Research on Black, Indigenous, and girls and gender expansive youth of color in foster care is limited. Though, existing research in education, sociology, and psychology suggests that these individuals enter foster care at higher rates than their counterparts due to interpersonal and structural violence. In the system, racialized and gendered stereotypes influence how they are perceived by educators and lead to increased discipline in schools. Given this landscape, this work seeks to understand the educational experiences of BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care and the ways they navigate mistreatment by educators. In the tradition of Critical Race Theorists, and indigenous, Black, and Chicana feminist researchers, this study utilizes counter-storytelling to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding these populations, obtained through ethnographic and qualitative research methods. Data from field observations and qualitative interviews lead to three key conclusions: 1) Community Experts illustrate that: 1) As systems-impacted youth, they faced unique systemic barriers to academic success, 2) Systemic barriers in education impacted Experts' feelings of school connectedness, giving rise to complex behaviors, 3) Despite the barriers placed in front of them, Experts survived education and the family regulation system with community support. While further research is needed, these findings shed light on the challenges to academic success facing BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that these challenges require unique and creative solutions, ranging from changes in educational practice to systemic changes, such as the abolition of the family regulation system.
","abstract_html":"<p>Research on Black, Indigenous, and girls and gender expansive youth of color in foster care is limited. Though, existing research in education, sociology, and psychology suggests that these individuals enter foster care at higher rates than their counterparts due to interpersonal and structural violence. In the system, racialized and gendered stereotypes influence how they are perceived by educators and lead to increased discipline in schools. Given this landscape, this work seeks to understand the educational experiences of BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care and the ways they navigate mistreatment by educators. In the tradition of Critical Race Theorists, and indigenous, Black, and Chicana feminist researchers, this study utilizes counter-storytelling to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding these populations, obtained through ethnographic and qualitative research methods. Data from field observations and qualitative interviews lead to three key conclusions: 1) Community Experts illustrate that: 1) As systems-impacted youth, they faced unique systemic barriers to academic success, 2) Systemic barriers in education impacted Experts' feelings of school connectedness, giving rise to complex behaviors, 3) Despite the barriers placed in front of them, Experts survived education and the family regulation system with community support. While further research is needed, these findings shed light on the challenges to academic success facing BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that these challenges require unique and creative solutions, ranging from changes in educational practice to systemic changes, such as the abolition of the family regulation system.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ocasio, Franchesca"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Education, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dionne Bensonsmith","Tessa Hicks-Peterson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:15Z","subjects":["Child welfare system","Critical race theory","Foster care","School discipline","School-prison-pipeline","Youth resistance","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/464","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dionne Bensonsmith","Tessa Hicks-Peterson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ocasio, Franchesca"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-04-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Education, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Child welfare system","Critical race theory","Foster care","School discipline","School-prison-pipeline","Youth resistance","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/464"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Research on Black, Indigenous, and girls and gender expansive youth of color in foster care is limited. Though, existing research in education, sociology, and psychology suggests that these individuals enter foster care at higher rates than their counterparts due to interpersonal and structural violence. In the system, racialized and gendered stereotypes influence how they are perceived by educators and lead to increased discipline in schools. Given this landscape, this work seeks to understand the educational experiences of BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care and the ways they navigate mistreatment by educators. In the tradition of Critical Race Theorists, and indigenous, Black, and Chicana feminist researchers, this study utilizes counter-storytelling to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding these populations, obtained through ethnographic and qualitative research methods. Data from field observations and qualitative interviews lead to three key conclusions: 1) Community Experts illustrate that: 1) As systems-impacted youth, they faced unique systemic barriers to academic success, 2) Systemic barriers in education impacted Experts' feelings of school connectedness, giving rise to complex behaviors, 3) Despite the barriers placed in front of them, Experts survived education and the family regulation system with community support. While further research is needed, these findings shed light on the challenges to academic success facing BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that these challenges require unique and creative solutions, ranging from changes in educational practice to systemic changes, such as the abolition of the family regulation system.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["In Their Own Words: An Exploration of the Educational Experiences of Black, Indigenous Girls and Gender Expansive Youth of Color in Foster Care"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dionne Bensonsmith","Tessa Hicks-Peterson"],"dc:creator":["Ocasio, Franchesca"],"dc:date.available":["2023-04-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Research on Black, Indigenous, and girls and gender expansive youth of color in foster care is limited. Though, existing research in education, sociology, and psychology suggests that these individuals enter foster care at higher rates than their counterparts due to interpersonal and structural violence. In the system, racialized and gendered stereotypes influence how they are perceived by educators and lead to increased discipline in schools. Given this landscape, this work seeks to understand the educational experiences of BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care and the ways they navigate mistreatment by educators. In the tradition of Critical Race Theorists, and indigenous, Black, and Chicana feminist researchers, this study utilizes counter-storytelling to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding these populations, obtained through ethnographic and qualitative research methods. Data from field observations and qualitative interviews lead to three key conclusions: 1) Community Experts illustrate that: 1) As systems-impacted youth, they faced unique systemic barriers to academic success, 2) Systemic barriers in education impacted Experts' feelings of school connectedness, giving rise to complex behaviors, 3) Despite the barriers placed in front of them, Experts survived education and the family regulation system with community support. While further research is needed, these findings shed light on the challenges to academic success facing BIPOC girls and gender-expansive youth in foster care. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that these challenges require unique and creative solutions, ranging from changes in educational practice to systemic changes, such as the abolition of the family regulation system.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/464"],"dc:subject":["Child welfare system","Critical race theory","Foster care","School discipline","School-prison-pipeline","Youth resistance","Education"],"dc:title":["In Their Own Words: An Exploration of the Educational Experiences of Black, Indigenous Girls and Gender Expansive Youth of Color in Foster Care"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Education, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:40:15Z"}