Staying in a Foster Care Institution in the Biographies of Former Foster Care Wards. Multidimensionality of Critical Life Events in the Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Introduction

The article addresses the issues of critical life events and crisis phenomena in the biographies of former wards of the institutional foster care system, focusing on the description of circumstances connected with their placement and later on with their stay in a childcare.

Purpose of research

The aim of research was deep insight into the following issues of interest: the period of childhood and adolescence of the wards with the focus on a critical biographical event, which for a young person – an adolescent, is placement and stay in the institutional foster care system, as well as its assessment (in terms of opportunities vs. limitations) made in retrospect by the former wards of foster care institution.

Research method

The biographical method of conducting empirical verifications was used to illustrate the marks, multidimensionality, contradictions and ambivalence of the crisis and critical life events in the subjective perspective of institutional foster care wards. In case of the research results characterized here partially, a purposeful selection of the research sample was made. The sample consisted of men and women who had been in foster care for more than two years, and at the time of research at least seven years had passed since leaving the institution. The technique used during the empirical verifications presented here was a semi-structured open in-depth interview.

Results

The rich content of narratives, the multiplicity and diversity of their threads showed the diversity of experiences and multidimensionality of phenomena related to biographical crisis events and their educational and developmental character.

Conclusions

Obtained results constitute a justification of the need to verify, describe and theoretically deepen them, and above all, to signal their role for pedagogical, psychological and social work practice. There is a need to undertake professional cooperation with the pupil in the work on crisis during his stay in a institutional foster care.