Social Work Commons^™

Barriers In Educating Homeless Children And Youth, Gloria Elaine White Adams

Dissertations

Across America, homeless students face a myriad of barriers that impede education and school access and success of homeless children. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to enrollment and school success for homeless students. The ultimate goal was to provide information to parents, teachers, administrators, and school districts that could serve as a vital resource tool in educating homeless students while removing barriers.

The participants consisted of 215 certified teachers, school administrators, and homeless liaisons in 23 school districts representing the populations that provide afterschool instruction to homeless students. The study was conducted in the spring …

Transitions To Adulthood For Homeless Adolescents, William Tierney, Jarrett Gupton, Ronald Hallett

Ronald Hallett

This qualitative case study of 123 homeless youth and over 40 stakeholders in Los Angeles provides a glimpse into the many educational barriers that exist for homeless and highly mobile youth. The authors provide a typology of the different ways youth experience homelessness and how these forms of instability frame their educational participation. In addition to highlighting the many challenges, the authors provide recommendations to improve both policy and practice.

Transition To Adulthood For Homeless Adolescents, William G. Tierney, Jarrett T. Gupton, Ronald E. Hallett

Benerd College Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Education plays a critical role in how adolescents mature into adults. A vulnerable, and often forgotten, sub-population of the poor is homeless youth, for whom lack of a stable or adequate residence creates a unique set of educational barriers. The Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA) spent 18 months documenting the experiences of homeless adolescents in Los Angeles, deriving data from 123 interviews with homeless adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19, and an additional 45 interviews with shelter staff, social workers, parents, teachers, and school district administrators. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 30 of the youth to …