Week 2

Unfortunately this week I was unable to attend the tutorial due to illness. This is particularly disappointing as this week we were to conduct interviews with individuals who had been through the leaving care system as well as government workers who enforce the system.

Fortunately however, my group took extensive notes as well as voice recordings, enabling me to have both primary and secondary sources to study.

The findings from the interviews did not align with my expectations, despite acknowledging that kids who go through foster care, would experience a level of neglect, I was unprepared for the brutality and abuse experienced by these individuals. What stood out to me was the instability of their childhood, and the constant changing environments they were subject to. There experiences vary according to each case; no foster care experience is the same. Jacob and Dale projected maturity despite being quite young, however they did admit to still suffering mental instability with Jacob being unable to maintain a job due to depression.

When conducting the interviews we started with open questions that would promote anecdotal responses. From these responses more specific questions were asked. This minimized bias, and prevented the interviewer from guiding the responses. This method could be improved in the future through more in-depth research prior the interview. This would provide a more substantial foundation for understanding the context behind the responses.