Temporary, Not Trivial: Measuring Differing Associations Between Unhoused Students’ Temporary Housing Accommodations and Their Learning

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Housing Instability: Roots, Redlining and Academic Disruption

Abstract

People experiencing homelessness leverage many different temporary housing accommodations. Some offer more independence and privacy while others offer more connection to social supports and community. Research has identified a negative relationship between episodes of housing insecurity and student schooling outcomes, in several locales across the U.S. However, little is known about comparative levels of academic disruption across students’ temporary housing accommodations (STHs). This study uses nation-wide, district-level data, to determine whether the magnitude of the association between student homelessness rates and average standardized test scores varies based on the distribution of STHs. Descriptive results show a negative association between the two, across STHs. Regression models with full covariates show mostly negative associations and show variation in coefficient magnitudes across STH.

Author

• Fabian Barch, University at Buffalo - SUNY