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EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF HIDDEN HOMELESS TEENAGERS LIVING DOUBLED-UP by Ronald E. Hallett New York: Routledge, 2012. 148pp. $38.95.
In Educational Experiences of Hidden Homeless Teenagers, Ronald E. Hallett draws our attention to the rarely discussed issues of homelessness among America's youth. He introduces the reader to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which delineates how schools are to identify and support homeless students. Importantly, the act defines homeless broadly to include any individual "lacking a fixed, regular and adequate night-time residence" (p. 2). This not only encompasses children living in shelters, transitional programs, or other nontraditional shelters (e.g., cars, abandoned buildings, etc.), but it also includes students living in residences where multiple households have "doubled-up" out of economic necessity. Hallett reports that youth living in doubledup homes comprise more than half of the homeless youth population, yet little research has been devoted to understanding them or their educational experiences.
Hallett sets out to do just that by aiming to understand how the residential environments of four doubled-up youth influence their participation in school. He situates his study within resiliency theory, a holistic framework that defines resilience as the successful adaptation of an individual in the face of adversity and that considers both risk and protective factors simultaneously. Using a case study approach, he provides an intimate look into the lives of Isaac, Marco, Juan, and Kylee, detailing their day-to-day routines from the early morning hours to their afterschool and weekend activities. Over the course of an academic...