The lens of unconditionality: foster care and the transition to higher education among care leavers
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Scientific literature shows that young people raised in the child protection system access university or advanced vocational education less frequently. However, a gap remains regarding the role of foster care, as a state protection measure, in shaping these youths’ academic trajectories. To address this issue and examine the conditions that enable continued support from foster families after reaching adulthood, a qualitative study using communicative life stories was conducted with four care leavers pursuing higher education and five foster families who supported them in Catalonia. Findings indicate that continued foster family support during higher education enhances emotional well-being and stability, positively influencing academic trajectories. Three enabling factors for sustaining this support were identified: a) the sustained and unconditional commitment of foster families to young people, b) youths’ self-determination and intrinsic motivation toward education, and c) institutional, financial, and relational support that legitimizes and sustains these relationships. These results highlight the potential of sustained foster family support as a strategy for social inclusion and underscore the need for policies that recognize this reality to ensure equitable access and success in higher education. Limitations include the absence of data from other educational institutions, pointing to future research on additional actors within the support ecosystem.
Author: Alba Pistón Pozo
Institution: Universitat de Barcelona
Language: English
Topic: Child Welfare and Adoption
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7169834958