Annual of social work, Vol. 12 No. 1, 2005.
Original scientific paper
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF FOSTER PARENTS EXPERIENCE
Marijana Kletečki Radović
Klaudija Kregar Orešković
Abstract
In Croatia, foster home placement has a relatively long tradition, but the research studies of foster home placement have been rare, both those oriented towards the effects of the children’s stay in foster families and those oriented towards fosterers. This paper presents the results of the qualitative analysis of the interviews of foster parents (N=76) related to their experience in fostering. The qualitative analysis procedure has been conducted in six steps: (1) putting in order the empirical material; (2) determining the coding units; (3) open coding; (4) the selection and definition of relevant notions and categories; (5) related coding and (6) formation of the “experimental theory”.
The results show that foster parents have generally positive experience in regard to placing children excluded from their primary families. The fostering experience depends on the circumstances that precede the foster home placement, and which are connected to the circumstances of the exclusion and characteristics of the child; the circumstances of the life in the foster family, from the adjustment to the development of attachment between the child and the foster parent and the continued support and assistance provided by the social service and other competent services.
The need for the promotion and development of foster care has been emphasised, as well as the need to create the prerequisites for the foster home placement of quality through the systematic and professional support of foster parents as the primary performers of non-institutional care for the children.
Keywords
children in care; foster parents; qualitative analysis
Hrčak ID:
2131
URI
Publication date:
13.12.2005.
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