Promoting Resilience? The Role of Schools and Neighborhoods in Supporting the Success of Students Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract

Experiencing homelessness is largely associated with negative educational outcomes, yet some students continue to achieve academically despite housing loss. Drawing on a framework from resilience research, I develop school and neighborhood resource measures and analyze data from the state of Michigan to provide the first empirical evidence of which school and neighborhood resources support or undermine the educational resilience of students experiencing homelessness, including their attendance and English language arts and math achievement. I find that school and neighborhood resources demonstrate varied associations across outcomes, with patterns that might suggest they can support and undermine educational outcomes. I conclude with implications for policy and future research.

Keywords

achievement at-risk students regression analyses social stratification

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