Date of Award
Fall 2022
Degree Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Education, PhD
Program
School of Educational Studies
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Linda Perkins
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Dionne Bensonsmith
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Tessa Hicks-Peterson
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2022 Franchesca A Ocasio
Keywords
Child welfare system, Critical race theory, Foster care, School discipline, School-prison-pipeline, Youth resistance
Subject Categories
Education
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.
ISBN
9798368464183
Recommended Citation
Ocasio, Franchesca. (2022). In Their Own Words: An Exploration of the Educational Experiences of Black, Indigenous Girls and Gender Expansive Youth of Color in Foster Care. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 464. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/464.
