This study explored the beliefs and assumptions that affect professionals in the decision making process about contact between children in permanent alternative care and their birth parents. Nine professionals from three groups, guardian ad Litems; judges and independent experts, were interviewed, using semi-structured interviews. The verbatim transcripts of these interviews were the data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five overarching themes emerged in guiding the work of professionals, which were described as, parental capacity; children's rights and wishes; contact as central to identity; the safety and the age of the child. There were seven other common themes, which were described as, permanency and stability; having an open mind; adoption as different to other forms of permanency; attachment; ethnicity/race/gender/culture; views of alternative parents and power and responsibility. Three themes occurred in only one group or individual interview, and were described as, having differing and conflicting views to others; contact as having a symbolic function and the law as paramount. The guardian ad Litems emphasised the importance of contact as central to identity, and were strongly influenced by research supporting this view. They often felt disempowered in legal proceedings. The experts took a "detached" evidence based position, and were particularly concerned about the safety and emotional needs of children. The judges worked within a legal framework, within which individual differences emerged. The issue of power and responsibility given to certain discourses is discussed. The similarities and differences within and between groups are understood in terms of the different ways in which professionals position themselves in relation to contact, based on professional roles and responsibilities, within a social and cultural framework, and influenced by a range of professional and personal experiences'. Consideration is given to how the themes are played out in discourses used to present and argue a position. A number of tensions and contradictions emerged. Findings were considered in the light of outcome research and a social constructionist perspective". The co-ordinated management of meanings". Possible recommendations for ways in which professionals may become more aware of their beliefs and assumptions affecting decision making about contact, are made. The open and thoughtful manner in which professionals responded to the research interview and sought feedback supports the idea that greater openness in the decision making process about contact, between children in permanent alternative care and their birth parents, would be beneficial.

There is research to support the existence of an over representation of Aboriginal children in the care of child and family services agencies in Manitoba. This issue presents many challenges in providing culturally appropriate foster care in order to promote the well-being and self-identity of Aboriginal children in care. The majority of these children are placed in non-Aboriginal foster homes. This study explored the experiences of non-Aboriginal foster parents in order to better understand their experiences and the services and supports necessary in providing culturally appropriate care to children from remote First Nations communities. A qualitative research design based on a phenomenological approach was utilized. Significant themes that emerged through the study were the foster parents’ motivations to foster and the challenges they face. Other significant themes are their perceptions of the services and supports available to them, and future resources that would assist them to provide care to children from remote First Nations communities. The results of the study indicate that the non-Aboriginal foster parents were culturally receptive and willing to provide culturally sensitive care to children from remote First Nations communities. The study results suggest that there needs to be further research exploring the motivations, roles, and responsibilities of foster care providers. By gaining a better understanding of their motivations, perceived roles and responsibilities, foster care agencies may be better informed when designing recruitment, retention strategies, and training for foster care providers in cross cultural foster care.

Anthropological and demographic studies show that in sub-Sahara Africa a large proportion of non-orphaned children (up to 1/3 in many communities) live with neither parent but often with relatives for a significant part of their childhood. This practice is referred to as child fostering or fosterage. Child fostering is therefore understood in the literature as the transfer, and/or sharing, of parental responsibility of children and young people or simply the movement of children and young people between and within families. The practice is both an age-old and a modern phenomenon which has implications in the daily and future lives of those children involved including their nutrition, health, education, migration and ultimately their best interests. Depending on the context, culture, rationale and families involved in the fostering of a particular child the practice is carried out differently across geographies and sometimes within geographies as a result of which it deserves academic attention. The overarching aim of this study is therefore to explore the cultural conceptualisations and understandings of child fostering and the concept of the child's best interests among the Dagomba of northern Ghana. The study also examines the challenges of existing legislation and policies in Ghana regarding the practice. The study employed a qualitative research approach and involved children and young people, birth and foster parents and professionals who influence policies about children and young people in Ghana. In total, 42 respondents participated in individual interviews. I also used 'spider diagrams' as a supplementary research instrument for children and young people because I considered these child-friendly, fun and culturally appropriate for their ages (See Appendix IX). The emergent themes are explored and discussed in four findings chapters under part four of the thesis. The majority of respondents demonstrated extensive knowledge about child fostering and the concept of the child's best interests. Respondents' critical views and their recommendations for legislation and policy in Ghana are reflected on in the penultimate chapter. Finally, recommendations are made by way of contribution to theory, policy and practice. The research also suggests areas for future research by way of a reflection.

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A better understanding of kinship foster families' perceptions of the familial factors and parenting beliefs that promote or inhibit successful fostering can inform child welfare practice and policy. To this end, and to extend previous research [Buehler, C., Cox, M. E., and Cuddeback, G. (2003). Foster parents' perceptions of factors that promote or inhibit successful fostering. Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice, 2(1), 61-84.], semi-structured interviews were conducted with kinship foster parents to explore their perceptions with regard to the familial factors and parenting beliefs that promote or inhibit successful fostering. Nine kinship foster parents from 8 families were interviewed. The results of this study were compared to the results of the Buehler et al. [Buehler, C., Cox, M. E., and Cuddeback, G. (2003). Foster parents' perceptions of factors that promote or inhibit successful fostering. Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice, 2(1), 61-84.] study on nonkinship foster parents. Similar themes emerged from both groups, but kinship foster parents described more complex issues with their families- of-origin. Characteristics that promote successful fostering of kin include support of family, commitment to children, faith, good parenting abilities, church involvement, flexibility, and adequate resources. Characteristics that inhibit successful fostering of kin include strained relations with birth family, poor discipline strategies, inability to deal with "the system," lack of resources, and inability to deal with children's emotional, behavioral, physical problems. The findings suggest a need to focus on special training and support services for kinship foster parents, as well as assessments specific to kinship fostering.

The aim of this doctoral dissertation project has been to investigate and describe Entrepreneurship Education in one Swedish county, E‐county. The dissertation is based on five studies, four case studies and a minor follow‐up study. Together these studies constitute a multiple case study called The Main Study. The purpose of the study has been to investigate how European policy on entrepreneurship education has been reproduced and realized in different educational settings in E‐county, and the consequences this has had for fostering students and local identity building. The two first studies, cases A and B were carried out in three schools where three high school programs were studied, the Haircare program, a technical program and a social science program. The programs were chosen so that the whole range of highschool programs were represented; a practical program, a semi‐academic program and an academic program. The third case, C, contained the specific educational program ʺSummer Entrepreneur” which was developed in a local municipality in Ecounty, and had been spread throughout Sweden. The program was developed by local people within the framework of an educational concept that had been imported from Canada, “Open For Business“. The fourth study, case D, was carried out in the educational program Youth Enterprise in local high schools, including the so called “Practice school”. The fifth study was a minor study through interviews with representatives from the different educational programs. To enable methodical triangulation, studies A to D were carried out with interviews, questionnaires, observations and document analysis. The studies were based on theories of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education and general education. The theoretical framework for analysis was based on Basil Bernstein’s (2000) theoretical concepts classification, framing, the pedagogic device and pedagogic identities. The major finding from the Main Study was that entrepreneurship education was already part of the educational programs studied for some time before it became part of the Swedish national curricula in 2011. Entrepreneurship had become an element in the fostering of local identities in E‐county. Since it has become a major element of the value base in the national curricula, it will probably be an important part in fostering and identity building in all Swedish schools in the future.

In Europe, legal parent-child family reunifications are regulated by policies specifying the eligibility criteria that migrant parents must fulfill – two of the general conditions is having a long-term residence permit and fulfilling standardized income requirements. The emergence of transnational families – border crossing family arrangements – is often blamed on the conditions set by immigration countries. On the other hand, qualitative studies in the West African context indicate that transnational family life can be a strategic choice, arguing that West African family practices, such as fostering, are compatible with transnational family life and that parent’s preferences for the child to be brought up in the country of origin is one driver behind separation. Taking the case of Ghanaian migrant parents in the UK and Netherlands, the aim of this study is to explore what factors are associated with if and where parent-child reunification takes place – in the immigration country or the country of origin, with a focus on the interplay between family reunification policies, migrant family practices/norms and gender. The research question is: Do the policies that frame family reunification in the UK and Netherlands determine whether and where parent-child reunification takes place? And, how is the outcome affected by Ghanaian family practices/norms and gender? The analysis is made using binomial logistic regression on a selection of 167 current and return migrant parents from the MAFE-Ghana data, collected in 2009. The results indicate that having a high occupational status has a positive effect on reunification in any location, while a long-term legal status only increases the likelihood of reunification in the immigration country. Indicators for family status show mixed results; while having a partner in the UK or Netherlands has a gendered positive effect on the likelihood of reunification in Europe, it also tends to prolong parent-child separation for migrants who do not reunify in Europe. Against expectations, the availability of alternative caregivers in Ghana does not impact the outcome in any direction and no significant difference is found between the likelihood of reunification in the UK or Netherlands. The findings do not support the notion that transnational family life is a strategy for Ghanaian migrant parents; the conclusion is that policies strongly influence whether and where transnational parent-child separation ends.

This thesis considers how local authority social workers go about assessing the suitability of lesbians and gay men to foster or adopt children. It also asks how far a stated lesbian or gay sexuality is problematic within this process. A constructionist approach to social enquiry is used, data being generated by interviews with social workers, as well as a case study of a lesbian couple’s adoption application. Dorothy Smith’s ‘institutional ethnography’ is also employed to examine the ‘relations of ruling’ that structure such assessments. A continuum of assessment models is proposed in order to show the dominance of ‘on merit’ approaches which prioritise child care skills over sexuality issues. The thesis demonstrates the presence of arguments about the supposed ‘risks’ to children posed by lesbians or gay men. The notion of ‘discrimination’ in assessments is analysed, as are attempts by some social workers to challenge discrimination, and it is argued that small-scale anti-discriminatory measures are inadequate. Constructions of the categories ‘lesbian’ and ‘gay’ are discussed in relation to the ‘good carer of children’, and the thesis proposes the dominance of two versions: the ‘good lesbian’ and the ‘maternal gay man’. The thesisargues that the ‘on merit: prioritisation of child care skills’ model relies upon heteronormative ideas, and the case study looks at contested meanings given to the category ‘lesbian’ which are also gendered and raced. The thesis sees ‘lesbian’ and ‘gay’ as categories of knowledge, and social work assessment as a ‘making sense’ activity in which versions of these are produced. Such everyday practices are problematised in the thesis, and discourse, (black) feminist and queer theories are used to analyse how the assessment is a site for the production of knowledges about sexuality.

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The school has a democratic fostering mission, as it is tasked with conveying and anchoring respect for fundamental democratic values. The purpose of this study is to investigate how subject teachers relate to the democratic fostering mission. This study contributes to the research area by examining how social studies subject teachers manage the complexity of fostering for democracy and how teachers interpret and implement the democratic fostering mission. The study also enhances understanding of the relationship between fostering for democracy and respecting democratic principles. The main conclusions of this study are that the way teachers approach the fostering mission can vary depending on how the curriculum is interpreted and how they align with the purpose of the mission. This, in turn, will affect how the fostering mission is realized in teaching, primarily through dialogue and participation. The results also indicate that boundary-setting in teaching becomes crucial in understanding how teachers foster for democracy. It is through boundary-setting in teaching that teacher’s objective position is challenged, aiming to uphold the democratic values outlined in the educational document. Consequently, the democratic upbringing mission may sometimes appear to be incompatible with the fundamental democratic principles of society.