Predictors of school engagement in foster children: A longitudinal study

Children in foster care are often characterized by low academic outcomes which negatively impact their later lives. School engagement may be a key element to promote their academic and educational outcomes. However, little is known about the development of school engagement in foster children and longitudinal studies are lacking. The current study reports the findings of a three-wave longitudinal study wherein we examined the development of school engagement and analyzed which factors were predictive of school engagement in a sample of 363 Dutch foster children (age range 5–18 years, 46.6% girls). Multilevel analyses showed that characteristics related to demographics, school functioning, foster children, and foster families predicted levels of school engagement of children in foster care. Foster children's behavioral functioning and foster parents’ positive parenting appeared to be characteristics important to consider in screening and interventions. Based on the findings we suggest that teachers and foster care professionals should collaborate to ensure that school engagement and consequently school functioning becomes part of foster children's personal development plans. •Foster children in the Netherlands show relatively stable levels of school engagement over time.•Foster children vary with respect to the level of school engagement.•Demographics and school functioning are related to the level of school engagement.•Foster children's behavior problem is related to the level of school engagement.•Foster parents' positive parenting is related to the level of school engagement.