Educational outcomes for youth in foster care are concerning. The achievement gap is close to 1 school year between youth in foster care and the general population (Smithgall, Gladden, Howard, Goerge, & Courtney, 2004). Although there has been research on the educational disparities between youth in foster care and the general population, the field has not yet heard the voices of youth within the system about their educational experiences while in custody. The purposes of this manuscript are to (a) describe a study which engaged youth in foster care in sharing experiences and opinions about their educational successes in a participatory manner, (b) explore the relationship between perceived student engagement and educational outcomes, and (c) harness the suggestions of these youth in policy and practice improvements supporting their educational well-being.
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