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Educational Experiences and Goals of Homeless Youth and Barriers to Reaching these Goals

Over one million youth (age 14-24) experience homelessness each year in the United States, about 5-8% of all youth. For homeless youth to become independent and avoid cycling through public services, consistent income is necessary. Barriers to gaining employment and subsequent income often stem from lack of education. Defining the educational goals of homeless youth and barriers in reaching them are crucial steps in the development of relevant and effective educational interventions. Using data obtained from surveys of homeless youth in an urban Western city, this study found large discrepancies between the educational goals of homeless youth and actual academic attainment. Becoming homeless before the age of 18 and having fewer lifetime parents or guardians were predictive of lacking a diploma or GED. Implications of this research for informing educational interventions for homeless youth are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-5971
Date01 May 2016
CreatorsPeterson, Rachel
PublisherDigitalCommons@USU
Source SetsUtah State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceAll Graduate Theses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu).

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