O'Connell, Linsey;
(2023)
What do looked after children and young people (LACYP) identify as the key protective factors that promote their school engagement?
Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Background: A positive correlation exists between a strong educational foundation for looked after children and young people (LACYP) and psychological functioning that persists well into adulthood. Whilst risk factors and poor outcomes are well identified for LACYP, protective factors that promote school engagement for this population are not as well documented. Resilience-based research indicates that protective factors at the individual and environmental levels have a mitigating effect for high-risk children. Aims: The current research aims to present the voice of LACYP relating to their perception of the key protective factors that promote their school engagement at the individual, family and school/community levels. Findings from both the literature review and empirical study are then used to inform a protective factors framework to aid carers and professionals to support this population with school engagement. Sample: Eight LACYP in year groups 5-8 were chosen to participate in the research. The literature review identified a gap in the research pertaining to the views of younger school-aged children. Method: The literature review identified eleven key studies in total. Only qualitative studies were included as the research aim was to gain the views and experiences of LACYP. Thematic Synthesis, a qualitative synthesis approach was adopted for data analysis. A qualitative design was also employed in the empirical study, in which semistructured interviews were conducted using adapted Person Centred Psychology (PCP) tools to elicit the personal constructs of each child interviewed. Results: Reflexive Thematic analysis yielded four overarching abstract themes, each with three descriptive themes (interpreted as protective factors). The four abstract themes that inform a framework for key protective factors for LACYP are: ‘A Supportive Learning Environment’, ‘Caring Adults’, ‘Belonging’ and ‘Skills for Life’. Conclusion: The range of protective factors identified is consistent with the view that LACYP who have faced complexity and challenge e.g. high levels of stress and adversity, require multiple protective factors and therefore a broad spectrum of family, school and community support. Comment: Key limitations of the study include a small sample size, lack of prolonged field engagement and the broad nature of the study. Future research could explore a specific aspect of school engagement, to enable a more in-depth study of the relative impact of protective factors.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Ed.Psy |
| Title: | What do looked after children and young people (LACYP) identify as the key protective factors that promote their school engagement? |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10170599 |
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