ABSTRACT
It is assumed that education may be one of the key aspects in preventing social exclusion
and that children in both residential and family foster care would seem to be at risk of
exclusion due to unequal opportunities in compulsory and post-compulsory education,
particularly when leaving care. On the basis of findings from a European research
project, this article examines the educational pathways in Spain among 18�22 year olds who were in care at 16. The qualitative results presented here were taken from initial and
follow-up interviews with young people from a public care background, interviews with
care managers and nominated adults*mainly social educators. Results showed that delays in educational pathways were frequent among these young people, even those who
showed educational promise and were highly motivated. Factors associated with such
delays were related to (1) professionals and managers in the child protection system not
prioritising their education; (2) low expectations among adults providing them with
support; (3) invisibility within the educational system of the specific support needs of this
population and (4) additional difficulties this population encounters in the transition to
adulthood. If policies are to be developed to address all of the above factors, it is crucial to
assess what urgent changes are required to empower the potential human and social
capital of this population, increase equality in their educational opportunities and reduce
their high risk of social exclusion.
