"Slow Down and Pay Attention": Student Homelessness and School-Community Practices During COVID-19

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Bridging the Digital Divide in a Global Pandemic (Table 14)

Abstract

In this qualitative case study, we draw from 29 semi-structured interviews with school and community actors, wide-ranging documents, and memos to examine student and family homelessness in Houston, Texas during COVID-19. Drawing from organizational embeddedness theory, we find that, in many ways, COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing inequities as schools and community organizations confronted scarce resources, new fears around physical safety, and escalating student and family needs. Simultaneously, however, we also unearthed a range of ways in which some organizations managed to transform and reimagine their pre-existing practices and partnerships in promising efforts to curtail and disrupt inequalities. Our work not only highlights the importance of the organizational context, but also has implications for cultivating equitable educational systems in a post-pandemic world.

Authors

• Alexandra E. Pavlakis, Southern Methodist University

• Kessa Roberts, Utah State University

• Meredith Paige Richards, Southern Methodist University