Homelessness as Difficult Knowledge in Early Childhood Education
Department
Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2020
Abstract
© 2020, Springer Nature B.V. Homelessness is an important social issue relevant to all children’s lives in the United States, yet it has been little explored in early childhood education. Navigating a multiple-case study that focuses on teacher candidates’ experiences with homelessness in school, this study illustrates how homelessness is addressed in early childhood education. The data showed that teacher candidates encountered limited discussions of the topic in their own school experiences. Furthermore, the teacher candidates realized that children today are in a similar situation, whereby homelessness is rarely discussed in school, and hold considerably distorted perspectives on it. They also found that teachers in their field placements tended to avoid conversations on homelessness with children in the classroom. Thus, this study opens a space to discuss how homelessness is addressed in early childhood education, as well as how teachers can better understand it and make a difference in children’s lives.
Journal Title
Early Childhood Education Journal
Journal ISSN
10823301
Volume
48
Issue
6
First Page
815
Last Page
823
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1007/s10643-020-01045-5