The Politics of Policy in the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act: Setting the Agenda for Students Experiencing Homelessness

While most of the press around the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has focused on how it signals an end to No Child Left Behind, the implications of ESSA for students experiencing homelessness have been largely overlooked. Garnering organizational insights from Kingdon’s (Agendas, alternatives, an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Urban review 2017-12, Vol.49 (5), p.805-831
Main Authors: Pavlakis, Alexandra E., Duffield, Barbara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to education
Alternative approaches
Community and Environmental Psychology
Education
Education policy
Educational Change
Educational Opportunities
Educational Policy
Federal Legislation
Homeless People
Marginality
Politics of Education
Sociology
Stakeholders
Students
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While most of the press around the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has focused on how it signals an end to No Child Left Behind, the implications of ESSA for students experiencing homelessness have been largely overlooked. Garnering organizational insights from Kingdon’s (Agendas, alternatives, and public policies, Pearson, Glenviiew, 2011 ) policy streams and coupling the literature with our first-hand policy experience, we present a political analysis of the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act from inception through ESSA. Our purpose is to highlight how and why the act grew stronger—and more beneficial for students experiencing homelessness—despite wide-ranging obstacles. Not only did the original policy function to alter the politics around homelessness, but key actors, events, and contexts shaped history and enabled stakeholders who were engaged in the day-to-day work to play an important role in setting the policy trajectory. Implications for stakeholders aiming to improve educational opportunities for other marginalized students are discussed.
ISSN:0042-0972
1573-1960
DOI:10.1007/s11256-017-0422-0