Narrative Case Studies Exploring Homelessness and Education

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on July 17, 2014Thesis advisor: Jennifer FriendVitaIncludes bibliographical references (pages 192-209)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2014The purpose of these narrative case studies was to understand the experiences of families encountering homelessness and how children experience formal and informal education. Families experiencing homelessness were defined as groups of persons living without regular, fixed, and adequate housing. Narrative case studies on four families living in a homeless shelter in a Midwestern City were analyzed to investigate the following central research question: What themes were apparent in the perceptions and experiences of participants as reflected in their stories of being homeless as it relates to their children’s educational experience? Sub-questions included: How did the adults experiencing homelessness describe their children’s formal and informal educational experiences since becoming homeless? How did the children experiencing homelessness describe their formal and informal educational experiences since becoming homeless? How did the adults experiencing homelessness describe the events that led to homelessness, and how did these events affect the educational experiences of their children? Data were collected in the form of documents, interviews, and observations. Data were coded and narrative accounts were restoried. This information was organized and analyzed to determine the themes and patterns related to homelessness and the effects it had on the education of children. The findings of this study revealed that the families experienced a transient lifestyle and frequent school changes before coming to live at the shelter. However, once identified as homeless, the families received various educational services through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance ActAbstract -- List of tables -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Literature review -- Design and methods -- Findings -- Results -- Appendix -- Reference