Research on Homeless Education

Teachers whose classrooms seem to have revolving doors with students entering, withdrawing, and even re-entering throughout the school year, face a variety of challenges in meeting the needs of such highly mobile students and their more stable peers. These two briefs describe some the challenges and offers recommendations to teachers based on the literature and case studies of award-winning teachers with a variety of students in their classrooms who moved frequently. This brief covers elementary school teachers.

Teachers whose classrooms seem to have revolving doors with students entering, withdrawing, and even re-entering throughout the school year, face a variety of challenges in meeting the needs of such highly mobile students and their more stable peers. These two briefs describe some the challenges and offers recommendations to teachers based on the literature and case studies of award-winning teachers with a variety of students in their classrooms who moved frequently. This brief covers middle and high school teachers.

This study, designed jointly by the National Center for Homeless Education and The College of William and Mary, explores the critical role of the classroom teacher in contributing to the education of at-risk and highly mobile students. The study includes a review of the literature on the effective teaching of at-risk and highly mobile students and an exploration of the beliefs and practices of six teachers who won national and/or state awards for working with students in difficult circumstances.

This National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) webpage provides a comprehensive listing of research studies addressing the issue of mobility and its effects on a child’s or youth’s education.

This abstract bibliography lists and describes a selection of publications released in 2008 that deal with issues related to the lives and education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

This NCHE bibliography, updated September 2011, provides a broad list of research studies addressing the issue of mobility and its effects on a child’s or youth’s education.

This report from the Institute of Children, Poverty, and Homelessness presents information on family homelessness in New York City. The report breaks down data on homelessness by neighborhood and by city council district.

This report found that increased efforts must be made to ensure the protection of homeless students’ legal rights to education in New York City. The report underscores the importance of providing educational stability to homeless children and youth, and the need for increased coordination among city agencies and the New York City Department of Education to provide services to these students.