame long-term family/psychological issues to
  achieve A-levels
• Family problems still persist but he feels that
  he can deal with and overcome these
• Has received conditional offer to study Geology
• Resilient Traits
• Goal orientated
• Ability to turn a negative into a
  positive
• Determination , willingness and
  effort
• Celebrating successes however small
  or trivial
• Showing success outside education
  helps build resilience

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Brian

• First year student
• Has shown resilience getting to Uni but when
  there dropped out
• Still has contact with his Dad but describes him
  as a friend
• Very little contact with social worker no contact
  for 8 months
• Resilient Traits
• Not as goal orientated
• No ECA outside uni
• Very little family support
• No support from social worker for 8 months
• Feels that more could be done i.e uni,
  parental and social care support

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How can we support students to build resilience?
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