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Increasing numbers of rural girls and young women in Ethiopia are migrating to urban towns and cities and taking up employment as domestic workers, some of whom continue their education by attending evening classes. For urban households, rural migrants help to fill the domestic work gaps created by the entry of urban women into employment. For rural young women, migrating as a domestic worker is an important strategy for achieving social mobility and empowerment. However, domestic workers are vulnerable and largely hidden in the city and we know little about their lived experiences. In this paper, we start to address this gap, drawing on interviews with eight rural female migrants who are working as domestic workers in the city and attending evening classes in urban secondary schools. Informed by a critical framing of empowerment, we explore the extent to which intersecting inequalities in rural areas disempower these young women, and how migration and education become important strategies for improving their lives. We show how the support of social network members is crucial in enabling participants' migration, yet how this also leads to power asymmetries and exploitation. We reflect on how the ability of rural young women to achieve better futures is limited due to their status as poor, rural, female migrants, yet how many wait in the city in the hope of a better future. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of critical approaches to female empowerment that includes a focus on structural inequalities and power imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research highlights the role of key actors and relationships in supporting the educational attainment and progress of children in care and care leavers. We know less about how relationships influence the educational journeys of people with care experience over time and how to support the educational progress and engagement of adults with care experience. The principle of "linked lives" is central to the life course perspective referring to the interdependence of human lives throughout the life course. This paper explores how the principle of linked lives can illuminate our understanding of how relationships positively influence the educational journeys of adults with care experience over time. Educational life history interviews were conducted with 18 care‐experienced adults (aged 24–36) in Ireland. Findings suggest that the principle of linked lives is a valuable conceptual tool for providing new insights on this issue. Four key themes were identified: (a) opportunities for educational support are present across the life course; (b) "family" is a central source of educational support; (c) there is intergenerational capacity for educational support; and (d) relationships beyond the "family" are supportive of education. Implications for practice, policy, and research are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this component of a preliminary cross-national study (Ireland and Catalonia) of care leavers' experience in the world of work is to explore how carers may influence the entry of young people in care into the world of work and how they may also influence the young people's progress in that world. A total of 22 care leavers, aged 23-33 years, were recruited on the basis of their having substantial employment experience since leaving care. Evidence from the interviews reveals the importance of the role of carers in the work-related progression of the young care leavers, especially in relation to gaining work experience while they were still in care. The qualitative analysis shows that carers were influential in promoting (and sometimes hindering) progress in work and education. Carers were often reported to play an important role in opening up opportunities, giving support (modelling skill development, giving practical help, etc.), being role models and cultivating the young person's agency. On the basis of these findings, we propose an initial conceptualization of carer roles in positive work support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article begins by challenging what is considered to be the relative neglect by child and family social work of the importance for children of school and teachers. Key roles of school in children’s lives are conceptualized. School is argued to have potential as an ally for children, a guarantor of basic protection, a capacity builder, a secure base from which to explore the self and the world, an integrator into community and culture, a gateway to adult opportunities and a resource for parents and communities. It is suggested that school can have a special supportive value for children experiencing adversity, including those in state care or under supervision, those whose parents have divorced, and those recovering from abuse or neglect. The implications of the central importance of schools and teachers for child and family social work are discussed with reference to the child as client, work with teachers, work with the wider school and community, and policies in social work agencies and in education and training programmes for social workers and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The article explores how relationships in the workplace may be an important source of social support. • Support received from bosses and co-workers included being shown trust, being given recognition, and being mentored. • It appears that such support assists care experienced young people progress in the workplace and more widely. • Workplace may offer young people the opportunity to develop meaningful and long-term friendships beyond work. It is widely recognised that young people in care and care leavers may find challenges in accessing necessary social support. Their potential support network may be adversely affected by the issues behind their being originally admitted to care, and by later experiences during their time in care and after they leave care. In this article, we explore how relationships in the workplace may be an important source of support for some care experienced young people. Such support may assist their progress in the workplace and more widely. Drawing on a study of 22 young adults who left care in Catalonia and Ireland, this article reports on participants' experience of a range of support from bosses and co-workers. Support received included being shown trust, being given recognition, and being mentored. Participants also reported that employers and co-workers were very helpful, not only in terms of work issues, but also by providing emotional and personal support, and in many cases, by offering young people the opportunity to create meaningful and stable friendships beyond work. This paper highlights how the workplace may be a potential (and largely unrecognised) source of social support for care experienced young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low educational attainment of young people in care and leaving care has been well-established in a continually-growing body of international research. Existing research has identified some of the pathways taken by care leavers into further and higher education in the years after leaving care (i.e. ages 18–24), particularly among 'high achieving' care leavers. We know less however, about the longer-term pathways taken through education from the perspective of 'older' adults with care experience (i.e. those aged 25 and over). Guided by the life course principle of expected 'diversity in life course trajectories' this paper identifies the pathways taken through education among 18 care-experienced adults (aged 24–36) in Ireland and some of the experiences and events that influenced these pathways. We outline four types of educational pathway taken by participants: 1) The Typical Pathway; 2) The Typical Pathway 'Plus'; 3) The Short-term Disrupted Pathway; and 4) The Long-term Disrupted Pathway. Study findings illustrate the diversity of educational pathways that may be taken by adults with care experience and the importance of considering the impact of multiple roles and transitions on these pathways. The value of taking a longer-term view when exploring educational pathways is also highlighted in this paper. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed. • Qualitative study of educational pathways of care-experienced adults • Guided by life course principle of expected 'diversity in life course trajectories' • Diverse educational pathways identified including 'typical and 'disrupted' pathways • Multiple roles and transitions impact the educational pathways taken by participants [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]