Reading with Angels: Improving Literacy among Children in Foster Care

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Knight
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Literacy Outcomes ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Love Of Learning ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Children In Care

The Pyjama Foundation is an Australian charity working to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for children in foster care. The foundation delivers the Pyjama Foundation Love of Learning programme, a learning-based mentoring programme in which volunteer ‘Pyjama Angels’ visit children in care each week to read books, play games and engage in other learning-based activities.This study surveyed 121 Love of Learning mentors (‘Pyjama Angels’) to assess their perceptions of the relationships they had developed with the children they mentored and of the children's improvement in their literacy skills, a key aim of the programme.The statistical data analysis based on the structural equation modelling and multiple regression approach showed that several factors had a statistically significant impact on the mentors’ perceptions of the children's improvement in literacy skills: relationship with the child, child's engagement and tenure in the programme, and frequency of meetings. Age and gender of the mentors were not found to have a statistically significant impact on mentors’ perceptions of this improvement, while mentors’ perceptions of their relationship with the children was the most important factor influencing their perceptions of improvement in literacy skills. The study did not include objective measures of the children's literacy outcomes, so its results are limited to the mentors’ perceptions. However, this study offers valuable insights for mentoring programmes working with children living in foster care.

The effect of classroom acoustic conditions on literacy outcomes for children in primary school: A review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1351010X2110573
Author(s):  
Kiri Mealings
Keyword(s):  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Literacy Outcomes ◽  
Conditions For Learning ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Comprehensive Search ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Acoustic Conditions

Literacy skills are essential for success in today’s society. However, classrooms often have suboptimal acoustic conditions for learning. The goal of this review was to synthesize research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children’s literacy. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in August 2021. The search term was classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (reading OR spelling OR writing OR literacy). Eighteen papers were deemed relevant for the review plus an additional seven from their references. The types of acoustic conditions that have been assessed, the types of measures used to assess literacy, and the effect of the acoustic conditions on children’s reading, writing, and spelling outcomes are discussed. Suggestions for the classroom acoustic conditions needed to ensure appropriate literacy development and areas for future research are also considered.

How children in foster care engage with loyalty conflict: presenting a model of processes informing loyalty

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Dansey ◽  
Mary John ◽  
Danielle Shbero
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
New Family ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Birth Family ◽  
Children In Care

The increasing emphasis on outcomes for children in care has prompted much research and drawn attention to the importance of harnessing users’ views on the services they receive. However, this awareness is still limited in some areas, one of which is the loyalty conflict experienced by children in foster care who have to negotiate living with a new family while also retaining their birth family membership. This study assesses the extent to which they experience such conflict and how they cope with the challenges it presents. A qualitative methodology, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 children was employed and grounded theory used to inform the data analysis and construction of a theoretical model. The model comprises five core categories: new realities; considering position; making sense; relating emotionally; and working out loyalties. A sixth category, considering others’ perspectives, emerged from respondent validation and an overarching perspective, self-determination, was found to permeate all other processes and contributed to highlighting complexity. New knowledge is gained through seeking the voices of the children and exploring the position they hold by being within and between two families. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

Predictors of Adoption and Guardianship Dissolution: The Role of Race, Age, and Gender Among Children in Foster Care

2020 ◽  
pp. 107755952095217
Author(s):  
Kierra M. P. Sattler ◽  
Sarah A. Font
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Cognitive Disability ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Disability Status ◽  
Entry Cohort ◽  
And Gender

Adoption and guardianship are meant to provide permanency to foster children when reunification is not a viable option. Unfortunately, sometimes adoption and guardianship placements dissolve resulting in children returning to care. Currently, there is limited research on the prevalence and predictors of adoption and guardianship dissolutions. This study investigated rates of guardianship and adoption dissolution using a complete entry cohort from a large state foster care system and the associations between child characteristics and risk factors with dissolution. Drawing on a complete entry cohort of foster children in Texas that exited to either adoption or guardianship placements, results demonstrated that over 2% of adoptive placements and 7% of guardianship placements were dissolved. Compared with White and Hispanic children, Black children had a higher risk of guardianship, but not adoption, dissolution. Older age was associated with a higher risk of adoption dissolution, and females had a higher risk of guardianship dissolution than males. Behavior problems, cognitive disability status, and mental health issues were all associated with a higher risk of dissolution. These findings have important implications for caseworkers and policymakers on permanency for children in adoptive or guardianship placements.

scholarly journals Do Specialty Courts Achieve Better Outcomes for Children in Foster Care than General Courts?

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. Sloan ◽  
Elizabeth J. Gifford ◽  
Lindsey M. Eldred ◽  
Kofi Acquah ◽  
Claire Blevins
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Specialty Courts ◽  
Outcomes For Children

scholarly journals "We Had to Rely on Each Other": Voices of Latinx Foster Youth with Experiences in Care with Siblings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Isabella Ginsberg
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Foster Youth ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Demographic Questionnaire ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Youth In Care ◽  
Children In Care

Relationships between members of sibling groups have been found to impact well-being for children who enter foster care (Herrick & Piccus, 2005). Being placed in stranger foster care is often challenging and can be traumatic with children reporting confusion, worry, and loss of identity and sense of belonging (Herrick & Piccus, 2005, Unrau et al, 2008). While there is some research that explores the experiences of siblings groups in foster care and others separately that examines Latinx children in foster care, there is very little information that looks into the potentially unique experiences of Latinx individuals who were in care with siblings that also accounts for cultural nuance. This study used a mixed-methods exploratory design with a demographic questionnaire and interview components that answers the research question: How do various factors affect the experiences of Latinx foster youth in care with siblings? Participants were invited to be interviewed either in person or over the phone. A constant comparative analytic method was used to analyze the interview transcripts to identify common themes. This exploratory study begins to discuss how social work practitioners and foster placements can better support this specific population of children in care. Findings suggest the importance of listening to foster youth and hearing their voices, understanding the role responsibility plays in familial relationships in the Latinx culture, and culturally responsive and individualized knowledge and care from social workers and foster placements.

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