The Role of Privilege as Identity in Adolescents’ Beliefs About Homelessness, Opportunity, and Inequality

This mixed methods study investigated the impact of learning about homelessness on the civic development of privileged adolescents. Pre–post surveys, classroom observations, and qualitative interviews revealed that the participating adolescents developed a more complex understanding of the factors that contribute to homelessness; however, this deeper understanding of homelessness was not accompanied by a reconfiguring of participants’ beliefs about America’s opportunity structure. Instead, this study’s privileged adolescents defended their own positions within the existing class structure by invoking legitimizing, and naturalizing ideological frames. This resistance to social justice content impeded participating teens’ development of civic responsibility for fellow citizens contending with poverty and homelessness.