‘Closing the gap’

The conditions under which children in care are most likely to catch up in mainstream schools

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21510941
AutoresI Sinclair (0000-0003-2052-4234), John Fletcher (0000-0003-0752-2568, University of Oxford), Aoife O’Higgins (0000-0002-2558-401X, University of Oxford), Nancy Luke (0000-0001-6170-4982, autor correspondente), Nikki Luke (0000-0003-3921-2142, University of Oxford), Sally Thomas (0000-0001-9337-9168, University of Bristol)
Ano2022
Volume48
Fascículo2
Páginas252-269
Data de publicação2022-03-04
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoOxford Review of Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0305-4985 • E-ISSN: 1465-3915
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03054985.2021.1967118
OpenAlexW3194849837
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas17

BSTRACTChildren ‘in care’ have, on average, lower educational attainment than their peers. This article tests the hypothesis that many of these children can ‘catch-up’, if in stable placements and secondary schools ‘apparently effective’ with other children with ‘similar’ difficulties. In a cohort of 542,998 16-year-old English children in mainstream schools, those in care for at least a year were on average 148,465 ranks behind their peers on measured attainment at age 7. At age 16, 21% of this group had ‘caught up’ improving their ranking by at least this amount. Allowing for covariates, we found that schools were differentially effective for disadvantaged pupil groups defined by eligibility for free school meals at age 7, in the bottom 3 deciles of attainment at entry to secondary school, or deemed ‘in need’ or as having behavioural, emotional or social difficulties. As predicted, the conditions for children in care catching up related to placement stability and measures of their school’s apparent impact on these disadvantaged groups. In the ‘worst’ conditions 4% caught up as against 52% in the ‘best’. The results support the hypotheses that best practice can reduce the educational gaps between children in care, other low attaining groups and their peers

Cohort · Decile · Developmental psychology · Disadvantaged · Educational attainment · Mainstream · Political science · Sociology · Child Welfare and Adoption · Demography · Early Childhood Education and Development · Medicine · Parental Involvement in Education · Psychology