Attachment theory has, over the last half century, offered important insights into the nature of early experience and into human relationships more generally. These lessons have been influential in improving child care attitudes and provision. While acknowledging such advances, our argument in this article is that the dominance accorded attachment theory in policy and professional discourse has reached a point where understandings of human relationships have become totalised within an attachment paradigm; it has become the 'master theory' to which other ways of conceiving of child care and of relationships more generally, become subordinated. Yet, many of the assumptions underlying attachment theory, and the claims made for it, are contestable. We trace the growing prominence of attachment theory in child care, proceeding to critique the provenance of many claims made for it and the implications of these for practice. At the heart of the critique is a concern that an over-reliance on attachment contributes to the biologisation of how we bring up children to the detriment of socio-cultural perspectives. We go on to offer one suggestive alternative way through which we might conceive of child care relationships, drawing on Axel Honneth's theory of recognition.

Across Europe, foster care is the preferred intervention for children who cannot live with their birth families, yet just what states look for from foster care is rarely articulated. Its use and intended purpose can reflect not only historical peculiarities but also the nature of the welfare regime existing in a particular country. This article reports on a preliminary exploration of fostering across 11 European countries, reflecting different care and education traditions. Irrespective of variations in history and welfare ideology, and any specialist tasks, we argue that foster care, by its nature, fulfils elements of what might be described as an upbringing role on behalf of society. What is meant by upbringing and how might it be theorised? In this article we draw upon the work of the German social pedagogue, Klaus Mollenhauer, to develop a model of upbringing that might help elucidate what is involved in bringing up children, including those in state care. The idea of passing on a valued cultural heritage is central to Mollenhauer's understanding of upbringing. This happens regardless of social policy intent merely by virtue of shared daily living and the development of pedagogical relationships. We argue that a concept of upbringing might offer an integrating cross-generational theoretical framework for foster care across different welfare regimes.In ganz Europa ist die Pflegekinderhilfe die bevorzugte Unterbringungsform für Kinder, die nicht in ihren Herkunftsfamilien leben können. Die verschiedenen staatlichen Erwartungen an die Pflegekinderhilfe sind jedoch selten klar formuliert. Der Nutzen der Pflegekinderhilfe und die erwarteten Ziele können historische Eigenarten wiederspiegeln, aber auch die Besonderheiten des jeweiligen Wohlfahrtsstaates in einem bestimmten Land. In diesem Artikel wird über eine vorläufige, explorative Untersuchung der Pflegekinderhilfe in elf europäischen Ländern berichtet. Die Länder weisen verschiedene Traditionen der (Für-)Sorge und der Erziehung auf. Ungeachtet der Verschiedenheiten, der wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Ideologien und der spezialisierten Aufgaben vertreten wir die Position, dass die Pflegekinderhilfe wesensartig Elemente von dem erfüllt, was als "Erziehung im Auftrag der Gesellschaft" beschreiben werden kann. Was bedeutet Erziehung in diesem Sinn und wie kann der Begriff theoretisch gefasst werden? In diesem Artikel beziehen wir uns auf den deutschen Sozialpädagogen Klaus Mollenhauer, um ein Modell zu entwickeln, das dabei helfen könnte zu erklären, was Erziehung umfasst, bezogen auf alle Kinder, auch diejenigen, die fremduntergebracht sind. Der Gedanke, dass Erziehung die

When children enter a foster family they face a new family culture. At the University of Siegen, Germany, Daniela Reimer and her colleagues analysed biographies of young adults who had spent some of their lives in foster care. Their aim was to explore how children overcome these cultural changes and the approaches that help them cope. This article highlights the manifestations of cultural tensions which, although seemingly trivial to adults, are extremely important for children. It is suggested that this perspective complements other significant factors associated with the success of foster placements.

In many European countries, the number of children living in foster families temporarily or for longer periods is rising, but little is known about the experiences and feelings of children growing up in these settings and whether or how these are related to outcomes. This article seeks to fill this gap by discussing the views of former foster children as reported in autobiographical interviews. It expands research on biographical narratives and life courses, as well as theories of social pedagogy concerned with risk and protective factors, by exploring young people's perceptions, interpretations and coping strategies alongside critical events and turning points in their lives. A distinctive feature of the approach is the inclusion of objective and subjective dimensions of favourable or unfavourable life courses. Four biographies are summarised to represent these. The article closes with a discussion of the significance for foster care of five issues identified in the analysis: precarious biographical episodes, socialisation, continuity, participation and coping strategies.

When foster care is discussed in research, emotions are mostly kept out of the scope. This article explores emotions narrated by young people in foster care and by their foster carers. It brings together findings from two studies: The first used biographical interviews conducted with 100 young people from Germany, while the second draws on ethnographic interviews with 12 young people from France and England. The analysis, in line with relevant literature, shows that although emotions are hardly mentioned directly, they seem to be highly relevant in understanding the experience of foster care. Therefore, we suggest, professionalism and emotions need to be understood as complementary elements.