Section 1: Academic Achievement - National Center for School ...

increase parent involvement as a solution to raising academic achievement and attendance, it
is not always as easy as it may seem, especially for economically disadvantaged children.
While we know what research tells us about the correlation between parent involvement and
the academic performance of children, we also know what research says of the educational
challenges Homeless and Highly Mobile children encounter in school everyday.
By the time Homeless and Highly Mobile children enter school, homelessness has already
affected their social-emotional, physical, and academic lives (Hart-Shegos, 1999). They are
already behind and needing to play “catch up” with peers who are coming from a stable home
environment.
One third of homeless children have at least one major mental health disorder and nearly half
(47%) suffer from anxiety, depression, or withdrawal, compared to 18% of other school-age
children. Additionally, the stress of homelessness makes it difficult for children to adjust and
can cause poor self-esteem, insecurity, aggression and other behavior problems (The Better
Homes Fund, 1999).
Another area that impacts a child’s development is poor physical health. Homeless children
typically have more health problems than poor children who have housing (Wood, 1989;
Wood, 1990; Family Housing Fund, 1999). Homeless children are more likely to experience
chronic health problems, yet they lack access to regular health care. In addition, the
inadequate nutrition that is so common amongst homeless children only adds to a child’s poor
health (Hart-Shegos, 1999).
The academic performance of homeless children is compromised by both poor cognitive
development and circumstances of their homelessness at a rate of four times that of other
children (Molhar, 1990). The average homeless child moves as many as three times in a year
and attends three, and sometimes more, different schools during a single year (Hart-Shegos,
1999). Homeless children are four times more likely than other children to score below the
10 th percentile in receptive vocabulary and reading. Seventy five percent of homeless children
score below grade level in reading; 72% score below grade level in spelling and 54% score
below grade level in math (Parker, 1991; The Better Homes Fund, 1999). More homeless
Action Research to Study Homelessness and High Mobility in School Communities 8