Climbing a Broken Ladder
Author | : Nathanael J. Okpych |
Publisher | : Rutgers University Press |
Total Pages | : 177 |
Release | : 2021-01-15 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781978809185 |
ISBN-13 | : 1978809182 |
Rating | : 4/5 (85 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Although foster youth have college aspirations similar to their peers, fewer than one in ten ultimately complete a two-year or four-year college degree. What are the major factors that influence their chances of succeeding? Climbing a Broken Ladder advances our knowledge of what can be done to improve college outcomes for a student group that has largely remained invisible in higher education. Drawing on data from one of the most extensive studies of young people in foster care, Nathanael J. Okpych examines a wide range of factors that contribute to the chances that foster youth enroll in college, persist in college, and ultimately complete a degree. Okpych also investigates how early trauma affects later college outcomes, as well as the impact of a significant child welfare policy that extends the age limit of foster care. The book concludes with data-driven and concrete recommendations for policy and practice to get more foster youth into and through college.