Educational outcomes of care leavers and their matched peers: A gender perspective

Educational gaps between care leavers and their same-age peers not in care are well documented. However, little is known about gender disparities in educational outcomes between care leavers and their matched peers.

To examine and predict secondary school educational attainments (EA) and enrollment in postsecondary education (PSE) by (1) study group: care leavers versus their matched peers, (2) gender: men versus women, (3) interaction between study group and gender.

Participants were alumni of educational (n = 21,654) and therapeutic (n = 3765) residential care facilities from 16 consecutive birth cohorts and same-age doubled-sized matched comparison groups (n = 43,308; n = 7530, respectively).

Bivariate analyses examined differences in secondary school EA and PSE enrollment, and multinomial and binary logistic models predicted secondary school EA and PSE enrollment.

Care leavers from both residential settings showed poorer secondary school EA and lower PSE enrollment rates than their matched peers. Gaps between the study groups were far more pronounced in therapeutic facilities than in educational facilities. Women from all study groups outperformed men in both outcomes. Generally, there were greater disparities between female care leavers and their same-sex peers than between male care leavers and their same-sex peers, particularly in therapeutic settings. A complex pattern of interaction between study group and gender emerged in both residential settings.

Greater efforts and resources should be allocated to promote adolescents' academic performance in both types of settings to minimize the gaps between care leavers and their matched peers and between women and men, with special attention to men in therapeutic facilities.