<p> Foster youth face barriers unmatched by their non-foster peers, particularly in the arena of academic achievement. Although a majority (84%) of foster youth report aspirations of attending higher education, only 5% graduate by age 22 or 23, compared to non-foster youth in the same age group, who graduate at a rate of 30% (Courtney et al., 2010; Courtney, Terao, & Bost, 2004). The current study describes factors from the perspective of 13 foster care alumni that supported them in the process of gaining acceptance to college and graduating. Supportive factors and resilience theories provided the framework that guided the research. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, foster care alumni who completed at least a 2- or 4-year degree were interviewed. Five common themes were identified in narratives of these individuals: exposure to validating environments, availability of pre-college informational and appraisal supports, motivating factors, and the presence of expectation.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1589620 |
| Date | 17 June 2015 |
| Creators | Hattick, Alexandra S. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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