ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 addresses the importance of educational attainment for well-being in adulthood, including self-worth, autonomy and ‘success’, and the significance of education for enhancing the prospects of marginalised or disadvantaged groups of youth. Recent changes in policy to meet the skills needs of developed economies, including raising the age of compulsory education or training and extending tertiary education to a larger proportion of the population, are considered. The young CLET study participants’ views on the importance of education are discussed, and the international literature on the educational achievement of children in state care in relation to their peers, including entry to further (16-18) and higher (tertiary) education, is reviewed. Adult outcomes for graduates of care ‘systems’ internationally are compared, including in relation to socioeconomic and employment status, mental and physical health, homelessness and involvement in the criminal justice system.
