The insightfulness of care leavers about their experiences of transition from care to adulthood is a powerful force for change. The leaving care legislation enhanced duties on Trusts to support and provide services for care leavers. Despite this, many young people leave care before they are ready to do so and experience poor outcomes. Yet, some do exceptionally well. Research suggests that transition from youth to adulthood is viewed as increasingly circuitous whilst transitions for care leavers tend to be accelerated and compressed. But how do care leavers themselves perceive their transitions? This study sources their accounts of their experiences. Using a qualitative approach, eight young care leavers from one Trust area in Northern Ireland were interviewed. The Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) was used to generate their care stories. In a supplementary interview, the care leavers constructed their biographical life-lines and self-assessed the degree of support and control they had and how they coped at key turning points in their lives. The data was analysed using BNIM. The findings show that as the care leavers experience events in their lives as they journey through their care pathway, they also experience changes in their subjectivity. These fall into three dominant phases forming a subjective pathway. It begins with 'loss of felt security', moves to 'finding stability' and culminates in 'actualising self'. The care leavers' turning points are not eureka moments associated solely with the events in their lives but are linked to changes in their subjectivity which transform in their consciousness over time. By using BNIM, hitherto an untapped methodology to uncover care leavers' experiences, access is given to their lived subjectivity. The findings reinforce the importance of underpinning policy, care practices and service provision with attachment and resilience theories and they point to the potential contribution of humanistic social psychology.

In this doctoral thesis, I have sought to explore how women who lived in the care of a Catholic Children's Home called Nazareth House in Belfast, during the 1940s, 19505 and 1960s interpret and re-tell their biographies and the ways they (re)construct experience and ontology (or ontologies) of the self (Hankiss 1981). The aims were firstly. to sociologically grasp how the respondents form, maintain and (re)negotiate their identities and (auto)biographies. Secondly. to incite sociological acknowledgement of historical experiences of care. Thirdly, to reconstruct and preserve recollections of Nazareth House from the life (hi)stories of former inhabitants for future research purposes and interests. The (auto)biographical interview was used to gather and eventually analyse the life (hi)stories of twelve undervalued 'historical witnesses' (Roberts 2002) of orphanhood. The findings were three fold. Firstly the Girls of Nazareth House have an identity that is spatial and emplaced. Secondly, they have performed, through the life as lived and life as told a ' reflexive project of the self' (Giddens 1991), aimed toward being at home (in the world). Thirdly, despite being identified publically as a homogenised group, the participants have formed individualised (auto)biographies and ' reflexive projects' and have, contrary to social and cultural understandings, presented balanced (hi)stories of care experiences at that time.

The following study explores multi-agency working practices in three English children's centres. The study highlights the experiences and values of professionals working in the children's centres, in relation to the construction of collaborative working practices, to engage with children, families and the local community. I have adopted a narrative approach to my research by drawing on principles and practices from narrative therapy, as well as approaches from qualitative, action and practitioner research. A reflecting team approach was used to develop, reflect on and reconstruct narratives of successful professional practice. These narratives of success incorporate collaborative working practices, overcoming difficulties and future possibilities. The reflecting team conversations were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to generate the main themes from the narratives. Two interlocking thematic networks were developed to represent identified themes and their interconnectedness. The analysis indicates that overarching beliefs and assumptions related to multi-agency work directly influence the process, achievements and enablers of collaboration. Activity theory is utilised to represent the development and mobilisation of knowledge within the children's centres, as well as my own knowledge development as a narrative researcher and practitioner. The findings of the study identify that the development and storying of local knowledge facilitates multi-agency understandings and practices, involving individuals, groups and organisations working together on a joint initiative. The narratives of success reveal implications for regional and national practice in the development of multi-agency approaches, particularly in Children's Services. The adoption of a narrative approach, and the use of a reflecting team as a qualitative research tool, is considered in the context of social constructionist theory and research. Tracey Heckels Doctorate in Applied Educational Psychology 10

This an attempt to indicate some of the problems connected with the administration of a Children's Home through the study of the origin, growth and contemporary problems of the Jewish Orphanage. An historical survey w1ll describe the social forces which influenced the changes in policy and affected the internal administration of the Home, the procedure in selecting children for admission, the choice of children eligible for admission and the nature of child care within the Institution. A detailed study is made of the administration of the Orphanage in the decade following the close of the last war when the children had returned to residence after evacuation. A classification is made of the reasons why children were admitted, of the ages on admission, of the period they remained in residence, and of their destination when they left. An examination is made of some of the problems which confronted the administrators both with regard to the behaviour of the children and the attitude and character of the staff. Specific reference is made to the education and religious training of the children and to the problems arising from parent-child and staff-child relationships. Although the material for this study of the institutional care of children has been gathered mainly from a Home which catered for a selective group of the population, it is believed that many of the problems discussed have implications of some significance in the general study of child care.

Caregivers in children’s homes are the front-end workers who care for looked-after children daily. Looked-after children in children’s homes constitute a particularly vulnerable group, who are known to reveal mental health problems, which complicate the care-giving role. In conjunction with the lack of training and support, caregivers experience great challenges. This research study explores and describes the training and holistic care-giving needs of caregivers, by applying qualitative needs assessment design, where the responses of 12caregivers are explored and described. Data from the literature and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires was categorised into themes. Overarching findings include altruistic needs, the need for support and to be valued, with the researcher making recommendations and providing a convincing argument for immediate therapeutic support for caregivers. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / Die huisouermodel word tans internasionaal in kinderhuise gevolg. ’n Huisouer of huisouerpaar tree as surrogaatouer(s) op en woon saam met die kinders in ’n huis in ’n gewone woonbuurt, weg van die hoofkampus van die kinderhuis. Direkte waarneming van die daaglikse funksionering van huisouers binne die huisouermodel het die navorser bewus gemaak van die kompleksiteit van die huisouer(s) se take. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was gevolglik om ’n verkennende studie te onderneem, ten einde te bepaal watter bydrae kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers binne die huisouermodel van ’n kinderhuis in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun. Om hierdie doel te bereik is ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie uitgevoer waartydens semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met huisouers en kernrolspelers van drie satelliethuise van ’n kinderhuis, as data-insamelingsmetode benut is. Die kwalitatiewe data is geanaliseer en die bydrae wat kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun, is beskryf. / Internationally, children’s homes follow the houseparent model. A houseparent or houseparent couple act as surrogate parent(s) and live with children in a home, away from the main campus of the children’s home. Direct observation of the functioning of houseparents within the houseparent model brought awareness with regards to the complexity of houseparents’ tasks. The goal of this research was to conduct an exploratory study to determine what contribution key role players can make to support houseparents within the houseparent model with the fulfilment of their tasks. To achieve this goal, data was gathered through the application of a qualitative research study, utilising semi-structured interviews that were conducted with houseparents and key role players within three satellite homes. The qualitative data was analysed and the contribution that key role players can make to support houseparents in the fulfilment of their duties was described. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Spelterapie-rigting)

Caregivers in children’s homes are the front-end workers who care for looked-after children daily. Looked-after children in children’s homes constitute a particularly vulnerable group, who are known to reveal mental health problems, which complicate the care-giving role. In conjunction with the lack of training and support, caregivers experience great challenges. This research study explores and describes the training and holistic care-giving needs of caregivers, by applying qualitative needs assessment design, where the responses of 12caregivers are explored and described. Data from the literature and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires was categorised into themes. Overarching findings include altruistic needs, the need for support and to be valued, with the researcher making recommendations and providing a convincing argument for immediate therapeutic support for caregivers. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / Die huisouermodel word tans internasionaal in kinderhuise gevolg. ’n Huisouer of huisouerpaar tree as surrogaatouer(s) op en woon saam met die kinders in ’n huis in ’n gewone woonbuurt, weg van die hoofkampus van die kinderhuis. Direkte waarneming van die daaglikse funksionering van huisouers binne die huisouermodel het die navorser bewus gemaak van die kompleksiteit van die huisouer(s) se take. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was gevolglik om ’n verkennende studie te onderneem, ten einde te bepaal watter bydrae kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers binne die huisouermodel van ’n kinderhuis in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun. Om hierdie doel te bereik is ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie uitgevoer waartydens semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met huisouers en kernrolspelers van drie satelliethuise van ’n kinderhuis, as data-insamelingsmetode benut is. Die kwalitatiewe data is geanaliseer en die bydrae wat kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun, is beskryf. / Internationally, children’s homes follow the houseparent model. A houseparent or houseparent couple act as surrogate parent(s) and live with children in a home, away from the main campus of the children’s home. Direct observation of the functioning of houseparents within the houseparent model brought awareness with regards to the complexity of houseparents’ tasks. The goal of this research was to conduct an exploratory study to determine what contribution key role players can make to support houseparents within the houseparent model with the fulfilment of their tasks. To achieve this goal, data was gathered through the application of a qualitative research study, utilising semi-structured interviews that were conducted with houseparents and key role players within three satellite homes. The qualitative data was analysed and the contribution that key role players can make to support houseparents in the fulfilment of their duties was described. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Spelterapie-rigting)

The researcher wanted to explore the experiences of children who removal by a social worker either to an institution or to foster homes. The researcher wanted to find out if the behaviour of absconding could be explained by using systems theory, contructivism, cybernetics and person- centered theory. The researcher hypothesized that children abscond from alternative care as a means of communicating with the social worker involved as well as any other person significant in their lives. The study wanted to explore how these children perceived their involvement in the decision making process of their removal. The researcher only interviewed children who had absconded from the alternative care placements. The study found that all the children interviewed perceived that they were not involved in any way in the process of removal. They all saw their removal as a form of punishment for something they did wrong, but they did not get an opportunity to discuss with their parents or significant others. They also perceived their absconding as an effort to rectify the situation. A lot of anger and suspicion towards social workers was encountered during the study. In terms of the theories mentioned above, these perceptions are the children’s own reality, which might differ from the realities as created or perceived by social workers. It is hypothesized that social workers who use the Child Care Act 74/83 and its regulations in the removal of children, do it to protect the children from risky situations as their job responsibility requires. This study indicates that the children did not experience removal as protection. Instead of children feeling protected in the alternative care, they felt blamed, judged and unhappy about their removal and excluded from the process. The researcher made a few suggestions that could be considered when social workers removing children to alternative care. It is recommended that social workers involve the children and their parents or significant others in the entire process of deciding the future of any children in their (parents’) care. However, if removal is deemed necessary, just telling or informing children that they will be removed for their own safety is not enough. Children might not perceive the situation as dangerous. Instead, they might see the social worker as posing a danger to them and their families and thus try to shut the social worker and what s/he says out of their minds. Findings safe ways to involve children and families in the decisions about their future may require of social workers to revive their academically acquired knowledge in this respect. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Sciences (Mental Health))

A description of the developmental characteristics of adolescents and the effect of deafness, on the cognitive emotional and social development of the Deaf adolescent boy is given. At a stage, when the parents influence is crucial in any child's upbringing, the Deaf child, mainly because of his/her need for special educational services is placed in a school hostel at an early age. The aim of the investigation was two-fold: • Firstly, from thl! literature study, to analyze and describe the educational distress of the Deaf adolescent boy residing in the school hostel. Secondly, to conduct an empirical survey consisting of structured questionnaires in order to ascertain the kind of support rendered to the Deaf adolescent boy in the hostel. From the literature study and the empirical survey a training/educational programme was designed to promote the educational skills of hostel parents at schools for Deaf adolescent boys. / Inclusive Education / M.Ed.(Orthopedagogics)