Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century

Keller, Samuel; Gabriel, Thomas; Bombach, Clara

doi:10.1111/cfs.12813

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century
Authors:	Keller, Samuel Gabriel, Thomas Bombach, Clara
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.1111/cfs.12813
Published in:	Child & Family Social Work
Volume(Issue):	26
Issue:	2
Page(s):	248
Pages to:	257
Issue Date:	2021
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Wiley
ISSN:	1356-7500 1365-2206
Language:	English
Subjects:	Kinder- und Jugendhilfe; Vulnerabilität; Biografieforschung; Wirkungsforschung; Heimerziehung
Subject (DDC):	362.7: Youth services
Abstract:	Research on institutional care and its long‐term effect on life trajectories provides crucial and sometimes unexpected insights. In a qualitative study in Switzerland, we have conducted 37 narrative interviews with people who experienced residential care between 1950 and 1990. The analysis was based on a reconstructive life course perspective and grounded theory. The findings show a complex interplay of residential care context (here: narratives from expert discourses) and intersubjective experiences during and after care. Most interviewees learned from their experiences to be sceptical of social relationships and of all kinds of state interventions—even decades after having left. A few were able to take charge of their lives and steer them in an individually successful direction. In these cases too, results point to fragile concepts of success. Thus, critical questions about residential care in these decades remain. We suggest that rather than abolish residential care facilities, we need to gather more evidence about the factors that contribute to high‐quality out‐of‐home‐placements. As professional settings, they can enable young people individually. They need to avoid responding to children as ‘objects of care’, by neglecting all subjective dimensions and reproducing a pattern of powerlessness with a strong focus on formal, measurable goals.
Further description:	Special Issue : Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood : Exploring Historical Narratives
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/22350
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	Social Work
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Childhood, Youth and Family (IKJF)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	Heimplatzierungen im Kanton Zürich zwischen 1950 und 1990
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Soziale Arbeit

Files in This Item:

There are no files associated with this item.

Show full item record

Keller, S., Gabriel, T., & Bombach, C. (2021). Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century. Child & Family Social Work, 26(2), 248–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12813

Keller, S., Gabriel, T. and Bombach, C. (2021) ‘Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century’, Child & Family Social Work, 26(2), pp. 248–257. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12813.

S. Keller, T. Gabriel, and C. Bombach, “Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century,” Child & Family Social Work, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 248–257, 2021, doi: 10.1111/cfs.12813.

KELLER, Samuel, Thomas GABRIEL und Clara BOMBACH, 2021. Narratives on leaving care in Switzerland : biographies and discourses in the 20th century. Child & Family Social Work. 2021. Bd. 26, Nr. 2, S. 248–257. DOI 10.1111/cfs.12813

Keller, Samuel, Thomas Gabriel, and Clara Bombach. 2021. “Narratives on Leaving Care in Switzerland : Biographies and Discourses in the 20th Century.” Child & Family Social Work 26 (2): 248–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12813.

Keller, Samuel, et al. “Narratives on Leaving Care in Switzerland : Biographies and Discourses in the 20th Century.” Child & Family Social Work, vol. 26, no. 2, 2021, pp. 248–57, https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12813.