The Experiences of Foster Youth of Color: Interrogating Carceral Systems Toward (Re)Imagining Educational Opportunity

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session explores how youth of color traverse and experience foster care, secondary and postsecondary schooling toward college access and persistence. Findings from this session highlight the intersections of racial identity and foster care status, and how foster youth and their adult co-conspirators navigated and resisted racism and carcerality. Our session demonstrates the need to dismantle the foster care system and (re)imagine educational systems toward co-designing targeted supports to uplift foster youth of color, promote racial literacy, identity, and socialization, and build educational experiences on a foundation of justice and equity. This session is important as it centers the need to transform policies and practices to elevate the educational and wellbeing trajectories of this group of students.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Cosponsor

• Division J - Postsecondary Education / Division J - Section 2b: College Student Experiences

Chair

• Maria L. Espino, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• The Intersection of Being Black and Foster: Perspectives of Race, Foster Care Status, and Resistance - Kenyon Lee Whitman, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Youth of Color With Foster Care Experience: Navigating COVID-19 and Racism on College Campuses - Matthew Ruderman, University of California - Los Angeles; Kenyon Lee Whitman, University of Nevada - Las Vegas; Brenda Tully, University of California - Los Angeles; Brianna Marche' Harvey, California State University - Fullerton; Audra Langley, University of California - Los Angeles

• Navigating Complexity: Shaping the Path to Higher Education for Black Foster Youth - Brianna Marche' Harvey, California State University - Fullerton

Discussant

• Tyrone C. Howard, University of California - Los Angeles