A qualitative study of college success for students with experience in foster care in Pennsylvania

Students who have experiences in the foster care system, group homes, or kinship care graduate college at a significantly lower rate than their peers. Most research indicates that no more than four percent of students with experience in the foster care system, who will be represented in this dissertation as SEFC, will complete any level of college degree (Jones & Dean, 2020). The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of students with foster care backgrounds within a community college and four-year institution setting, to gauge the students’ educational confidence and their interest in using resources on campus. The study focused on two schools in Pennsylvania shortly after the adaptation of the Pennsylvania Fostering Independence Tuition Waiver that was passed in 2019 statewide, which provides tuition waivers for students with experience in foster care. This study provides a unique focus in two ways: first, it examines SEFC and their college experience from a first semester perspective, to understand what students’ expectations and needs are as soon as they step onto their campuses. Second, while much of the research on SEFC is focused on data such as GPAs, retention, and graduation rates, this study’s interest was to hear the students’ voices, to learn how they speak about their schooling, and to hear any common language that was used by the participants. The study finally aims to provide recommendations for institutions of higher education to help them to better support the academic achievement of SEFC as first-semester college students.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Sosanko, Amy

Contributors dc:contributor

• Pak, Yoon
• Barnett, Bernie
• Hood, Denice
• Mason, Terrence

• foster care, qualitative research, student success

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Amy Sosanko

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132538

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132538