Your Network Is Your Net Worth: Exploring the Cultural Wealth That Is Keeping Black Students Experiencing Homelessness in School

• In Event: Examining the Bright Spots: Successful Strategies for Promoting Black Student Success in K–12 Schools

Abstract

Purpose. In the U.S., approximately 4.2 million young people experience homelessness over a 12- month period (Morton et al. 2018). Youth experiencing homelessness have an increased risk of physical trauma, social isolation, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse—risk factors known to severely impacts students’ ability to graduate high school (Cleverley and Kidd 2011). While research shows that a positive school culture can mitigate negative risk factors (Moore et al. 2018), little research has explored the informal networks that Black youth experiencing homelessness establish in order to graduate from high school.

Theoretical Framework. Drawing from Yosso (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Framework this paper explores the resources that youth experiencing homelessness use in pursuit of graduating high school. Yossi’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Framework (CCW) outlines “at least six forms of capital that comprise community cultural wealth and most often go unacknowledged or unrecognized” (Yosso, 2005, p. 70), particularly as they pertain to marginalized groups. This inquiry uses CCW to deepen our understanding of the resources and networks that Black youth experiencing homelessness use in order to get the academic, social, emotional, and tangible supports needed to graduate high school despite their homelessness. This work connects critical wellness to CCW as a tool to examine experiences of youth experiencing homelessness.

Method The study uses semi-structured interviews with 9 self-identified Black male and 6 self- identified Black female high school current and former high school students who experienced homelessness in Los Angeles County for at least two months while enrolled in high school. The study deployed three cycles of coding and analysis using CCW’s six forms a cultural capital, to identify common themes within each participant’s narrative (Saldana 2015).

Findings & Significance. Participants’ narratives showed that for Black students experiencing homelessness relied on Black teachers, school staff, and mentors from community-based organizations with helping them to graduate high school. However, the majority of the participants’ mentors were unaware of federal educational policies established to support students experiencing homelessness, and thus several participants did not receive any formal resources from their respective school districts. This paper expands the use of Community Cultural Wealth to youth experiencing homelessness and provides researchers another anti-deficit framework to explore the resources (or lack thereof) supporting the academic success of a vulnerable population. Moreover, the findings underscore the importance of raising awareness of educational policies designed to support youth experiencing homelessness, particularly for teachers and community-based organizations.

References
Cleverley, Kristin, and Sean A. Kidd. 2011. “Resilience and Suicidality among Homeless Youth.” Journal of Adolescence 34(5): 1049–54.

Moore, Hadass, Rami Benbenishty, Ron Avi Astor, and Eric Rice. 2018. “The Positive Role of School Climate on School Victimization, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation Among School-Attending Homeless Youth.” Journal of School Violence 17(3): 298–310.
Morton, Matthew H. et al. 2018. “Prevalence and Correlates of Youth Homelessness in the United States.” Journal of Adolescent Health 62(1): 14–21.

Saldana, Johnny. 2015. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. SAGE.

Yosso, Tara J. 2005. “Whose Culture Has Capital? A Critical Race Theory Discussion of Community Cultural Wealth.” Race Ethnicity and Education 8(1): 69–91.

Author

• Earl J. Edwards, University of California - Los Angeles