Date Awarded

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Education

Advisor

James Stronge

Committee Member

Patricia Popp

Committee Member

Megan Tschannen-Moran

Abstract

Great Expectations is a Virginia Community College System program for youth who were infoster care after the age of 13. Foster youth enter college with multiple disadvantages, including being less academically prepared compared to their peers and often lacking social support for their education. A program evaluation was conducted at a specific community college, Virginia Community College (pseudonym), to determine if the program was being implemented with fidelity, to compare the participants’ grade point averages and retention rates with other under-resourced students, and to discover the staff’s views on the successes of the program and their perspectives on needed improvements of the program. It was determined that selected areas of the program were being fully implemented while other parts were only partially implemented. Compared to both Pell Grant recipients and the general student population, Great Expectations students had lower grade point averages and lower retention rates. Staff described some of their perceived successes in the program, including student engagement and access. The staff provided recommendations for the improvement of the Great Expectations program, including the hiring of a full-time Great Expectations coach/coordinator whose sole responsibility is to lead the College’s Great Expectations program. Additionally, the staff advocated for consistent funding at the institutional level for the program, and noted the importance of increased promotion and publicity of Great Expectations so more parties are aware of its purpose and its opportunities for aged-out foster youth. The findings of the study suggest these improvements could lead to greater levels of academic success for Great Expectations scholars.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.25774/w4-xm79-mw29

Rights

© The Author

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