Abstract
M.A.
South Africa is facing a high rate of children in need of care due to high escalation of the
HIV/AIDS related illness. The children are being left without biological parents, and they are
eventually placed in the foster care custody of their extended families. Sometimes there are
challenges that are experienced by the foster parents and the adolescents’ foster children,
as a result the adolescents’ foster children end up leaving school. Foster care learners who
stay away from school or who have been entered on the register then absent themselves
for substantial parts of the day, are more likely to grow up unhappy and unfulfilled, leaving
school much less qualified than they might otherwise be and worst of all sometimes get
drawn into a life of crime(Collins, 1998).
The overall aim of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to adolescent foster
children not completing their high school education and developing strategies to retain
adolescents’ foster children in school. Placing the adolescents’ foster children into
institutions like industrial schools and children’s homes hoping that the children’s behavior
will change should be considered as the last resort that the professionals should do.
The objectives of the study are:
§ To survey literature on foster care education,
§ To analyse the scope of the concept” foster care” in terms of current practice,
§ To investigate problems that are encountered by the foster parents and how do they
deal with the teenagers’ problems,
§ To investigate the problems encountered by the teenagers or adolescents foster
children , and also identify their unmet needs,
§ To investigate the problems encountered by the foster children while still at school,
§ To identify challenges of educators towards foster care learners.
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Qualitative research methodology was applied with the researcher selecting participatory
action research to engage adolescents’ foster children, foster parents and educators in the
study. The study was exploratory and qualitative in nature. Focus groups were utilized as
the method of information gathering. The focus group was conducted with adolescent foster
children, foster parents and educators. The focus group sessions with the children
comprised of ten adolescent foster children that did not complete their high school
education. The focus group session with the foster parents comprised of ten parents caring
for adolescent foster children who left school. The focus group with the educators
comprised of six educators who taught foster children, three educators were from each of
the two high schools in Naledi, Soweto. The foster children and foster parents were
recruited from the researcher’s case load in Soweto.