From Homeless to Student Housing: School Counselor Roles and Experiences in Preparing Students Experiencing Homelessness for College

Abstract

This qualitative study focused on examining the roles and experiences of high school counselors supporting students experiencing homelessness in their college preparation. To be included in the study, participants needed to have experience working with high school students experiencing homelessness. Findings indicated that the participants supported students experiencing homelessness by (a) enhancing access and exposure to college, (b) providing hands-on and individualized college-going support, and (c) building partnerships with universities to support college going.

Keywords

homeless McKinney-Vento college counseling high school counselors first-generation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adame-Smith

(2016). The lived experience of homeless college students: A phenomenological study (Order No. 10006976) [Doctoral dissertation, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global—Capella University].

American School Counselor Association . (2014). Mindsets & behaviors for student success: K-12 college- and career-readiness standards for every student. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Standards/ASCA-Mindsets-Behaviors-for-Student-Success.

American School Counselor Association . (2018). The school counselor and children experiencing homelessness. ASCA position statements. https://schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Children-Experiencing-Hom.

American School Counselor Association . (2019). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4^th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association.

Baker-Smith

Coca

Goldrick-Rab

Looker

Richardson

Williams

(2020). #RealCollege 2020: Five years of evidence on campus basic needs insecurity. https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2019_RealCollege_Survey_Report.pdf

Bauer-Wolf

(2019, January 15). Homeless college students struggle to find lodging, food over winter break. Inside Higher. Insidehighered. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/01/15/homeless-college-students-struggle-find-lodging-food-over-winter-break.

Belasco

A. S.

(2013). Creating college opportunity: School counselors and their influence on postsecondary enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 54(7), 781-804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9297-4.

Bowen

Ball

Semanchin Jones

Irish

(2020). Striving and dreaming: A grounded theory of the transition to adulthood for cross-systems youth. Youth & Society, 52(6), 1006-1032. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X18791869.

Bowers

P. H.

O’Neill

(2019). The lived experience of being a homeless college student: A qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS). Journal of Children and Poverty, 25(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2019.1629580.

10.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.

11.

Braun

Clarke

(2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

12.

Braun

Clarke

(2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676x.2019.1628806.

13.

Castleman

Goodman

(2018). Intensive college counseling and the enrollment and persistence of low-income students. Education Finance and Policy, 13(1), 19-41. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00204.

14.

Charmaz

(2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

15.

Clarke

Braun

(2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 297-298. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613.

16.

Corbin

Strauss

(2015). Basics of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

17.

Creswell

J. W.

Creswell

J. D.

(2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

18.

Cumming

Gloeckner

(2012). Homeless high school students in America: Who counts? Administrative Issues Journal, 2(2), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.5929/2012.2.2.9.

19.

Education Leads Home . (2019). Education leads home releases homeless student state snapshots. https://www.educationleadshome.org/2019/02/12/education-leads-home-releases-homeless-student-state-snapshots-2/.

20.

Edwin

Dooley Hussman

(2019). Factors influencing school counselors’ time spent on career planning with high school students. Professional School Counseling, 21(1). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20947724.

21.

Erb-Downward

(2018). Falling through the cracks: Graduation and dropout rates among Michigan’s homeless high school students. Analysis. Poverty Solutions. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED594027.

22.

Farmer-Hinton

R. L.

(2008). Social capital and college planning. Education and Urban Society, 41(1), 127-157. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124508321373.

23.

Fischer

C. T.

(2009). Bracketing in qualitative research: conceptual and practical matters. Psychotherapy Research: Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, 19(4-5), 583-590. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503300902798375.

24.

Gaenzle

(2012). An investigation of school counselors’ perceived knowledge, preparation, and involvement in partnership practices and interventions to serve students who are homeless [Doctoral dissertation, Digital Repository at the University of Maryland]. https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/13191.

25.

Goldrick-Rab

Richardson

Schneider

Hernandez

Cady

(2018). Still hungry and homeless in college. Wisconsin Hope Lab. https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf.

26.

Goldrick-Rab

Baker-Smith

Coca

Looker

Williams

(2019). College and university basic needs insecurity: A national #RealCollege survey report. #RealCollege. https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/HOPE_realcollege_National_report_digital.pdf.

27.

Hallett

R. E.

Freas

(2017). Community college students’ experiences with homelessness and housing insecurity. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(10), 724-739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2017.1356764.

28.

Havlik

Brown

(2016). School counselors’ roles and responsibilities working with children and youth experiencing homelessness. Journal of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association. 15(1), 10-19. http://pacounseling.org/aws/PACA/asset_manager/get_file/129148?ver=254.

29.

Havlik

Bryan

(2015). Addressing the needs of students experiencing homelessness: School counselor preparation. The Professional Counselor, 5(2), 210-255. http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Pages%20200%E2%80%93216.pdf.

30.

Havlik

Duckhorn

(2020). Supporting high students experiencing homelessness going to college: Perspectives of local liaisons. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice. Published Online. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120980371.

31.

Havlik

Brady

Gavin

(2014). Exploring the needs of students experiencing homelessness from school counselors’ perspectives. Journal of Stem Cells, 12(20), 1-38. http://jsc.montana.edu/articles/v12n20.pdf.

32.

Havlik

Neason

Puckett

Rowley

Wilson

(2017). “Do whatever you can to try to support that kid”: School counselors’ experiences addressing student homelessness. Professional School Counseling, 21(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-21.1.47.

33.

Havlik

DeRosato

Crawford

(2018). “If we don’t define our roles, someone else will”: Professional advocacy in school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x19848331.

34.

Huang

Fernandez

S. B.

Rhoden

M.-A.

Joseph

(2019). Elements of a college support program that matter: A case study. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(8), 949-960. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731519832105.

35.

Hurt

(2018). Quick guide for counseling staff working with students experiencing homelessness. SchoolHouse Connection. https://www.schoolhouseconnection.org/quick-guide-for-counselors-working-with-students-experiencing-homelessness/

36.

Keegan

(2009). Qualitative research: Good decision making through understanding people, cultures and markets. London, UK: Kogan Page.

37.

Klitzman

(2018). College student homelessness: A hidden epidemic. http://jlsp.law.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/08/Vol51-Klitzman.pdf.

38.

Lincoln

Y. S.

Guba

E. G.

(1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

39.

Maslow

A. H.

(1954). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper.

40.

McDonough

P. M.

Calderone

(2006). The meaning of money: Perceptual differences between college counselors and low-income families about college costs and financial aid. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(12), 1703-1718. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764206289140.

41.

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth . (2018). Single point-of-contact model. https://naehcy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SPOC-Model-Revamp-FINAL.pdf.

42.

National Center for Homeless Education . (2017). School every day: Addressing chronic absenteeism among students experiencing homelessness. https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/chron-absent.pdf

43.

Patton

M. Q.

(2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

44.

Pérusse

DeRonck

Parzych

(2017). School counseling: Partnering with a school district to provide postsecondary opportunities for first generation, low income, and students of color. Psychology in the Schools, 54(10), 1222-1228. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22084.

45.

Quarles

A. B.

(2020). When McKinney-vento goes away: A phenomenological inquiry into the lived experience of unaccompanied homeless youth on college and university campuses [Doctoral dissertation, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, Gwynedd Mercy University]. (Publication No. 2461031050).

46.

Radford

Ifill

Lew

(2016). A national look at the high school counseling office: What is it doing and what role can it play in facilitating students’ paths to college? https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED578183.pdf

47.

Ramakrishnan

J. L.

Masten

A. S.

(2020). Mastery motivation and school readiness among young children experiencing homelessness. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 223-235. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000428.

48.

Ringer

(2015). College students experiencing homelessness: The consequence of failed macro policies. McNair Scholars Research Journal, 8(1), 103-124. http://commons.emich.edu/mcnair/vol8/iss1/9.

49.

Scherer

Kennedy

(2019). Homeless youth policy scan. National conference of state legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-youth-policy-scan.aspx.

50.

School House Connection . (2017). “This is how I’m going to make a life for myself:” An analysis of FAFSA data and barriers to financial need for unaccompanied homeless youth. https://www.schoolhouseconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Formatted-FAFSA-Report.pdf.

51.

School House Connection . (2018). Youth homelessness and higher education: An analysis of FAFSA data. https://www.schoolhouseconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/An-Analysis-of-FAFSA-Data.pdf.

52.

Silva

M. R.

Kleinert

W. L.

Sheppard

A. V.

Cantrell

K. A.

Freeman-Coppadge

D. J.

Tsoy

Roberts

Pearrow

(2017). The relationship between food security, housing stability, and school performance among college students in an urban university. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 19(3), 284-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025115621918.

53.

Sulkowski

M. L.

(2016). The student homelessness crisis and the role of school psychology: Missed opportunities, room for improvement, and future directions. Psychology in the Schools, 53(7), 760-771. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21936.

54.

Swanson

Kopotic

Zamarro

Mills

Greene

Ritter

(2019). An evaluation of the educational impact of college campus visits: A randomized experiment. SSRN Electronic Journal, 53, 1-45. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3329946.

55.

United States Department of Education . (2016). Education for homeless children and youths' program: Non-regulatory guidance. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/160240ehcyguidance072716.pdf.

56.

Yavuz

Parzych

Generali

(2019). A systematic approach to exploring college and career readiness program needs within high-poverty urban public schools. Education and Urban Society, 51(4), 443-473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124517727054.