Coming and Going: The Neighborhood and Educational Contexts of Mobile Students

Stefanie DeLuca

Despite the frequency of residential and school mobility in the US, little research has examined the destinations of mobile families, and even less research has examined the school destinations of mobile students. Given the demonstrated importance of both neighborhood and school context, it is critical to determine where families and children “end up” when they make a move. On the one hand, many researchers suggest that the disruptions often accompanying neighborhood moves negatively impact behavioral outcomes and school performance. By contrast, residential mobility experiments, where poor families are placed into better neighborhoods via legislative mandate, demonstrate that moving from disadvantaged neighborhoods to more affluent, safer areas can significantly improve children’s educational outcomes and family life. If the quality of new schools and neighborhoods can make up for the disruption caused by moving, then some moves may be worth it. Further, many current policies, such as HOPE VI and No Child Left Behind, might increase the chances that a family will move neighborhoods and that a child will change schools. Therefore, we need to get a comprehensive sense of the consequences of these policies for youth educational development via their impact on mobility.

About Stefanie DeLuca

N/A