Support for Children’s Care Home Leavers to Achieve Entry into a University

Abstract

We conducted an interview survey of children’s care home leavers who had entered university and investigated the forms of support that facilitates university entry. The analysis revealed that the courses that children undertook before university enrollment can be classified into three types:“self-control,” “others-control,” and “constant.” Moreover, it was observed that there were two support services necessary for university enrollment:the informative support service, wherein children are provided with information and explanation regarding their career and presented with a broad range of career options to help them envision their career, and the instructive support service, wherein children are taught concrete knowledge and methods to realize their envisaged career. Even when children’s circumstances or their backgrounds prevented them from forming a goal or career image, these support services created a momentum for considering their desired career by affecting the process by which they made career decisions. Additionally, the presence of supporters was found to greatly affect their career decision when these supporters exemplified their ideal future career identity.