ABSTRACT
Structure alone is not sufficient to explain the development of children’s homes. The second aspect of residential care explored by the study is culture. If individual children or staff within the group were observed to react in the same way to a task or event, then a cultural response was indicated. The nature of the culture varied considerably. For example, in Indigo, staff accepted with resignation the children’s refusal to attend school, welcomed in a day care co-ordinator whose job it was to entertain the children and wasted little effort on finding alternative school places. In Cyan, Red and Yellow, concordance was found between the societal, formal and belief goals. In all three, there was also evidence of strong staff cultures. Indeed, the staff groups responded to tasks and events in such a way that structures were enhanced. In Cyan the staff actively sought both to encourage and control the child culture.
