Homeless Youth of Color and the Shaping of Aspirations: The (Re)productive Role of Institutions

This year-long ethnographic study explored the occupational aspirations and informal educational experiences of 25 diverse homeless adolescents who found social welfare assistance through Empower, a nonprofit organization. Using organizational habitus and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inUrban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Vol. 57; no. 8; pp. 1299 - 1328
Main Author Robinson, Shantá R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2022
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adolescents
Aspiration
Black people
Blacks
Career Choice
Comparative analysis
Educational Experience
Ethnic identity
Ethnic Stereotypes
Ethnography
Grounded Theory
Habitus
Homeless People
Institutional Role
Intersectionality
Marginality
Minority Groups
Nonprofit organizations
Occupational Aspiration
Sex Stereotypes
Social status
Social welfare
Socioeconomic factors
Stereotypes
Welfare Services
Whites
Youth
Black males
subjects
educational aspirations
African American students
urban education
Black females
homelessness
ethnography
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Summary:This year-long ethnographic study explored the occupational aspirations and informal educational experiences of 25 diverse homeless adolescents who found social welfare assistance through Empower, a nonprofit organization. Using organizational habitus and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks and constant comparative analysis, I found that Empower staff tailored educational programming and economic opportunities based on raced and gendered stereotyped notions of young people. Because of their precarious social positioning and the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, the Black adolescents were most positioned to obtain occupations that reproduce their ascribed social status, while the White youth were poised to improve their socioeconomic conditions.
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ISSN:0042-0859
1552-8340
DOI:10.1177/0042085918805802