Literature and Policy Review of Challenges to Early Literacy for Families Experiencing Housing Instability

• In Event: Literacy Everywhere!: Designing Supports for Early Literacy and Awareness for Families Experiencing Housing Instability

Abstract

Experiencing homelessness or housing instability (H/HI) during the early years of life can affect children’s future school success, particularly in the critical area of literacy (Coulton et al., 2016; Haskett et al., 2016). To fully understand the barriers and challenges faced by these families, we must understand the policies that impact them. Often services and supports are siloed and not easily accessed by the most vulnerable families (Jin & Lee, 2023; Vrabic et al., 2022). The purpose of this phase of the larger study was to consolidate existing research in the category of H/HI with early childhood literacy, and to describe what we have learned from policy documents, various federal, state, local and non-profit agency reports, and community experts. Our study focused on the holistic nature of early childhood, combining family, child development, and social services with the realities of H/HI. Using a macro lens to review the research literature and policy allowed us to have a solid background in the issues facing families experiencing H/HI with children aged birth to five. This approach identifies the intersections between social and educational factors and the overlap in service provision required for best practices. Given the complex nature of the study, this literature and policy review was designed to cover the existing research and the impact of government policies on service provisions for H/HI, targeting literacy, child development, parent-child attachment and mental health, educational outcomes and school readiness, early learning, literacy intervention programs, and homeless shelter environments for families with children aged birth to five. Data were obtained through a systematic literature review utilizing an article search of Academic Search Complete and specific key words identified to narrow our search to specific literature. The date parameter was from 1998 to 2023. Meetings with community experts in the fields of education and social work as well as the expertise of the primary investigators and an initial review of the pertinent literature were used to generate initial key search terms. We then used an iterative process to arrive at the review literature that best represented the subject of the overall study. Existing literature focuses on the impact of H/HI on school readiness and achievement for school aged children, neglecting what literacy looks like for children birth to five in families experiencing H/HI. H/HI affects development in social, psychological, behavioral, and academic achievement for children aged birth to five, having potential life-long consequences (Doan & Evans, 2020). For families’ needs to be addressed concurrently, service providers must work collaboratively (DeCandia et al., 2023; Schwartz et al., 2022). While literature on academic achievement and H/HI was prevalent in the study of school-age children, there was a gap in the research specifically focused on early literacy for children aged birth to 5 experiencing H/HI. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the policies that impact families with young children (birth to 5) who are experiencing H/HI and identifies the inconsistencies in service provision.

Authors

• Kelly Gobrogge, University of Toledo

• Kimberlie Todd, University of Toledo