Ending Teacher Ignorance: A Critical Inquiry Into Teacher Education's Response to the McKinney–Vento Act

• In Event: 35.082 - Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: 35.082-10 - At the Crossroads of Policy and Poverty: A Critical Look at Homelessness and Youth in American Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how teacher education curriculum has educated pre-service and in-service teachers regarding the growing problem of homeless youth in American society, and more specifically how teacher education engages the legal legacy of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (PL 100-77, 101 Stat.482, 42 U.S.C. § 11301). While homelessness has always been an ancillary problem to the core issues of poverty in education, why has the McKinney-Vento Act not garnered the attention of educators in the same way other civil rights legislation has (e.g. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Brown vs. Board of Education, etc.)? Both presenters are teacher educators and persistently encounter students and practicing teachers who are uneducated and/or miseducated regarding what constitutes homelessness, the complexities of homelessness as a social problem, and the institutional responsibility of schools to educate this population.

Since 1987, the landmark McKinney-Vento legislation has provided a crucial framework to address the needs of America’s most vulnerable population—those struggling to secure basic necessities such as food and shelter. McKinney-Vento has, like all civil rights legislation, commanded the attention of the legal community for advocacy and enforcement, but remains obscure to many/most educators unless circumstances arise that warrant their attention to McKinney-Vento. Yet, beyond the rhetoric of official legislation and mandates lies a complex social problem that goes in and out of focus in the educational mainstream, a community that is currently focused on standardization, accountability, and corporate reform rather than the human dilemmas always at stake in education (Ravitch, 2013; Noddings, 2007).

Through a critical analysis of teacher education curriculum and policy, as well as professional teaching standards at the state and national levels, this paper will discuss the ways in which teacher education has failed to adequately prepare candidates who are able to meet the educational needs of homeless youth. For example, in Illinois, initial licensure programs adhere to nine professional teaching standards that include 172 knowledge and performance indicators, yet nowhere in this document does the word “homeless” appear, nor is there any mention of educators becoming familiar with the McKinney-Vento Act (Illinois State Board of Education, 2013). Thus, our analysis will highlight the obvious omission of providing pre-service and practicing teachers with a basic understanding regarding the law as well as the complete neglect of a structural justice-oriented analysis regarding the impact of unstable housing in teacher education. Rather, educators are taught to see such social problems through a less critical “charity” framework that tends to over-simplify a complex social problem (Marullo & Edwards, 2000; Sheffield, 2011). Furthermore, we offer practical suggestions for practitioners and teacher educators that can potentially enable teachers to advocate with, and on behalf of, homeless families and youth.

Authors

• Jessica Heybach, Aurora University

• Ann M. Aviles de Bradley, Northeastern Illinois University