‘We lacked crucial information about the child’s ethnicity and cultural background…’: Challenging post-racial phantasmagoria and promoting race intentionality in transracial adoption

‘We lacked crucial information about the child’s ethnicity and cultural background…’: Challenging post-racial phantasmagoria and promoting race intentionality in transracial adoption

TPC Cane, SS Puhan · Adoption & Fostering

Co-creation focus groups with 55 participants, including adoptees, social workers and adoptive parents, explored how adoption practice addresses racial and cultural identity. Analysis identified gaps in cultural information and preparation, and the need to consider identity before placement and work with birth families. The authors interpret these findings through a framework examining assumptions that race no longer matters.

Limitations: Mixed stakeholder evidence: findings cannot all be attributed to adoptees. Qualitative, selected sample; recommendations were not tested as interventions and do not establish comparative outcomes. Publication relationship: this research was published by BAAF or in its Adoption & Fostering journal, now associated with CoramBAAF, an adoption-sector organisation. Publication does not establish that the organisation conducted the research; readers may take the institutional relationship into account.

Research type

Qualitative focus-group research

Source reviewed

Abstract

Peer reviewed

Yes

Age group

Mixed