Session Information
11 SES 08 A, Developing Learners' Skills and Competences in Secondary Schools
Paper Session
Contribution
Kinship foster care is a measure for the protection of children and adolescents in which caregivers are direct relatives of the foster children. At present, it constitutes one of the measures most implemented and promoted by European countries (Lerch & Nordenmark, 2019; Sacur & Diogo, 2021).
Current research on kinship foster care families identify different problems. One of the most common is the intergenerational difference between children and caregivers (Del Valle et al., 2002; Montserrat, 2006), because most of these cases are formalized with grandparents (Molero et al., 2007; Montserrat, 2006; Wellard et al., 2017). This difference sometimes produces misunderstandings in families, which is frequently a source of conflict. Moreover, the age differences suppose a challenge for the physical capacity of the caregivers, which, sometimes, can hinder the correct care of children, considering that require a vitality in caregivers that the process of aging decreases considerably.
Considering academic aspects, it has been found that kinship foster care families obtain worse results than the average of the students (Jiménez & Palacios, 2008; Molero et al., 2007; Palacios & Jiménez, 2007), and that more than half are in courses lower than that which would correspond to them by age (Montserrat et al., 2013).
Difficulties that caregivers face when setting rules and limits for children are also highlighted (Molero et al., 2007; Palacios & Jiménez, 2007). Their style of authority is generally permissive, which is reactively changed to an authoritarian model when children become adolescents, without obtaining positive results. Furthermore, children do not understand this change in attitude in their caregivers, demanding a clear and coherent establishment of educational norms (Mateos et al., 2012).
Conflictive relationships between caregivers and parents are also noted, especially due to difficulties derived from the visits of parents with their children (Chateauneuf et al., 2017; Delgado et al., 2019), as well as health problems of adults belonging to these families (Del Valle et al., 2008; Mateos et al., 2012; Taylor & McQuillan, 2014).
Another significant problem is related to the construction of the identity and the elaboration of life history of children in foster care (García-Bermejo, 2017; Laklija, 2011; Mateos et al., 2012). It points out both difficulties of children to ask about their life trajectory, in many cases motivated by traumatic situations, and by the caregivers to facilitate the necessary transition in vital processes of children.
Along with the common problems of kinship foster care, an aspect linked to the quality of this educational intervention, are the theoretical models that support and give meaning to the used socio-educational methodologies. In this sense, there are currently different models that could answer to the specific structure and social circumstances of these families. Among them, the systemic model has acquired great relevance (Laszloffy, 2004; O´Hanlon & Beadle, 1996; Partridge et al., 2019), as well as others like mixed intervention model, cognitive-behavioral model or multifamily model, whose contributions deserve to be considered (Melendro, 2014).
However, previous research focus on the families, but not on the professionals who work with them, acquiring so a detailed description of its configuration, but without the pertinent perspective of educators. Hence, the research question of this study is: what educators can tell us, taking into account their own professional experience, to improve the quality of intervention with kinship foster care? As a consequence of that, the aim of this paper is to analyze the perceptions that social educators, who work with kinship foster care, have about the main difficulties presented by this kind of families, the most frequent demands, the key factors that promote a quality attention, and the most used theoretical model.
Method
In order to respond to the objective of our research, we have opted for a qualitative design, which has been carried out with an ad hoc questionnaire. The instrument consists of two parts: the first asks about sociodemographic data (gender, age, professional experience with kinship foster care and complementary training), and the second include open questions about: frequent problems in kinship foster care families; common demands made by caregivers, children and parents to professionals; key factors to achieve a quality intervention and the theoretical model they consider most effective. This questionnaire was validated by seven experts from different universities and practitioners, and a pilot test was applied to a several educators with different qualifications, who currently work or had worked with kinship foster care. The study population was all the educators of the Child Care Centers of Public Social Services at the City of Madrid, and the sample was 86.54% of such population. Data was analyzed with Atlas.ti software. Information was coded in such a way that it would allow a more accurate analysis (Massot et al., 2004), systematizing and homogenizing terms of each of the responses of social educators. This categorization process was carried out in an inductive way (Rodríguez et al., 2005), that is, from reading the answers to the questionnaires and not previously defining them. To be as objective as possible and to provide credibility and validity to the study, a triangulation of researchers was also developed carried out (Flick, 2014).
Expected Outcomes
Results show that 88.9% of educators are women between 36 and 45 years old. In 75.6% of cases, they have been working with kinship foster care for an average of more than 8 years. 64.44% and 37.77% have expert training or a master's degree in systemic family therapy and family mediation, respectively. The two main problems that educators identify in kinship foster care are: difficulties in the elaboration of life histories of children (51.11%), followed by the conflictive relationships between caregivers and parents (37.78%). The most important demands that children make to the professionals are: to maintain a closer relationship with their parents, with 37.78% of educators pointing it out; and to know their own life history, with 35.56%. Caregivers demand more support in the education of adolescents (44.44%), and more financial aids (37.78%). Parents demand to increase visits with their children (51.11%), followed significantly very far by the aim of family reunification (17.78%). Educators emphasize that creation of an educational alliance with caregivers and children is what promotes a successful intervention with them, while with parents they consider that it is necessary to give them a proper space in the intervention. Additionally, they state that the work of elaborating the life history with the shelters is essential for a successful intervention (84.4%). Finally, when asked to indicate the preferred theoretical model, they answer that the systemic model is the most appropriate for this kind of situations (48.88%); a mixed intervention model: systemic, cognitive-behavioral and psychoanalytic is a second option between educators (11.11%); and the cognitive-behavioral model (4.44%) or the multifamily model are stressed just by a few of the participants.
References
Balsells Bailon, M. Á., Urrea Monclús, A., Ponce Alifonso, C., Vaquero Tió, E. y Navajas Hurtado, A. (2019). Claves de acción socioeducativa para promover la participación de las familias en procesos de acogimiento. Educación XX1, 22(1), 401-423, https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.21501 Chateauneuf, D., Turcotte, D. y Drapeau, S. (2017). The relationship between foster care families and birth families in a child welfare context: The determining factors. Child & Family Social Work, 23(1), 71-79. Delgado, P., Pinto, V. S., Carvalho, J. y Gilligan, R. (2019). Family contact in foster care in Portugal. The views of children in foster care and other key actors. Child & Family Social Work, 24(1), 98-105. García-Bermejo, T. (2020). Reflexión teórica para la orientación psicopedagógica en los acogimientos en familia extensa. Revista Española de Orientación y Psicopedagogía, 31(2), 19-28. Laklija, M. (2011). Foster care models in Europe: results of a conducted survey. Forum. https://www.udomiteljizadjecu.hr/wp-content/uploads/documents/publikacije/Foster%20care%20models%20in%20Europe%20-%20results%20of%20a%20conducted%20survey%20-%20Maja%20Laklija.pdf Laszloffy, T. A. (2004). Rethinking Family Development Theory: Teaching with the Systemic Family Development (SFD) Model. Family Relations, 51(3), 206-214. Lerch, V. y Nordenmark, A. (2019). Feasibility Study for a Child Guarantee Target Group Discussion Paper on Children in Alternative Care. European Commission. O’Hanlon B. and Beadle S. (1996). A Field Guide to PossibilityLand: possibility therapy methods. BT Press. Melendro, M. (Coord.) (2014). Estrategias eficaces de intervención socioeducativa con adolescentes en riesgo de exclusión. UNED - Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Partridge, K., Dugmore, P., Mahaffey, H., Chidgey, M. y Owen, J. (2019). ‘Step by step, side by side’: the quest to create relational artistry through systemic practice within children’s social care. Journal of Family Therapy, 41(3), 321-342. Pérez Serrano, G., Poza Vilches, F. y Fernández García, A. (2016). Criterios para una intervención de calidad con jóvenes en dificultad social. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 63(1), 51-69. Sacur, B. M. y Diogo, E. (2021). The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee—Evidence-Based Recommendations for Alternative Care. Children, 8, 1181. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/12/1181 Taylor, B. J. & McQuillan, K. (2014). Perspectives of Foster Parents and Social Workers on Foster Placement Disruption. Child Care in Practice, 20(2), 232-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2013.859567 Wellard, S., Meakings, S., Farmer, E. y Hunt, J. (2017). Growing up in Kinship Care: Experiences as Adolescents and Outcomes in Young Adulthood. Grandparents Plus.
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