Challenges and Culturally Responsive Practices of School Counselors Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Considering the increased number of students impacted by homelessness and the overrepresentation of people of color among the homeless population, feeling adept in meeting the unique needs of this student population is critical for school counselors. We address findings from a qualitative study exploring the challenges and cultural responsiveness of school counselors supporting students experiencing homelessness. Three themes and two subthemes emerged from the study and are addressed in detail.

Keywords

school counselors homelessness McKinney-Vento culturally responsive practices

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

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

Aviles

Helfrich

(2004). Life skill service needs: Perspectives of homeless youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33(4), 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOYO.0000032641.82942.22

Becker

D. F.

Daley

Gadpaille

W. J.

Green

M. R.

Hendren

R. L.

Flaherty

L. T.

Gadpaille

W. J.

Harper

King

R. A.

Lester

Onesti

S. J.

Schwab-Stone

Wong

(2004). Trauma and adolescence 3: Issues of identification, intervention, and social policy. Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(2), 201–223.

Begg

N. A.

Levitt

H. M.

Hayden

L. A.

(2017). Understanding the school experience of African-American homeless children. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 30(3), 235–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2016.1183539

Bender

Ferguson

Thompson

Komlo

Pollio

(2010). Factors associated with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless youth in three U.S. cities: The importance of transience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23(1), 161–168. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20501

Braun

Clarke

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

Bright

D. J.

(2020). Rural community dynamics: Implications for school counselors. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.7729/42.1395

Bryan

J. A.

Griffin

(2010). A multidimensional study of school-family-community partnership involvement: School, school counselor, and training factors. Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X1001400108

Camp

Foxx

S. P.

Flowers

(2018). Examining the relationship between the multicultural self-efficacy, empathy, and training of school counselors and their knowledge and skills supporting students experiencing homelessness. Professional School Counseling, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X19867332

10.

Canfield

J. P.

(2014). Examining perceived barriers and facilitators to school social work practice with homeless children. Children & Schools, 36(3), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdu015

11.

Creswell

J. W.

(2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Sage.

12.

Creswell

J. W.

Plano Clark

V. L.

(2011). Designing and conducting mixed method research (2nd ed.). Sage.

13.

Cutuli

J. J.

Desjardins

C. D.

Herbers

J. E.

Long

J. D.

Heistad

Chan

Hinz

Masten

A. S.

(2013). Academic achievement trajectories of homeless and highly mobile students: Resilience in the context of chronic and acute risk. Child Development, 84(3), 841–857. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12013

14.

Dhaliwal

T. K.

De Gregorio

Owens

Painter

(2021). Putting homelessness in context: The schools and neighborhoods of students experiencing homelessness. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 693(1), 158–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220987830

15.

Edwards

E. J.

(2020). Young, Black, successful, and homeless: Examining the unique academic challenges of Black students who experienced homelessness. Journal of Children and Poverty, 26(2), 125–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2020.1776688

16.

Gantt

Johnson

Preston

Suggs

Cannedy

(2021). School counseling interns’ lived experiences addressing social determinants of health. Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, 3(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc030307

17.

Goodman-Scott

Betters-Bubon

Donohue

(2016). Aligning comprehensive school counseling programs and positive behavioral interventions and supports to maximize school counselors’ efforts. Professional School Counseling, 19(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-19.1.57

18.

Grineski

(2014). The multi-dimensional lives of children who are homeless. Critical Questions in Education, 5(3), 203–217. https://academyforeducationalstudies.org/journals/journal/current-and-past-issues/volume-5-issue-3-special-issue/

19.

Havlik

Bryan

(2015). Addressing the needs of students experiencing homelessness: School counselor preparation. The Professional Counselor, 5(2), 200–216. https://doi.org/10.15241/sh.5.2.200

20.

Havlik

S. A.

Schultheis

Schneider

Neason

(2020). Local liaisons: Roles, challenges, and training in serving children and youth experiencing homelessness. Urban Education, 55(8–9), 1172–1202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916668954

21.

Hays

D. G.

Singh

A. A.

(2012). Qualitative inquiry in clinical and educational settings. Guilford.

22.

Hilton

T. P.

Trella

D. L.

(2014). You just gotta do it, ’cause those are your kids": Survival parenting and rural homelessness. World Medical and Health Policy, 6(4), 446–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.115

23.

National Center for Homeless Education . (2021). Student homelessness in America. NCHE. https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Student-Homelessness-in-America-2021.pdf

24.

National Center for Homeless Education . (2023). National overview. NCHE. https://profiles.nche.seiservices.com/ConsolidatedStateProfile.aspx

25.

National Center on Family Homelessness . (2014). America’s youngest outcasts: A report card on child homelessness. NCHE. http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/mediadocs/280.pdf

26.

National Coalition for the Homeless . (2017). Understanding homelessness among families with children. NCHE. https://nationalhomeless.org/families-youth-education/

27.

National Education Association . (2022). They’re invisible: Number of homeless students reaches new high. NCHE. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/theyre-invisible-number-homeless-students-reaches-new-high

28.

Nowell

L. S.

Norris

J. M.

White

D. E.

Moules

N. J.

(2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847

29.

Obradović

Long

J. D.

Cutuli

J. J.

Chan

Hinz

Heistad

Masten

A. S.

(2009). Academic achievement of homeless and highly mobile children in an urban school district: Longitudinal evidence on risk, growth, and resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 21(2), 493–518. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579409000273

30.

Reeves

M. G.

(2021). The lived experience of adolescents in homeless families. Social Work, 66(3), 206–216. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swab021

31.

Semanchin Jones

Bowen

Ball

(2018). School definitely failed me, the system failed me”: Identifying opportunities to impact educational outcomes for homeless and child welfare-involved youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.05.032

32.

Shepard

J. M.

Shahidullah

J. D.

Carlson

J. S.

(2013). Counseling students in levels 2 and 3: A PBIS/RTI guide. Corwin Press. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452285009

33.

Stone

C. B.

Dahir

C. A.

(2011). School counselor accountability: A measure of student success (3rd ed.). Pearson.

34.

Sulkowski

M. L.

Michael

(2014). Meeting the mental health needs of homeless students in schools: A multi-tiered system of support framework. Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 145–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.06.014

35.

Tobin

K. J.

(2016). Homeless students and academic achievement: Evidence from a large urban area. Urban Education, 51(2), 197–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914543116

36.

Toolis

E. E.

Hammack

P. L.

(2015). The lived experience of homeless youth: A narrative approach. Qualitative Psychology, 2(1), 50–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000019

37.

U.S. Department of Education . (2017). Education for homeless children and youths program non-regulatory guidance: Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento homeless assistance Act, as amended by the Every student Succeeds Act. U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/160240ehcyguidance072716updated0317.pdf

38.

U.S. Department of HousingUrban Development . (2021). AHAR: Part 1 - PIT estimates of homelessness in the U.S. U.S. Department of HousingUrban Development (p. 2020). https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2020-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html

39.

Ziomek-Daigle

Goodman-Scott

Cavin

Donohue

(2016). Integrating a multi- tiered system of supports with comprehensive school counseling programs. The Professional Counselor, 6(3), 220–232. https://doi.org/10.15241/jzd.6.3.220