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Concepts in Disaster Medicine

In Their Own Words: Displaced Children's Educational Recovery Needs After Hurricane Katrina

Lori Peek, PhD and Krista Richardson, BA

Objectives:  Children may experience psychological, physical, and educational vulnerability as the result of a disaster. Of these 3 vulnerability types, educational vulnerability has received the most limited scholarly attention. The 2 primary objectives of this research are to describe what forms of educational support displaced children said that they needed after Hurricane Katrina and to identify who or what facilitated children's educational recovery.

Methods:  This article draws on data gathered through participant observation and interviews with 40 African American children between the ages of 7 and 18 years who relocated to Colorado with their families after Hurricane Katrina.

Results:  In the first year following Hurricane Katrina, more than 75% of the children in the sample experienced a decline in grades. In subsequent years, the children reported greater satisfaction with their schools in Colorado and their overall educational experience. The children identified their teachers, peers, and educational institutions as playing the most significant role in their recovery.

Conclusion:  Through offering a child-centric perspective, this study expands prior research on postdisaster educational recovery.

Key Words: Hurricane Katrina • children's health • education • African Americans • Colorado • vulnerable populations • refugees




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