ERIC Number: ED615133
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Aug
Pages: 182
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Narratives on the Academic Resilience of Former Homeless Students
Aboulhosn, Alia
Online Submission, Ph.D. Dissertation, Walden University
The number of homeless students in U.S. public schools continues to rise. Although many homeless students drop out due to challenges they face, research is lacking on how some homeless students overcome challenges and graduate high school, which is referred to as being academically resilient. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences that promoted former students who were homeless during their senior year of high school to graduate despite adversity. Resiliency theory was the theoretical framework. Semistructured interviews with five participants provided insight into the broader sociopolitical and personal contexts in their stories, revealing the importance of speaking up about their homeless identity and asking for help. This common action led participants to finding support systems such as friends, teachers, and homeless shelters, which promoted their academic resilience to graduate high school. Surprisingly, there was a lack of proper McKinney Vento Act (MVA) implementation in schools after participants reported their homeless identity. Further research on schools' response with identified homeless students is suggested. The implications for social change include insights on effective interventions to foster resilience and how places and other people (e.g., homeless shelters providing comfort) can help homeless students graduate. The lack of MVA implementation finding may contribute to positive social change on a policy level, because the U.S Department of Education mandates that schools implement MVA and work to increase high school graduation rates for homeless students. The findings in this study give hope, with proper implications, more homeless students graduate high school for a better future.
Descriptors: Homeless People, High School Seniors, High School Graduates, Resilience (Psychology), Help Seeking, Identification (Psychology), Peer Influence, Teacher Influence, Emergency Shelters, Federal Legislation, Barriers, At Risk Students, Intervention, Success, Student Experience, School Counselors, Counselor Role, Personal Narratives
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act 1987
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A