The Effects of Homelessness on Children Corinne Martinez LDRS 592 November 4, 2010

Research Problem What challenges do homeless children face physically, emotionally, and psychologically due to their homeless state? What kind of affect do these challenges have on a homeless child’s educational experience?

Biases and Hypothesis I believed I would find that homelessness had negative effect on a young person’s educational experience. I believed that the stresses of not having a permanent place to sleep would create a difficult physical and psychological challenge for homeless children Lack of nutrition would allow a child’s psychological development to mature at a slower rate than a child with proper nutrition and stable home environment. I had preconceived notions that children would be embarrassed of preferring solidarity in social settings. Hypothesis: Homeless children negatively experience education due to the challenges they face on a daily basis. This is due to challenges they face psychologically, socially, and physically. With these challenges, they have a more difficult educational experience than that of housed children.

Literature Review Highlights Social Challenges: – Substance abuse by parents – Violence – Abuse – Mobility lacking in ability to socialize with teacher for optimal educational experience Lacking in ability to socialize with peers because of fear of criticism Physical Challenges: – Malnutrition – Lack of Safety Psychological Challenges: – Malnourishment leads to lack of ability to concentrate – Anxiety of poor grades – Emotionally puts stress on child’s ability to learn – Mental development delayed due to homeless state

Research Design and Methodology Qualitative Population – Adults – Sample Size 5 to 10 responses – Phenomenological Survey of 8 to 10 questions Open ended questions Searched Azusa Pacific University Library database and Google Scholar Data Analysis – Gather and organize data into categories and subcategories paying special attention to themes that occur throughout in attempt to answer my research question

Results From interviewing 7 people who work closely with homeless children I found: – Psychological challenges: Lack of ability to focus due to attention disorders and malnutrition difficulty focusing on school work making the experience a difficult one – Physical Challenges: Malnutrition can create developmental disabilities making the educational experience a negative one lack of consistent school attendance due to mobility allows school work and advancement in grades difficult Fatigue – Social Challenges Lack ability to socialize with peers due to embarrassment Prefer solidarity socially unless they receive feelings of acceptance and love then tend to cling

Discussion Important findings: Physical Challenges – Malnutrition causes many challenges – Violence/Abuse – Irregular attendance due to mobility – Fatigue Social Challenges – Solidarity due to anxiety of homeless state Psychological Challenges – Lack of ability to focus due to physical and social challenges – Anxiety