Exploring the Impact of Educational Instability on Students in Foster Care: A Qualitative Multi-Stakeholder Perspective

The existing knowledge base has called for qualitative research to highlight the lived experiences of students in foster care and the people within their educational ecologies, particularly as it relates to their experiences with educational instability. This call seeks to deepen our understanding of how educational instability is experienced by students in foster care and its consequences. Building on previous research, this study employs a qualitative, multi-stakeholder perspective to investigate the perceived impact and consequences of educational instability on students in Virginia’s foster care system. Participants included students in foster care (n = 4), liaisons (n = 14), and foster parents (n = 11). Data for the study were collected through semi-structured individual interviews over Zoom and analyzed using a modified rapid analysis technique. The findings revealed both negative and positive consequences of educational instability. The negative consequences are centered around loss across several domains, including loss of learning, instructional time, and access to services. Negative consequences also included students experiencing additional trauma due to instability. Positive consequences included students receiving a fresh start and access to resources after moving to a new school. Recommendations to prevent instability and promote continuity of services when they are not preventable are outlined.