Publication Date

2008

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department

School for Social Work

Abstract

Elementary school teachers' perception of children in the foster care system and the foster care system was investigated. The perceptions were gathered by conducting a single individual 45 to 90 minute interview on 12 different teachers, who taught grades ranging from pre-kindergarten to the fifth grade. All teachers were identified as having a student that was currently in the foster care system during the previous or current academic year. Teachers studied reported an in-depth understanding of the challenges emotionally, socially, and academically that children in the foster care face. Teachers interviewed were found to have a greater understanding of the foster care system than previously reported, and to spend more time working with this population than what was found in previous studies. The study indicates that teachers should have a more active role in working with federal child services given their vast amount of knowledge about the child's current emotional, social, and academic health and ability.

Comments

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. ii, 43 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-35)

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