ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1667432
"They Should Have Just Talked to Me": Educational Pathways of Youth in Residential Care -A Participatory Action Research Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 2iHUB, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 3Universiteit van Amsterdam Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 4Hogeschool Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Youth in residential care (RC) face the highest risk of unfavorable educational outcomes among all out-of-home care (OHC) settings. While some consistent factors are known from previous research, the voices of youth and their caregivers remain largely absent, limiting insight into their unique context and opportunities for meaningful improvement. This participatory qualitative study explored the educational pathways of 26 youth (aged 12–21) with RC experience and 7 caregivers, using autobiographical interviews analyzed through a Grounded Theory approach. In line with participatory action research (PAR), youth with lived experience contributed as co-researchers throughout the study. Four key themes emerged: (1) awareness of difficulties and their impact, (2) the need for and lack of perspective, (3) longing to be seen and heard, and (4) personal strengths and perceived support. Youth and caregivers highlighted the importance of being genuinely seen and heard by professionals, calling for attuned relational support, recognition of competencies, and a broader, future-oriented perspective. A genuine connection between professionals and youth was seen as essential, yet often missing in practice. Both groups advocated for trauma-informed, youth-centered approaches. The findings point to the need for systemic reform in education and care. Key recommendations include co-constructing educational pathways with youth, promoting autonomy, involving caregivers and trusted network figures, and providing trauma-informed training for professionals. These insights offer practical implications for improving professional practices, emphasizing the value of inclusive collaboration and relational continuity to strengthen educational engagement and psychosocial wellbeing among youth in RC.
Keywords: Youth, Education, residential care, experiences, Participatory Action Research
Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bruidegom, Kuiper, Bramsen, Pooter, Collet and Harder. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kiki Bruidegom, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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