Education in its broadest sense: developing a socio-educational paradigm for children in care

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My PhD thesis explored the experiences of children and young people who have spent time in residential schools and residential child care (RCC) in Scotland. Identity formation is one of the primary psychological tasks of adolescence. But the numerous changes that occur during this period can make self and identity development particularly challenging. In Scotland, most young people in RCC are teenagers, many with complex, high levels of need relating to experiences of abuse or neglect prior to being moved into care. Recently, policy discourses around RCC have been negative, with a preference for family-based care and historical abuse scandals contributing to its perception as a care placement of last resort, despite research that suggests it can benefit young people. Care practices that focussed on child protection prevailed in a political culture that sought to manage children, reduce short term risk and improve measurable outcomes. Relationships, the core of care,became a secondary concern.It is within this context that I investigated the ways in which 13 young people (YP) and adults who had spent time in RCC undertook the task of self and identity development.I found a number of things that help make sense of RCC experienced young people's search for a sense of who they are. These findings have major implications for their life in and beyond care and suggest how schools and care homes can help RCC experienced young people develop positive senses of self. These findings support ways of working with children that build on their strengths, rather than seeing them as lacking something. The findings are, 1) Young people's experiences prior to care, within care and beyond can be made sense of in terms of anincreasing understanding of themselves. Relationships with at least one key person, most often an adult at school or in the RCC home, were instrumental in helping young people make sense of who they were, who they are, and who they might become. 2) The RCC experience, and sometimes school and leisure activities could provide rich opportunities for self-development. 3) Self-development was supported by creating opportunities that enabled young people to explore new identities that helped them develop a positive self-image. 4) Young people demonstrated that they managed other identities such as their place of birth or care identity, but whilst this was complex, it was for some important to a coherent sense of self. Young people who experienced stigma, with the right support, were later able to re-claim and take pride in their care identity. 5) RCC homes, and sometimes schools, were able to create the conditions for social recognition, a pre-requisite to the developmentof autonomy and self-realisation that enabled young people to be both participants in and active contributors to their communities. Recognition is therefore a key component of positive identity formation.The fellowship will consolidate my research by allowing me to conduct an ambitious, but achievable range of activities that will support the next phase of my career. I aim to publish three articles based on the findings of my PhD thesis and I will engage with a range of stakeholders in education and RCC communities to ensure maximum real-world impact of my research. Following the "root and branch" independent review of Scottish care in 2020 (ICR, 2020), the Scottish Government is in the first phase of a developing and implementing a 10 year plan to make big changes to the care sector. I aim to contribute directly to this by adding substance to its broad and radical aim to foreground relational practices in child social care.Together, these activities will help shift the current discourse in RCC away from treatment approaches towards strengths based, relational caring practices. They will also help me to be more competitive in securing research grants, enabling my further research into effective education and care for care experienced children and YP.