Literacy, Education, and Inequality: Assimilation and Resistance Narratives from Families Residing at a Homeless Shelter

Oct 15, 2026

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Article analyzing qualitative dissertation data on literacy practices among five families living in a homeless shelter, focusing on how literacy, education, and inequality intersect. Homelessness is examined through “sponsorship” to show families’ uneven access to influential literacy resources, while schools and the marketplace may dismiss everyday literacies. Assimilation narratives reflect parents’ strong faith in education’s power to reshape children’s futures, yet both parents and children face persistent struggles against deficit views of homelessness and inner-city neighborhoods. Findings indicate educational reform must address broader U.S. inequality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study purpose and research focus

Shelter context and background

Homelessness statistics and family circumstances

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| Literacy, Education, and Inequality: Assimilation and Resistance Narratives from Families Residing at a Homeless Shelter | | --- | --- | Mary M. Jacobs, Cornell College Abstract In this article, I draw on data from my qualitative dissertation study of the literacy practices of five families who resided in a homeless shelter to complicate the relationship between literacy, education, and inequality. Homelessness is examined through the lens of sponsorship to understand the differential access the families have to powerful sponsors of literacy and how schools and the marketplace may dismiss existing literacies that families use in their everyday lives. Their assimilation narratives reveal that the parents believed strongly in the promise of education to change the life trajectory of their children. Parents engaged in literacy for social and cultural purposes as well as middle class literacy practices that are valued in schools. Despite these attempts to assimilate, the parents and the children in the study did not benefit in significant ways and continually struggled against and resisted deficit perspectives surrounding homelessness and the inner city neighborhoods from which they came. The wide gulf between the official portrait of homelessness, largely defined by statistics and influenced by deficit perspectives, and the counterportraits that illustrate the lived realities of the families suggests educational reform must address the larger context of inequality in the United States. Keywords: family literacy sponsorship, homeless shelter “Brianna retrieved the Bible from a stack of three identical bright pink books on the bedside table. She quickly flipped to a page bookmarked with a bracelet. On page 936of the book, titled God’s Word for Girls, Brianna squinted to read the tiny print. She determined her mother would be reading on the topic of love next. ‘Ibraid my mom’s hair while she reads the Bible. ’” Introduction Beginning in June of 2011, one day a week I visited a local shelter to facilitate a family art and story hour for parents and children. Many of the families who resided at the shelter, like Brianna’s, voluntarily participated in the program. During my weekly visits I engaged with families for a variety of purposes related to literacy tied to their lives in and out of school. I noticed both parents and children initiated literacy practices that served the purpose of meeting school expectations such as homework, but also routines and rituals that sustained their long days at the shelter where they had limited privacy and often were a long distance from their extended families. I wanted to know more about the literacy practices families engaged in while experiencing homelessness and how their life, literacy, and schooling histories shaped what they believed was possible once they transitioned from the shelter. After six months of facilitating the family art and story hour, I began a qualitative research study to examine the literacy practices of families within the context of homelessness. Located in a Mid-western university town that I will refer to as College Town, with a population of approximately 70,000, the transitional shelter where the families resided was a highly contested community issue before its completion in November 2010. Formerly located inan old house nestled in amongst single-family homes and rental properties just a few blocks from the community’s downtown and university campus, the decision was made to build the new shelter several miles from this location in an area reputable for low-income housing and heightened police presence, increasing the distance between the shelter residents and many of the community services available to them. Conversely, the new facility offers more benefits to families than the old site. The new building is able to provide rooms for families, located in a separate wing from the women’s and men’s dormitories. On the second floor is a room devo

FAQs

How does the article connect literacy, education, and inequality?

It uses qualitative data from five shelter-residing families to show how literacy and education access are shaped by inequality, including how schools and broader systems may dismiss families’ everyday literacies.

What is meant by “sponsorship” in this research?

The article examines homelessness through sponsorship to understand differential access to powerful literacy sponsors and how that access influences families’ opportunities.

What do the assimilation narratives reveal about parents’ beliefs?

Parents believed strongly that education could change their children’s life trajectories, engaging in literacy for social, cultural, and middle-class school-valued purposes despite limited benefits.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni