Abstract
This three-paper dissertation explores student homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic in one urban/suburban area, which I refer to as Midcities (a pseudonym). All three papers are based on research conducted from June of 2020 to January of 2022 during which I conducted 44 interviews. Each paper and findings draw from these interviews, averaging 30-35 interviews per paper. In the first paper, I address the difficulty students experiencing homelessness and high mobility (HHM) face in maintaining effective organizational supports systems. In the second paper, I studied these districts during three phases of COVID-19 and assessed the extent to which Social and Emotional Learning practices were being delivered during the pandemic. In the third paper, I examined how COVID-19 forced schools to make the switch from in-school to distance learning. My findings show that COVID-19 left an indelible mark on compulsory education. Many have written off the educational years during COVID-19 as an aberration and a failure. I see it differently—as Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet (Rumi & Barks, 1995), said: “Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” COVID-19 and all its repercussions are that wound. A great deal of light entered that wound for us to see gaps in the delivery of services, especially to our students experiencing HHM.
Degree Date
Winter 12-17-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Teaching and Learning
Advisor
Alexandra Pavlakis
Second Advisor
Meredith Richards
Third Advisor
Kessa Roberts
Fourth Advisor
Brad Klein
Subject Area
Education, Philosophy, Public Policy, Urban Planning
Number of Pages
229
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Pierce, Mark, "Considering the Education of Students Experiencing Homelessness and High Mobility During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Three Paper Dissertation" (2022). Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations. 17.
https://scholar.smu.edu/simmons_dtl_etds/17
