Title:

Hidden among the Under-represented: Foster Youth Access and Persistence in Ontario Post-secondary Education

Issue Date: Jun-2019
Abstract (summary): The pathway to and through post-secondary education begins in early life. Individuals require academic preparation, to be made aware of post-secondary options, become engaged in the processes and procedures necessary for enrollment, transition to their studies, and persist to graduation. This exploratory study investigated the experiences of Ontario’s foster youth (FY as they navigate this pathway. Viewing the issue of FY post-secondary under-representation, and their overall access and persistence, through theories of social reproduction, The Capabilities Framework, cooling-out, and resilience, it posed the question of whether or not FY experience equitable opportunity to attend and succeed in higher education. Semi-structured interviews asked what barriers and supports foster youth experience throughout their post-secondary educational journeys in Ontario. Four foster youth in addition to three child welfare workers, three child welfare experts, and one child welfare advocate shared insights reflective of findings in the literature. Though this study’s findings are introductory, they align with previous research and point to the need for additional, consistent, and efficacious educational and child welfare supports to encourage, prepare, and help FY access and persist within post-secondary education. This study also asked what the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) do to address FY under-representation and support greater rates of access and persistence by the demographic. Programs, services, and supports offered by Ontario’s 22 English-speaking CAATs were reviewed to determine how the system directly and indirectly supports FY, and make recommendations for improvement. Once FY are enrolled in post-secondary education, this research points to the need for greater, more tailored and responsive programming, services, and supports in Ontario’s colleges. Overall, this study highlights gaps in data collection on foster youth outcomes after they age-out of child welfare, the need for more research into the post-secondary experiences of youth in the province, and the importance of informed policies and practices in child welfare and post-secondary education in order to advance foster youth post-secondary opportunities and attainment.
Content Type: Thesis

Permanent link

https://hdl.handle.net/1807/97034

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