Lived Experiences and Educational Experiences of Homeless Children: Misconceptions and Challenges for Educational Leaders

• In Event: 52.067 - Homelessness Should Be No Child's Heritage: Addressing the Impact of Homelessness in Education

Abstract

The prevalence and extent of poverty have been extensively studied and documented. Scholars have identified and written about numerous indicators of multi-dimensional poverty, most of them associated with lack of resources, unemployment, and lack of education (Amadio, 2009; Battiston, Cruces, Lopez-Calva, Lugo, Santos, 2013; Gamboa, Waltenberg, 2012). In most cases, the authors focus on understanding the characteristics of poverty so that it can be addressed through public policy or social interventions. Although lack of education or low levels of education on the part of a head of household are often identified as indicators of poverty, or associated with the persistence of poverty, too few researchers have attempted to understand the lived experience of poverty and its impact on educational experiences through the eyes of children and youth.

In December 2012, Educational Researcher published a special section, “Mobility and Homelessness in School-Aged Children.” The four articles included in this section analyzed quantitative data related to the effects of mobility and homelessness on students’ math and reading skills, executive function, and academic achievement. The data associated mobility with lower math and reading scores in third grade and beyond (Voight, Shinn, & Nation), with a widening achievement gap (Herbers et al.), and instability in both home and schooling environments (Fantuzzo et al.). Too often, the prevalence of these and other similar statistical data lead to assumptions and misconceptions about children living in poverty, their housing and economic situations, and their educational rights and opportunities as well as their abilities.

The purpose of this paper, therefore, is twofold: first, it will describe, based on critical phenomenological interviews (Moustakas, 1994) with several homeless children and their families (17 people in all), some of the complex factors associated with being homeless, including some precipitating public policies and a range of family factors. These stories will also demonstrate the inaccuracies associated with many of the derogatory stereotypes from popular media (the poor live on streets, do drugs, drink heavily, are lazy, and so forth) , and hence, the inappropriateness of the currently accepted depiction of poor children coming from a “culture of poverty” and the attendant cultural analysis most clearly expressed in the work of Ruby Payne (2005). The second purpose is to challenge some of the deficit thinking often associated with homeless children in schools and to raise issues related to how to best educate them. Thus, educational leaders must take into account students’ mobility and insecure housing situation, assure they are not singled out or blamed for their situations, and supported in their educational endeavours. This paper will discuss how transformative leadership can help to address the issues of both poverty and homelessness.

Having a more accurate, nuanced, and robust understanding of the lived realities of homeless children will help educators better understand their needs and how best to offer support that acknowledges that children are not at fault but must be supported if they are to achieve educational success.

Author

• Carolyn M. Shields, Wayne State University