Scientific evidence shows that young people who have been in alternative care are more vulnerable than youth in the general population. This disadvantage is even more pronounced in the case of those who have been in residential care. A main factor associated with this greater vulnerability is low academic attainment, which is reflected in the scarcity of these youth accessing higher education. This qualitative research gathers the voices of twelve youth who have lived in residential care and are studying or have studied at university to explore those elements that have helped them overcome the obstacles to accessing higher education and have better opportunities in all areas of life. Following a communicative approach, the participants were also involved in the analysis. Besides identifying some of the great difficulties faced, the findings reveal that the participants were aware of the opportunities presented by a university degree and encouraged by relevant educators. Furthermore, most of the residential centres of the participants gave priority to their studies and provided extra support in a protective environment. The results provide valuable insights to child welfare decision makers and residential caregivers for improving services.

中文翻译：

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学习改变命运。促进接受住宿护理的年轻人成功发展的要素

科学证据表明，接受过替代照料的年轻人比普通人群中的年轻人更容易受到伤害。这种不利条件在那些接受过住院护理的人中更为明显。与这种更大的脆弱性相关的一个主要因素是学术成就低，这反映在这些年轻人接受高等教育的稀缺性上。这项定性研究收集了 12 名居住在寄宿照料机构、正在或已经在大学学习的青年的声音，以探索那些帮助他们克服接受高等教育的障碍并在生活的各个领域拥有更好机会的因素。按照交流的方法，参与者也参与了分析。除了确定面临的一些重大困难之外，调查结果表明，参与者意识到大学学位带来的机会，并受到相关教育工作者的鼓励。此外，大多数参与者的住宿中心都优先考虑他们的学习，并在保护环境中提供额外的支持。结果为儿童福利决策者和寄宿照料者提供了宝贵的见解，以改善服务。