Abstract
The Brazilian care system is marked by a predominance of residential care institutions rather than foster care placements. This and other characteristics of our care system make it especially important to investigate education in care in this very specific context. In that direction this chapter from the book Education in Out-of-Home Care aims to (1) provide an overview of educational background and educational expectations of adolescents aging out of care in Brazil; (2) examine associations between educational background and extracurricular activity and placement characteristics; and (3) discuss the specificities of education in care for adolescents in Brazil as well as its similarities with other countries. The study comprises a sample of adolescents living in residential care institutions in three different cities in Brazil: Curitiba, São Paulo and Porto Alegre. Associations are investigated using descriptive and multivariate analyses. By identifying the characteristics and factors associated with educational background of adolescents in care, this chapter nourishes an incipient discussion in Brazil about the importance of preparing youth for leaving care. It also provides alternatives on how to do it, by discussing other countries experiences from which we can learn. Final considerations include future directions for the challenge of promoting better education in Brazilian care system, as well as suggestions for future research in order to continue to understand the specificities of our context.