Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Sherilyn W. Poole

Committee Member

James Jackson

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

homelessness, students with disabilities, Individuals with Disabilities Act, McKinney-Vento Act, doubled-up, stably housed

Abstract

Student homelessness rates in the United States continue to rise each year and impacts students on all grade levels. This mixed methods case study explored teacher perceptions of their preparedness to meet the needs of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness. Students with disabilities are overrepresented among students who experience homelessness. There are numerous studies that focus on the academic achievement of students experiencing homelessness. However, there is very little research focused specifically on the doubly vulnerable group of students with disabilities who are concurrently experiencing homelessness, their academic achievement, and the educators whose responsibility it is to meet their unique needs. Study participants were kindergarten through grade 12 teachers of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness from school districts throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers perceive their own preparedness to effectively meet the needs of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness by administering anonymous online surveys and conducting virtual in-depth interviews that were created by the researcher. The case study provides a detailed description of a specific situation in a real-world context. This study also aimed to ascertain how homelessness affects the academic achievement of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness by looking for correlations between student attendance rates and reading scores of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness versus students with disabilities who are stably housed.

The researcher conducted semi-structured one-on-one virtual interviews with ten teachers of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness across the United States. The questions for the interview were based on an interview protocol created by the researcher (Appendix B). The interview questions were divided into topics: (a) demographics, (b) teacher perceptions. These questions were closely aligned to the questions asked in the ensuing qualitative phase of the case study.

Analysis of the survey data showed that most teachers did not feel they were adequately prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness. Additional quantitative data analysis found a moderate correlation between the attendance rates and reading scores of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness. Analysis of the qualitative data found four emerging themes: (a) A Multitude of Challenges, (b) The Inevitability of Teacher Emotional Involvement, (c) The Communication Gap (d) Teacher Roles and Responsibilities, and (e) Parental Attitudes and Involvement. These themes offer perspectives on how teachers view themselves and their abilities, as well as the difficulties they face in addressing the needs of their students with disabilities experiencing homeless

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