35.082-10 - At the Crossroads of Policy and Poverty: A Critical Look at Homelessness and Youth in American Schools

• In Event: 35.082 - Roundtable Session 14

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

The panelists in this symposium are interested in reframing the persistent dilemma of homelessness among American families and youth. Each panelist presents a counter-narrative to the often articulated argument that homelessness is suffered by those who are personally at fault (unmotivated, lazy, etc.) for their circumstances. All of the participants on this panel work from a perspective of social justice, and seek to understand the structural difficulties that impede potential solutions to the problem of homelessness. Through broadly defined qualitative methodologies, critical policy inquiries, and legal studies, each author renegotiates the worn-out discussion surrounding homelessness and, more importantly, discusses what educators and advocates can do to ease the plight of this rapidly growing population within schools and social service agencies.

Sub Unit

• Division B - Curriculum Studies / Division B - Section 4: Spatial Justice: Youth, Community Activism and Ecologies

Chair

• Eric C. Sheffield, Missouri State University

Papers

• Ending Teacher Ignorance: A Critical Inquiry Into Teacher Education's Response to the McKinney–Vento Act - Jessica Heybach, Aurora University; Ann M. Aviles de Bradley, Northeastern Illinois University

• "Hidden in Plain Sight": Making Visible and Eradicating Youth Homelessness - Bradley J. Porfilio, Seattle University; Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Metropolitan State University

• Literacy, Education, and Inequality: Assimilation and Resistance Narratives From Families at a Homeless Shelter - Meg Jacobs, Cornell College

• Removing Barriers: The Struggle to Ensure Educational Rights for Students Experiencing Homelessness - Patricia Nix-Hodes, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; Laurene Heybach, Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless