Follow-up of the educational pathway of youths living in child welfare institutions in Norway

Abstract Few young people living in child welfare institutions (CWIs) in Norway complete upper secondary education compared to other youths. This study explores both educational pathways of youths in CWIs and the educational follow-up received. We quantitatively assess the proportion who complete ten years of compulsory education and three years of upper secondary education. We qualitatively explore the perceptions and expectations among welfare professionals concerning the schooling of youths residing in CWIs. The study includes a quantitative analysis of register data covering 172,067 children and 12 qualitative interviews with staff from CWIs, the school system, and the regional child welfare authority. The quantitative findings indicate that approximately 27 percent of youths with placement measures from child welfare services in two or three they turned 15 to 17 years had not completed compulsory school, and only 36 percent had completed upper secondary education by age 22. Furthermore, youths in CWIs who completed upper secondary school had 0.9 points lower grades than their peers. The qualitative findings show that professionals hold low expectations regarding youths’ abilities and opportunities to master and complete their education. A trauma-informed perspective, along with the absence of structured approaches to educational follow-up in CWIs, appear to be key explanatory factors.