There are two dimensions of positioning: self-identity (reflexive) and, events and interaction between people (discursive). Positioning may become socially restrictive when disruptive discursive episodes have a negative impact on individual self-identity. An interpretive biographical study of 11 participants in a transitional residency (temporary…

We employed participatory, community-based research methods to explore the perceptions of home among women who are homeless. Twenty women engaged in one or more techniques including qualitative interviews, digital story telling, creative writing, photovoice, and design charrette to characterize their perceptions of home. Analysis of the data…

Purpose: This study sought deeper understanding of how sheltered families accessed and mobilized educationally related relationships and resources during periods of homelessness. Such work is posited to be especially relevant considering that there is a growing crisis of family homelessness in the United States and school- and community-based…

Early childhood educators are likely to encounter youngsters who experience problems at home impeding their abilities to learn and benefit from the program. One such group is children who live or have lived with adult domestic violence. Children yet to begin elementary school are over-represented among groups of young people known to live with…

This study is a follow-up investigation of the career and life experiences of battered women two years after shelter exit. Using consensual qualitative research, we interviewed 6 women from our original sample of 13 regarding their career and life adjustments and future aspirations. Results indicated that participants generally reported both…

The present qualitative research focuses on homeless fathers living with their children in family shelters. Data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews with homeless fathers (n = 9) and shelter directors (n = 3). Findings suggest that how fathers made meaning of their experiences in a homeless shelter was related to…

The aim of this study was to investigate forces that affect the timing of women's exit from violent relationships with men. Abused women were recruited from posters in the community and battered women's shelters, interviewed, and followed up for 10 years. Data for this study are based on 100 women and were analyzed using event history analysis.…

Homeless children tend to experience a variety of academic problems, and little is currently known about this growing segment of the American population. This study was undertaken using administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and a program that serves many of Chicago's most vulnerable homeless families to examine children's…

Few studies have examined the adjustment of battered women and their children after exiting domestic violence shelters. Participants were 62 women who had endured severe partner abuse, completed a shelter program with their children, and resided in the community for at least 6 months. Field interviews concerned mothers' and children's abuse…

While research on emergent literacy development provides a comprehensive picture of the factors that are conducive to children's early literacy development, environments of young preschool children living in overnight and residential shelters have not been investigated from an emergent literacy perspective. Results of my comprehensive study on the…

This study examines the interrelationships between childhood abuse, exposure to maternal domestic violence, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in a multiethnic sample of 111 adult female residents of a domestic violence (DV) shelter. Participants completed structured interviews about the DV and their prior violence exposure,…

Qualitative research using the symbolic interactionism framework and grounded theory methodology was employed to discover the perceived health problems and dangers that homeless families with children endure. Data were collected using semistructured interviews from 34 homeless volunteer participants with 87 children. An in-depth analysis of the…