Care to College | An Exploratory Study on Care-Experienced Students’ Educational Journeys
“You want to be a normal child … you want to have a boundary, a healthy boundary, or maybe just kind of … some sort of division between your care status and all of that kind of traumatic stuff that has happened to you, and then being a student and that normal part of life that every teenager goes through, going through education. I myself, while I was in care, I was very embarrassed of my care status. Of course, that isn’t the case anymore, but I think when you’re a young teenager and you’re self-conscious and stuff like that and kind of what has been said is how professionals react to you, I think has a very profound impact on your, your experience and education.” – Levi
Overview
In 2024, EPIC commissioned Merike Darmody from the ERSI to conduct an exploratory study of the lived experience of care-experienced youth and their educational journeys. Through participative research and consultations, the study explores key factors that lead to care-experienced students accessing and completing higher education. It also examines the reasons why some could not access or complete their higher education course. We hope it will contribute to the work of policy makers and educators to ensure our school and university communities are supportive and inclusive environments for all children in care and young care leavers.
The study addresses the following research questions:
- How does care experience impact on young people’s experiences in school?
- How does care experience impact on young people’s interaction with friends, teachers and other school staff?
- What are the main factors that shape the decision-making process of care-experienced young people regarding their post-school pathways?
- What are the main challenges care-experienced young people face after leaving school and entering third-level education?
This study was funded by the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH 3) which was awarded to EPIC by the Outreach and Access Service at TU Dublin. PATH 3 is funded by the Higher Education Authority under the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education.
