Résumé :
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This paper shows that low educational attainment among children in public care in the United Kingdom cannot be explained away by the special difficulties of children in residential care, by frequent placement breakdowns, or by the impermanence affecting many care placements ; it also applies to children in long-term, settled, foster family homes. Nor can it be satisfactorily explained in terms of the self-fulfilling prophecy of low teacher expectations. The link between low educational attainment and behavioural problems was also less apparent than expected, with the foster children in the present study consistently performing below average in reading, vocabulary and math skills, irrespective of whether they had a record of behavioural problemes. However, a history of child abuse or neglect before entering care appears to have lasting effects. These results, together with similar findings from a French study of adoption, indicate that exceptional educational imputs are required.
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