1. Research Findings from Slipping Down Ladders and Climbing up Snakes
The Educational Experiences of University Students who were in Foster Care as Teenagers
Iain Matheson, Wellington, New Zealand
ACWA 2014

2. SALMAN RUSHDIE QUOTE
All games have morals; and the game of Snakes and Ladders captures, as no other activity can hope to do, the eternal truth that for every ladder you hope to climb, a snake is waiting just around the corner, and for every snake a ladder will compensate. But it's more than that; no mere carrot-and-stick affair; because implicit in the game is the unchanging twoness of things, the duality of up against down, good against evil; the solid rationality of ladders balances the occult sinuosities of the serpent; in the opposition of staircase and cobra we can see, metaphorically, all conceivable oppositions...but I found, very early in my life, that the game lacked one crucial dimension, that of ambiguity - because, as events are about to show, it is also possible to slither down a ladder and climb to triumph on the venom of a snake. (Rushdie, 1980, p.161)

3. OVERVIEW Study design Schooling and university findings
Foster care and leaving care findings
Family friends, partners and community findings
Findings on participants’ feelings and attitudes
Will not cover…

4. STUDY DESIGN Doctoral research
Qualitative study with 6 female and 1 male participant
Participant recruitment
Ethical considerations
Conversational interviewing

5. PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLING (YEARS 1-6)
Most had a conventional primary education
Mainly an absence of behavioural issues
Established recreational reading habits
Strong engagement with intermediate schools
Positive relationships with teachers 

6. SECONDARY SCHOOLING (YEARS 7-13)
Large state schools with high decile rankings
Comparatively few school changes
Some behavioural issues at school
Significant periods without schooling for some
School support through individual relationships
Playing to their academic strengths
Completion of secondary schooling

7. UNIVERSITY Going to university straight from school
Some scholarships but mainly year one only
Staying local
Professional degrees; mainly in social work, education or law
Course progress – mixed fortunes
No reported use of university support services

8. FOSTER CARE Came into care aged 13 or 14
Series of temporary placements & lack of permanency
Mixed quality of foster care placements
Some foster carers creating an educationally rich and supportive environment – others not
Challenging behaviours exhibited
Poor, and limited, relationship with social workers
Ltd educational support provision for children in OOHC

9. LEAVING CARE Most participants discharged prior to 17th birthday
No statutory leaving care support but non-statutory support services valued where provided
Finishing school very challenging once discharged

10. FAMILY, FRIENDS, PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY
Education always valued by family
Friends
Partners
Community interests and hobbies

11. PARTICIPANTS THEMSELVES
Coping with feelings of loss and change
Feeling cared for and cared about
Being ordinary or extraordinary
School and belonging
Wanting a different kind of future
Views on foster care as a help or a hindrance?
Resilience
Serendipity

12. CONCLUSION
Findings suggest a range of particular and strong patterns in the experiences of participants with a foster care background who went to university. So what of the other potential university students who:
were male;
were indigenous
were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds;
attended low decile schools;
had talents and interests around other subjects;
did not have a good relationship with a teacher or other school personnel;
did not experience a significant educationally-rich foster care placement;
were not able to access a leaving care preparation and support service in their area.

13. Thanks! For copy of presentation or for further information/contact iain@mathesonassociates.co.nz