An Empirical Test of a Model of Academic Expectations Among Youth in Residential Care

Background and Purpose: In the last decade accumulating evidence across many countries points to the poor outcomes of youth formerly placed in care. One of the issues receiving growing attention is the low academic achievements of such youth, both during and after leaving care. These achievements are known to impact negatively on the integration of care leavers into the labor market and thereby on the breaking of the 'poverty cycle'. Academic educational expectations in late adolescence are considered a key marker for educational achievements in young adulthood. This important issue has seldom been studied among youth in substitute care, in particular, among those in residential placements. A better understanding of the underlying mechanism leading these youth to have academic aspirations is essential for shaping educational environments in residential facilities that would promote academic expectations.    

The goal of the present research was to develop and test a model to predict academic expectations of Israeli adolescents placed in residential facilities.

Methods: All adolescents, between ages 16 to 21 from 34 youth villages in Israel were approached. Of them, 1360 adolescents (response rate = 31%) participated in the study, mean age 17.65 (SD = 0.91), 40.1% females. The youth responded to structured self-report questionnaires administered at the settings by the facilities' staff, while ensuring anonymity of the youth. Measures included: youth and familial educational characteristics, parental belief of the importance of higher education, school grades, perceived educational involvement and support of teachers (α = 0.83) and facility's staff (α = 0.91), and the academic expectations of youth (α = 0.80).  

Results: Structural Equation Modeling provided support for the model tested            (χ ²(182) = 508.57***; CFI = .95; TLI = .94; RMSEA = .04; SRMR = .03). The main findings indicated that current academic achievements predicted academic expectations. Parental beliefs regarding the importance of higher education and facility's staff educational support were also positively related to expectations. In addition, staff support moderated (weakened) the relationships between current achievements and academic expectations. Teacher support had indirect effect on academic expectations through the mediation of current academic achievements.     

Conclusions and Implications: This research highlights the salient contribution residential facilities' staff and teachers may have in shaping the academic expectations of youth in residential facilities. At the same time, despite being placed out of home, youth's future academic plans are still considerably affected by their parents' beliefs in the importance of education. The findings suggest the importance of an integrative approach in the efforts to promote educational expectations among adolescents in residential facilities. Such an approach, encompassing the multiple adult functions responsible for youth development within such settings, could be an important step in enhancing the chances for future academic success of this vulnerable group.