Living adulthood after the experience of residential care. Associations of care leavers as a lifelong education

Abstract

In the international literature the term Care Leaver denotes young people leaving care and becoming adults. Their journey to adulthood may be more difficult than for young people leaving their family home. Nevertheless, some care leavers develop resilience and find fulfillment in their lives despite problems and adversity. This paper explores developments on this subject, considering interesting examples of active participation and citizenship and the experiences of associations of care leavers as a form of lifelong education, through the support and accompaniment they provide to other young people leaving care, for the purpose of improving the quality of educational practice, services and policies.