Homeless Children1

Running Head: HOMELESSNESS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND CHILDREN

How Homelessness Effec s !e Academic Ac!ie"emen of C!ild#en

Tami Lo#ne, Nanc$ %ean &a#sons, and All$son Ramsa$'&#ince (ni"e#si $ of Cen #al )lo#ida

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Introduction Justification for the study Can homeless children thrive and learn in school - or is their academic fate sealed by their dire personal situations? This is no idle query. More than 50 000 people are homeless in !lorida and "omen and children comprise #0 percent of that number $%antich &00'(. )hen these children ma*e their "ay to school or a succession of schools a special relationship is *indled. %chool is their safe haven a refu+e of sorts $,ibbs &00-(. )ithin the confines of many schools students can receive free uniforms eat free brea*fasts and lunches and even receive prescription eye "ear if needed. !or these homeless children their teachers may be the only stable on+oin+ adult relationships they have aside from immediate family $.indsey &000(. /ut ho" can they do "ell in school "hen they lac* permanent housin+? 0omelessness for families is defined as lac*in+ ni+ht-time residence that is fi1ed re+ular or adequate $/each 2''#(. 0omeless or not to learn and function in school and be promoted to the ne1t +rade requires the same academic s*ills of the homeless as of more typical children "ho have stable housin+. )hile the education of even a small number of homeless children "ould be important the issue looms much lar+er in the current economic climate. The spi*e in homeless family populations creates burdens and challen+es for the school district. 3revious research about homeless children has touched on many of the issues currently brou+ht to the fore - includin+ the practice of some districts in se+re+atin+ their homeless children into special schools aside from the mainstream $,ibbs &00-(. )hile this practice is

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lar+ely fallin+ out of favor school districts have been +rapplin+ "ith establishin+ basic services such as a homeless liaison $,ibbs &00-(. 3oor nutrition sleep deprivation and e1treme stress have been reported in the homeless child cohort $/each 2''#(. In several studies "ithin the past 20 years homeless children "ere reported to be behind +rade level in 405 of surveyed schools $.indsey &000(. To date there has not been a study that has correlated academic achievement in the homeless +rade school population by studyin+ standardi6ed test scores. In the "orld "e live in today "ith thin+s in such economic disarray people are findin+ themselves in situations that they never thou+ht they "ould. 7ur need as parents to protect our children and ma*e sure they have all the +ood thin+s life has to offer is very stron+. 0o"ever today many parents find themselves in a situation that is 8ust beyond their control. )ith the state of national affairs people find themselves in situations such as unemployment. 9ue to the recession that "e:re in many people have lost their retirement and money mar*ets that "ere +reat investments a fe" years a+o but no" are losin+ money by the handfuls. 3eople "ho once had beautiful homes for their families to live in are findin+ themselves in the middle of foreclosures that are 8ust beyond their control. )ith the unemployment rate and home foreclosures at an all time hi+h more and more people are findin+ themselves "ithout a home to live in. In the past the homeless population consisted mostly of middle-a+ed men many of them "ar veterans. Today there is a faster +ro"in+ homeless population and that is of families. Turn on the television at ni+ht and see pro+ram after pro+ram intervie"in+ parents "ho live in a motel room "ith their children or in a shelter tryin+ to ma*e ends meet. T"o parent

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families "ho once had decent 8obs livin+ in middle class housin+ developments are no" livin+ out of their cars or out of motel rooms because they can:t pay the mort+a+e payment anymore. ;ccordin+ to the <ational Center on !amily 0omelessness the =nited %tates has the lar+est number of homeless "omen and children of all industriali6ed nations. This number has never been so lar+e. <ot even since the ,reat depression have there been so many homeless families. >ou+hly 4-5 of the total homeless population is made up of homeless families. ;ppro1imately 2.45 million children "ill e1perience homelessness this year. ?ach day it is estimated that more than &00 000 children have no place to live. These numbers probably aren:t even representative of the real numbers. The truth of the matter is that "e need to do somethin+ about this problem as quic* as "e can because the lon+er "e "ait the more children become lost. 3urpose of the study The purpose of this study is to underta*e such a revie" in the hopes of clarifyin+ the academic pro+ress of homeless students at the middle school level. To thin* of a homeless person is to con8ure up an ima+e of drun*en disoriented man livin+ alone on the streets. >ecent parolees addicts panhandlin+ runa"ays and even train-hoppin+ transients complete the stereotyped picture for many. ;s "ith many clich@s the truth lies else"here. 7f the 50 000 homeless persons in !lorida -&5 are under seven and an increase of nearly &05 has been reported in homelessness $daytonatimes.com(. 7ne e1pert has noted that many of the families currently e1periencin+ homelessness are havin+ this crisis for the first time and "ere previously adequately housed before the recession $daytonatimes.com(. 7ur research question is pertinent on several levelsA determinin+ ho"

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academic achievement is affected by homelessness and also ascertainin+ students o"n impressions of their situations. >esearch BuestionC0ypothesis %ince "e are loo*in+ for a direct relationship bet"een academic achievement and homeless children the research question is D9oes homelessness effect the academic achievement of homeless children?E This question be+s the hypothesis that "e "ish to sho" at the end of the study. 0omelessness ne+atively effects the academic achievement of children. 9efinitions 2. ;cademic achievement - defined as test scores on !C;T and ,3; $,rade 3oint ;vera+e(.
&. 0omelessnessA The McFinney-Gento ;ct defines Dhomeless children and youthsE as Dindividuals "ho lac* a fi1ed re+ular and adequate ni+httime residence E $9uffield &002 p. 4&H(. ;s lon+ as the child has any one of these three in place then heCshe are classified as homeless.

4. %tudent- children and adolescents that attend public school in the Central !lorida area. .iterature >evie"
The research that has been done on homeless children span appro1imately &0 years the first published "or* done in 2'HI $/uc*ner &00H(. /uc*ner also states that these investi+ations happened in t"o "aves the second one comin+ in the early 2''0s. ;ccordin+ to /uc*ner the first "ave sounded an alarm that there "as a +ro"in+ issue re+ardin+ homeless children statin+ that they present a number of physical and mental health issues. The second "ave investi+ated the impact homelessness had on children.

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In revie"in+ articles of studies that have been done in the past there "ere a fe" themes that *ept emer+in+. The reoccurrin+ ones "e found "ere mobility problems stress related issues health difficulties and school related issues. I "ill discuss these reoccurrin+ themes in detail to sho" "hy it:s important that "e find a relationship bet"een academic achievement and homelessness in children. In hopes that once a relationship is established that somethin+ can be done in order to solve this problem that is pla+uin+ our nation.

0ealth->elated Issues ;ffectin+ 0omeless Children The literature revie" provided comparisons of ho" homeless students versus ho" housed students rated in academic achievement. >esearchers have found that children "ho are homeless have poor nutrition and suffer from lac* of sleep. This in turn creates more physical problems. %tudies consistently sho" the children "ho are homeless e1perience more severe health problems at a +reater rate than housed children. In fact the studies sho" that the ris* of health issues can start even before children are born because the mothers of these children are homeless and "ithout health care $>afferty J %hinn 2''2(. 0omeless families livin+ in these conditions suffer from hun+er and poor nutrition. %impson Filduff and /leurett $as cited by >afferty J %hinn 2''2( surveyed -0 families "ho "ere livin+ in "elfare houses and found that '&5 of them had no refri+erator none of them had a stove and H05 said they "ere eatin+ less food and the food they "ere eatin+ "asn:t of +ood quality. Children "ho "ere homeless "ere &45 more li*ely to be hun+ry durin+ the prior month and one fifth said it "as because of lac* of money $>afferty J %hinn 2''2(. Mobility 3roblems

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%chool mobility is another common thread the runs throu+h the research. ?1cessive school mobility is one of the +reatest ris* factors of academic failure or poor academic achievement in the +eneral population. %tudies sho" that this ris* for homeless children is far +reater than the +eneral population. >afferty and >ollins $as cited in >afferty %hinn J )eit6man &00-( that I#5 of 4'0 children in <e" Kor* City had transferred schools at least once. %ince they became homeless 445 transferred school at least t"ice and 225 three or more times $>afferty %hinn J )eit6man &00-(. In a more current study <une6 $&002( sho"ed 5I5 of homeless children in <e" Kor* had chan+ed schools onceL in Chica+o I45 of 42' homeless children had attended three or more schoolsL and in California -05 of 2#' homeless children had attended t"o or more schools in the prior school year. Therefore researchers that compared homeless children to housed children found that the children "ho "ere homeless had a hi+her rate of school mobility than the housed children. The =nited %tates 9epartment of ?ducation $=%97?( has consistently identified school mobility multiple times as one of the bi++est factors that *ept homeless children from bein+ successful in school. DIn addition Mfrequent mobility from school to school: "as identified by &' of the 50 %tate Coordinators from the ?ducation of 0omeless Children and Kouth throu+hout the nation as the number one barrier to school success for homeless childrenE $>afferty et al. &00-(. %chool->elated Issues Many issues confront the homeless student besides the obvious one of a transient lifestyle and poverty. Ma*in+ transitions from school to school from +rade to +rade and the other many chan+es in a school year are special challen+es for these students $.indsey Furt6 Jarvis

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)illiams J <a*erud &000(. .indsey et al. from states in the deep %outh used constant comparative methodolo+y to assess the effects of transitions on a do6en homeless youth. The authors state their purpose as conductin+ an e1ploratory study identifyin+ and describin+ the *eys to successful transitions for the homeless student population "hich they note doubled over a 25-year period. ;s .indsey et al. $&000( e1plained D.earnin+ for these youth "as a developmental process durin+ "hich there "ere periods of accelerated learnin+ butNnot a linear processE compared to typical children "ith set homes. The researchers hypothesi6ed that an assessment process Dfocused on stren+ths as "ell as problems should be addressedE in +rade school. This detailed feedbac* "ould be especially useful to youth "ho may have many teachers over time and need tar+eted assessment throu+hout the school year as they transfer from school to school $.indsey et al. &000(. These physical conditions that pla+ue homeless children result in co+nitive difficulties in readin+ and mathematics and also leads to problems concentratin+ $/each 2''#(. The research sho"s that children "ho are homeless score more poorly in readin+ and mathematics tests and often they have to repeat the +rade they:ve 8ust finished $>afferty 2''2(. >afferty and >ollins $as cited by >afferty 2''2( investi+ated the entire population of school-a+e children "ho "ere identified by the <e" Kor* City /oard of ?ducation durin+ the 2'HI-2'HH school year. )hen they researched 4 H05 homeless children in +rades 4-20 that too* the 9e+rees of >eadin+ 3o"er test they found that -&5 scored at or above +rade level compared to #H5 city "ide. 7f the I4 schools they loo*ed at in three school districts only one school sho"ed a lo"er proportion of students readin+ at or above +rade level then did the overall

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proportion of homeless children attendin+ the school districts. They found the results "ere similar "hen they loo*ed at the Metropolitan ;chievement Test in mathematics. 0omeless children "ere less than half as li*ely to score at or above +rade level than the students city"ide and in the three districts they "ere loo*in+ at $>afferty 2''2(. ;cademic achievement measured by the )ide >an+e ;chievement Test-->evised $WRAT-R( "as poorer in readin+ $pO .004( spellin+ $3O .002( and mathematics $3 O .0002( in the homeless +roup. Gerbal intelli+ence as measured by the 33GT-T "as not si+nificantly different bet"een the homeless and the housed +roups. $>ubin 2''#(. ;nother researcher )hitman $as cited by >afferty J %hinn 2''2( observed severe-lan+ua+e disabilities and impaired co+nitive ability amon+ HH children livin+ in a dormitory style shelter for homeless families in %t. .ouis. 7verall 455 of these children scored at or belo" the slo"-learner ran+e on the %losson Intelli+ence Test and #I5 "ere delayed in their capacity to use and produce lan+ua+e as 8ud+ed by the 3eabody 3icture Gocabulary Test $>afferty J %hinn 2''2(. Masten et al. $as cited by >afferty et al. &00-( studied -0 ;frican ;merican homeless children and used the )echsler Individual ;chievement Test %creener. This test provides the normed achievement scores in the follo"in+ academic sub8ectsA basic readin+ mathematical reasonin+ spellin+ and composite achievement score. 7n each of these measures the homeless children:s scores "ere lo"er than the normative levels for their a+e and +rade. !urthermore the teachers rated their academic performance by usin+ the Teacher >eport !orm and it sho"ed that they "ere si+nificantly belo" the norm for this scale also "ith I45 of these homeless children scorin+ in the clinical ran+e $>afferty et al. &00-(. 7ther studies done sho"ed that children "ho are homeless also score lo"er on vocabulary and readin+ tests. !o1 /arnett 9avies and /ird

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$as cited by >afferty et al. &00-( used the 3eabody 3icture Gocabulary Test and found that I'5 of -' children "ho "ere homeless in <e" Kor* City scored at or belo" the 20th percentile. Maintainin+ hi+h standards and offerin+ students meanin+ful +radin+ and feedbac* "as also discussed in the research of /each $2''#.( !or /each DThe +reat challen+e is ensurin+ that all individuals particularly homeless children are really part of the Mall:E $p. &'5(. 0er study follo"ed research by Taylor $2'H'( in e1aminin+ the means by "hich education ta*es place "ithout stability. /each also built on the "or* of Coles $2'I0( in his assertion that the disruption to normal childhood activities and education caused by homelessness portends Dpotential lon+term ne+ative effectsE $p. &'#(. /each points out that academic achievement at its most basic P promotion to the ne1t +rade level P is threatened by homelessness. %he cites statistics that sho" that 40 percent of homeless children are behind +rade level and that those "ho are retained more than once in their school careers have a Dnear-2005 chanceE of droppin+ out for +ood. .i*e .indsey et al. $&000( /each $2''#( calls on educators to revie" assessment methods tailored to homeless children. DThe problem-solvin+ s*ills these children have used to survive constitute an important learnin+ tool. 0omeless children lac* classroom learnin+ not intelli+ence and they can be successful E $p. &'#(. %he adds that "hile educators can:t solve homelessness they should not become part of the problem. %tress >elated Issues ;nother common thread amon+ the research revie"ed sho"s that +rade retention has not only a lon+ term effect on homeless children but it also ma*es it more difficult for them in the present. Buite a fe" studies sho" that children "ho are homeless are more li*ely to repeat

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+rades than are housed children $>afferty 2''2(. The studies sho" that children "ho are held over a +rade are far more li*ely to drop out of school later on in their life. ;lso they are more li*ely to have trouble "ith the la" they learn less the follo"in+ year and develop ne+ative concepts about themselves $>afferty 2''2(. It is indicated by the research that if students are retained more than once they have a 2005 li*elihood of droppin+ out completely $/each 2''#(. >afferty and >ollins $2'H'( found that 255 of children "ho are homeless "ere repeatin+ a +rade currently. ;lso studies "ithout comparison +roups have sho"n that children "ho are homeless had a retention rate of 40--45 $>afferty et al. &00-(. ,ibbs $&00-( issues a stron+ call for educators to incorporate vocational and s*ills trainin+ in instructional plans for homeless students. DMany times homeless children feel the odds are so stac*ed a+ainst them that hope is somethin+ they believe is for others not for them E $p. 4-(. 7ne solution for erasin+ this sense of futility is to sho" homeless students a direct connection bet"een learnin+ somethin+ and then doin+ somethin+ concrete such as a practical s*ill. ,ibbs $&00-( insists that this is not labelin+ students as unfit for ri+orous academics and does not railroad them into 8ob trainin+ at the e1pense of hi+her level course"or*. %chools in Te1as and )isconsin that combine academics vocational trainin+ and free meals and liaison assistance sho"case this approach. ,ibbs states that homeless children often have trouble accessin+ hi+her education. Job s*ills can help them become employed "hile applyin+ for scholarships and +rants for hi+her education or more advanced vocational trainin+.

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Koun+er students can be prepared for these dual-approach hi+h schools by bein+ retained at +rade level "ith intensive academic support home"or* assistance and after-school pro+rams "ith fle1ible hours offerin+ safe haven from the streets. This is noted as the most li*ely "ay to see that the homeless child stays in school and is able to later access the hi+h school curriculum tailored to heCshe needs. The themes that have reoccurred throu+hout the studies "e:ve presented have been investi+ated by many researchers. )e:re hopin+ that throu+h researchin+ these themes further in the study "e propose "e:ll come up "ith a better understandin+ of these issues that homeless children face in order to help resolve them. )e *no" that this issue is such a vast one that it cannot be resolved overni+ht and easily. 0o"ever "hat "e can do is further the research on homeless children and their academic achievement so that one day someone "ill be able to resolve this issue alto+ether. Methods )e have been rather specific about ho" "e:ve chosen the methods "e:ve used for our research study. In this section you "ill see "hat research desi+n "e:ve desi+ned and ho" "e:ve chosen our participants. )hat qualifications "e:ve used to determine "ho "ill participate in our study as "ell as for the participants "e choose for our control +roup of housed students. ;lso "e:ll touch on the instrumentation "e plan to use because it is inte+ral to "hat "e "ill need in order to collect our data. .astly "e:ll +o into +reat detail about the procedure involved in our study as "ell as ho" "e plan to analy6e our data. >esearch 9esi+n

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The type of research desi+n "ill be correlational research. This represents a +eneral approach to research that focuses on assessin+ "hether there is a relationship bet"een the variables bein+ studied. In this study "e "ill determine "hether there is a relationship bet"een homelessness and student academic achievement as measured by the state annual !lorida Comprehensive ;ssessment Tests $!C;T( testin+ scores and student ,rade 3oint ;vera+e $,3;(. The presence of a correlation allo"s us to ma*e predictions about the dependent variable "hen the independent variable is chan+ed. )ith this type of research it is not possible to ma*e inferences about the cause of the relationship but it "ill help us to ma*e informed decisions. !or e1ample if our research study sho"s that homelessness does affect the academic achievement of children "hile "e may not be able to prevent the homelessness of children it "ill allo" us implement certain educational pro+rams that "ould support their learnin+. %tatistical predictions based on correlations have been sho"n to be superior to predictions based on clinical 8ud+ment and so it is a reliable form of research desi+n in e1perimental procedures. Correlation studies are important because it +ives the direction of the relationship the stren+th of the relationship and the coefficient of determination. The independent variable bein+ studied is ho" the homeless condition of the students affects the participants: academic achievement as measured by the students !C;T test scores and ,3;. 3articipants

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7ur study "ill include the homeless population of students attendin+ schools in the Central !lorida area. It is important to properly identify the population so that "e can +et an accurate samplin+ of the characteristics of our population. )e "ill use random samplin+ "here "e "ill define specific characteristic variables of our population and randomly select participants from that +roup. )e "ill select #0 student participants in residence for the past 4-# months at homeless shelters and public schools in that area. They are of school a+e of mi1ed +ender and livin+ "ith at least one other siblin+. ?ach participant "ill be further identified by their name and student number desi+nated by their school district. 3articipants "ill have equal access to school transportation attendin+ public schools and "ere recruited throu+h the listin+ provided by the +uidance counselor at the school in collaboration "ith the administrators at the homeless shelters. 3articipants "ere not paid or re"arded for their services and "ere assured of privacy. The control +roup "ill be #0 students "ho are housed and attendin+ the same school as the students pic*ed for our study. They should be livin+ "ith a parentC+uardian and "ith at least one other siblin+. This +roup of students "ill also be of mi1ed +ender. I>/ approval "as authori6ed for this study. Instrumentation The survey research method used "ill be administered at the be+innin+ of the school year. )e "ill conduct personal intervie"s as "ell as an analysis of student !C;T academic achievement scores and ,3;. ;lso to obtain a clearer picture of ho" homelessness affects

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academic achievement "e "ill conduct intervie"s "ith the students: parentC+uardian as "ell as their teachers. 3ersonal intervie"s are preferred for this research study because they have a hi+her response rate and "ill allo" the intervie"er to +ain more control over ho" the survey is administered. )e "ill choose an intervie"er amon+ ourselves to conduct the intervie"s so that "e may be able to eliminate intervie"er bias as much as possible. It "as selected because it is better in order to +arner the student participant response and "e could e1amine their attitudes and opinions directly. The purpose of the intervie" is for us to achieve a better understandin+ of ho" these students perceive education. %urvey )e "ill use the test re-test reliability study. >eliability studies are conducted to demonstrate the consistency "ith "hich tests perform their measurement function. In the testretest study the same +roup of sub8ects is +iven a test and then at a some"hat later date they are +iven the test a+ain. )e thus have t"o scores for each sub8ect $the test score and the retest score( and the correlation coefficient bet"een the t"o sets of scores can be calculated. This test is suitable because many tests used in education for e1ample standardi6ed achievement tests have more than one form. To determine the reliability coefficient a +roup of sub8ects are +iven both forms of a test $e.+. !orm ; and form /( thus t"o scores are obtained for each sub8ect and the correlation coefficient is calculated for the t"o sets of scores. )e "ill administer the first test at the be+innin+ of the school year and the second test at the end of the school year. This reliability test is important to maintain the inte+rity of the study.

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)e "ill also +enerate questionnaires to follo" for the intervie"s "e:ll do "ith the parentC+uardian and teachers. This "ill +ive us a bi++er picture of "hat:s +oin+ on "ith the students "e chose for our research participants. )e "ill use this data collected from these intervie"s "ith the parentC+uardian and teachers to trian+ulate the findin+s from the intervie"s "ith the students. 3rocedures )e "ould first +o in and spea* "ith the schools about "hat "e "ish to do "ith our study. ;t this point "e:re 8ust loo*in+ to +ain permission to come into the schools in order to conduct our study. The ne1t step "ould be to pic* out our participants. )e could do this by +ainin+ access to student records to find out "hich students have been havin+ difficulties "ith stayin+ in one school for an entire school year. This "ould identify the mobile students "ho could possibly be of homeless status. )e "ould then as* permission to spea* to a parent or +uardian involved "ith these students so that "e can obtain information to find out if they are in fact homeless. )e "ould then "e can +et permission to spea* "ith them and their child about bein+ in our study. ;t this point "e "ould "ant to +et informed consent and e1plain to them e1actly "hat "e are doin+ "ith our study as "ell as +ain the information "e need in order to conduct our study. ;fter "e had all the paper"or* filled out and all of the participants involved "ere properly informed about the study "e "ould start conductin+ the intervie"s. )e "ould conduct these intervie"s first "ith the parentC+uardian of the students. )e "ould +o over the mobility questions "ith them and then as* them the questions on our parentC+uardian questionnaire.

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;fter "e collect the data from the parentC+uardian "e "ould then intervie" the students. This "ould be a little bit tou+her due to the a+e +roup that "e "ish to use in our study. )e "ould only do this for about & hours a day "ith brea*s in bet"een to ma*e sure "e didn:t bias the data by e1tendin+ the time period to ma*e us tired or the children tired. )e "ould then compile all of our data so far and "or* on fi+urin+ out "hether the parent and child "ere +ivin+ us similar information. Mean"hile "e "ould do intervie"s "ith the teacher of these students to see if "e could obtain additional information into ho" the children are doin+ academically. This "ould allo" us information that the parent or student doesn:t have but a perspective that the teacher as observer could help us obtain. ;ll of these intervie"s "ould be conducted in the school that "ay our data "ouldn:t be biased due to environmental factors. /y doin+ these intervie"s in the schools "e "ould ensure that all of the participants "ere treated the same "ay in the same environment. )e "ould conduct these intervie"s as close to the be+innin+ of the school year as "e could and then at the end of the school year "e "ould conduct these intervie"s all over a+ain so that "e could compare the t"o sets of data. 9ata ;nalysis 9ue to the fact that our measurement level is <ominal our type of analysis is relationship and our number of variables is t"o "e "ill use the Chi-square Test of Independence in our study. This test is used "henever someone is tryin+ to sho" a relationship bet"een t"o variables. )ith this test researchers usually li*e si+nificance levels of 0.02 0.05 and 0.20 but any value bet"een 0 and 2 can be used to sho" a relationship bet"een the variables.

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)e:ll use descriptive statistics so that "e can describe our data in a narrative form. )e:ll use measures of central tendency such as mean median and mode in order to be able to describe our data "ith a sin+le number. )e:ll use inferential statistics to infer thin+s to the +eneral population from "hat "e learn "ith our sample. . Inferential statistics "ill be used in order to sho" the importance of the ma+nitude of the relationship bet"een homeless children and academic achievement. 3ossible .imitations of the %tudy The possible limitations start "ith mortality threat. )ith this population "e run the ris* of losin+ participants. These people are hi+hly mobile so they move and drop out of the study and then "e:ll have a smaller sample to "or* "ith. )e:ll try to combat this threat by ma*in+ sure "e have a lar+er sample that "ay if "e do lose some participants "e still have a sample lar+e enou+h to have a valid study. )e:ll be sure to conduct all the intervie"s in the schools so that "e can have less of a location threat but "e:ll have to be very careful "hen "e chan+e schools to try to find rooms that are similar in all of the schools "here "e conduct the intervie"s. This could possibly become a threat but if "e are careful in the "ay "e choose the rooms "e should be able to eliminate this threat completely. 3robably the bi++est threat "e:ll have trouble combatin+ is the data collector bias threat. )e:ll have to be e1tremely careful "hen "e revie" the data to do it in a "ay so "e "on:t s*e" the results in order to find a relationship that:s not there. ;lso "hen "e conduct the intervie"s

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"e:ll have to be careful not to as* them in a "ay that leads the participants to an ans"er they "ouldn:t have normally +iven. ;nother limitation "e mi+ht face is +ettin+ homeless people to tal* to us at all. 0omelessness isn:t the +reatest characteristic "e:d "ant to classify ourselves as and so "e:ll have to as* thin+s in a "ay that doesn:t embarrass or offend any of the participants in the study. ;lso "hen "e +o to the schools for permission to conduct the intervie"s there or obtain any information "e:ll have to ma*e sure they *no" our intent is to help and not harm other"ise they may not +ive us the information "e need andCor let us conduct the intervie"s for our studies in the schools. <o" that "e:ve +one into +reat depth about everythin+ "e plan to do in order to ma*e this a successful research study "e:ll use this research proposal as a +uideline to help us navi+ate throu+h this process. 9oin+ the literature revie" has prepared us for any pitfalls that "e may encounter because "e see "hat other researchers have come up a+ainst in the past. This should better prepare us for "hat lies ahead for us in this process. )e are hopin+ that "hat "e learn from this research study "ill +ive us the information "e need in order to fi+ure out ho" best to help children "ho are in a homeless situation. If "e can prove once and for all that there is a relationship bet"een homelessness and academic achievement for children than the +overnment can implement a better plan to ma*e sure these children can +et the education that is so important to their future. D=nli*e a tainted sports event a childhood cannot be played a+ain. )e are children only onceL and after those fe" years are +one there is no second chance to ma*e amends. In this respect the consequences of

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an unequal education have a terrible finality. Those "ho are denied cannot be Dmade "holeE by a later act of +overnment E $Fo6ol as cited by 9uffield &002 p. 4&-(.

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;33?<9IQ ; Mobility Buestionnaire 0o" many times have you moved in the past 4 years? )ere you happy about movin+? 9id you chan+e your mind "hen you started your ne" school? )hy or "hy not?

3arentC ,uardian Intervie" Buestions 2. )hat ma*es you feel comfortable about send your child to a ne" school? &. )hat *inds of thin+s motivate your child to succeed academically and socially in school? 4. 0as your child ever not li*ed +oin+ to a ne" class? )hy? -. )hat can a teacher and or school do to ma*e you and your child feel more "elcome? 5. ;re you involved "ith your child:s school i.e. field trips 3T7 sportin+ events? httpACC""".schoolen+a+ement.or+CTruancyprevention>e+istryC;dminC>esourcesC>esourcesCCol orado?ducators%tudy0omelessand0i+hlyMobile%tudents-

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>eferences /each M.?. $2''#(. Meetin+ hi+h standardsA the challen+e of ensurin+ that homeless children are part of the all. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk 1$-( &'5-&'I. >etrieved January &2 &00' from ;cademic %earch 3remier database. /uc*ner J. $&00H(. =nderstandin+ the impact of homelessness on childrenA challen+es and future research directions. American Behavioral Scientist 51$#( I&2-I4#. >etrieved ;pril && &00' from ;cademic %earch 3remier database. 9uffield /. $&002(. The educational ri+hts of homeless childrenA policies and practices. Educational Studies, !$4( 4&4-44#. >etrieved January &2 &00' from ;cademic %earch 3remier database. ,ibbs 0. $&00-(. ?ducatin+ homeless children. Techni"ues# $onnectin% Education & careers, '($&( &5-&'. >etrieved January &' &00' from 3rofessional 9evelopment Collection database. .indsey ?.). Furt6 3.9. Jarvis %. )illiams <.>. J <ac*erud .. 0o" runa"ay and homeless youth navi+ate troubled "atersA personal stren+ths and resources. $hild and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1' 225-2-0. <elson F.M. $2''&(. !osterin+ homeless children and their parents tooA the emer+ence of "hole family foster care. $hild Welfare, '1 5I5-5H-. >afferty K. %hinn M. J )eit6man /. $&00-(. ;cademic achievement amon+ formerly homeless adolescents and their continuously housed peers. Journal of School Ps)cholo%), *! 2I'-2''.

>afferty K. J %hinn M. $2''2(. The impact of homelessness on children. American Ps)cholo%ist *+$22( 22I0-22I'. >etrieved ;pril && &00'.

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>ubin 9. J ?ri*son C. $2''#(. Co+nitive and academic functionin+ of homeless children compared "ithhoused children. Pediatrics, (' &H'-&'-. >etrieved January &' &00' from ;cademic %earch premier database. %antich F. $&00'(. !lorida amon+ "orst in =.%. for homeless *ids. ,a)tona Times. httpACC""".daytonatimes.comCne"sC&00'C042&Cne"sC The <ational Center for 0omeless !amilies $&00H(. The characteristics and needs of families e-.eriencin% homelessness. httpACCcommunity.familyhomelessness.or+CsitesCdefaultCfilesC<C!05&0!act5&0%heet5 0--0HR2.pdf