Abstract:
This presentation will report on the literature reviewed to date by the Intercountry Adoption Research Project which highlights the range of perspectives, controversy and debate around the positive (love, security, permanence, opportunity) and negative (loss of identity, culture, language, birth family) outcomes of intercountry adoption, which may impact on the Australian general public's views and understanding of adoption issues. It will also report on key findings from research studies conducted in America, the United Kingdom and parts of Western Europe, which identify the potential social, emotional, behavioural and academic (cognitive) issues adoptees may face and how these may impact on them at school. To date there has been no empirical evidence found which links research abroad to the educational outcomes of school-age adoptees in Australia. In this country, adoption research in the last decade has largely represented historical, political, psychosocial, socio-cultural and economic perspectives, in particular, past adoption practices and lessons to be learned from these. However, there is a paucity of Australian research on post adoption outcomes of adopted children due to legal processes and a greater focus on Australian families impacted by abuse-related trauma.The presentation will conclude with a brief overview of the theoretical framework and methodology which will be used to collect the research data. This project will utilise the theoretical constructs provided by Erikson's theory of psychosocial development throughout the lifespan and Marcia's integration of "statuses" in adolescent identity formation to collect the narratives of Australian adoptive parents, and children currently enrolled in Australian primary and secondary schools. The aim is to identify the adoption-related issues which may impact on adoptees' school experience to inform education professionals, adoptive parents and others involved in post-adoption support, about the needs of these children at school and to recommend possible collaborative supports. It also aims to provide impetus for future research into the needs of other vulnerable groups at school such as those children in out-of-home care.