International literature suggests that school systems and social service agencies need to improve their collaboration to support better the teachers of foster children and, thus, the outcomes for children living in foster care. (Zetlin et al. 2004, 2006; Allen and Vacca 2010; Bruce et al. 2010; Pecora 2012). There exists a  lot of research that considers the low educational attainment of children in care as compared to their peers in the majority population (e.g. O’Sullivan & Westerman 2007; Sebba et al. 2015; Stone; 2007; Trout et al. 2008).

Educational problems do not occur in isolation and they are almost always accompanied by other challenges like poverty, maltreatment, neglect, attachment disorder. In Ireland, Darmody et al. (2013) argued that ‘while literature and statistical data indicate that socioeconomic factors such as poverty and social exclusion may be ‘causal indicators’ of children being placed in care, these issues are under-researched(p37). Also under-researched are ‘the pathways by which children in the care system might overcome their childhood disadvantages through further and higher education'. (Eurydice 2005; Jackson and Ajayi 2007).

Ultimately there is a need for greater examination of care systems and the remedial role that can be played by education (Höjer et al. 2008). Research in the United States by Cage (2018), who concluded that these studies often focus on understanding the views of children, carers, and/or social workers, in relation to aspects of low educational attainment for children in care, not educators at the coalface.

This study is unique in that it specifically related to issues affecting foster children in the field of education from the perspective of those legally responsible for the educational remit of children in care. There is little direct research based on foster children’s experiences in Ireland from an educational perspective.

This paper examines the challenges facing the management of foster children in post-primary schools in Dublin, Ireland through the lens of both School Principals and teachers in the education of foster children. There are multiple influences on the child’s development, and hence multiple stakeholder issues are dominant.

It also sought to articulate how those charged with the educational remit may be enabled by evaluating the difficulties in dealing with multiple stakeholder ships, identifying the stress points and the resources required to both increases the effectiveness of teachers and improve the engagement of foster children in their learning contract.

The author presents a review of the literature by comparing the Irish experience with international practices to identify trends consistent and divergent with the varying concepts of management and engagement of foster children and how these complementary and at times contradictory concepts have managed to influence the foster child’s learning trajectory. The findings have an international dimension since the perspectives from the lens of educators have universal value and are 'under-researched.' 

The research question was to investigate the experiences, and needs of foster children in their educational path, through the lens of teachers and school principals to improve the educational opportunities of foster children.

This research framed the various connections between that of the child in care and the teachers and school principals who are tasked with optimizing their education opportunities. To do so effectively the multi-dimensional complexities that surround and affect a foster child’s educational commitment and engagement must be acknowledged and the research must address this rigorously. Schon (1987) accurately reflects the perspective required in the researcher and given the pointed complexities outlined above, this research was firmly positioned in the ‘the swampy lowlands, where situations are confusing messes incapable of a technical solution and usually involve problems of greatest human concern’ (Schön 1983, p.42).

Alongside these ‘swampy lowlands’, an ecological perspective understands education to be part of a ‘broader socio-political tapestry’ (Pirner, 2011, p.8). Therefore, educational researchers must ‘look beyond single settings to the relationships between them’ (Bronfenbrenner 1979, p.51). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework is presented as providing a theoretical basis from which to examine the inter-connectedness of the various systems that affect a foster child’s educational trajectory. This framework provides a lens through which to understand the complexities of human development and the processes involved. Hence this model framed the experiences and perspectives of the direct stakeholders (teachers, and school principals ) who formed the core of the study, within the wider corpus of research. the research methodology is situated within a social constructionist paradigm and is primarily based on research conducted via a series of concurrent, semi-structured interviewing with school principals, and teachers. The data collection phase preceded the challenging stages of data analysis and interpretation, and here I used a thematic analysis model devised by Braun and Clarke (2006). The model was used in ensuring that a sound and coherent methodological design informed the empirical fieldwork. The Braun and Clarke model (2006) is comprehensive, and its step-by-step structure made it easy to follow and apply. I believe, because it is interpretative in nature, that it fits in well with the social constructionism paradigm in which I have situated my research since it is a method, not a methodology …(hence) it is not tied to any epistemological or theoretical perspective (Maguire and Delahunt 2017, p.2).

This study added to the corpus of literature on optimizing the education of foster children by the under-researched area of the perspectives of teachers and social workers at the sharp end of educational responsibility. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual framework it integrated the various strands of influence that affect the educational attainment of this vulnerable cohort and offered solutions to benefit the immediate stakeholders, namely teachers, foster parents, foster children on the micro-level, and on a macro scale, Tusla, who are ultimately accountable for State care. It triangulated the previous research by providing the perspective of teachers and social workers to give weight to previous research. Where it did not depart from previous literature, it reinforced the validity of previous findings. Whereas there has been a lot of recent research on catering to the challenges of the disadvantaged in our society the policymakers have concentrated on linear problems and instilling linear solutions, without taking stock of the weakness in the various ecologies that they and other stakeholders inhabit. The solutions are not linear, rather they are complex and require reflection and research from many perspectives, those in the provision of childcare, the educationalists, and sociologists. At the end of this research, this novice researcher is even more certain that only a collaboration of perspectives will engineer valuable insights into alleviating the consequences of neglect through education. This research adds to the corpus illuminating through the lens of those directly tasked with the educational remit of foster children in Ireland. It has direct relevance in an international context providing potential solutions to themes and challenges that have emerged as consistent across borders. This pan-European approach is supported by the European Commission in their proposed Child Guarantee Roadmap to ensure equal opportunities for all children in the EU.

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