The State of Research on Undergraduate Youth Formerly in Foster Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Youth formerly in foster care (YFFC) are one of the most underserved student populations in higher education, yet they remain on the peripheries of national student success discourse. As momentum for improving postsecondary education completion for underserved students grows nationally, the time seems ripe to take stock of what we know (and do not know) about the condition of undergraduate YFFC, so as to raise the specter about their experiences. Call to action education policymakers and practitioners, and chart new directions for educational research. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to provide a synthesis and critical review of research on undergraduate YFFC, drawing on Rendón's (2006) Student Success Model as conceptual and analytical framework. This article concludes with a critical assessment of the state of research and offers recommendations to guide future research drawing on findings from the 46 studies included in this review.