Homeschooling

Home education, also called homeschooling or home school, is the process by which children are educated at home rather than at an institution such as a public or private school. Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance in the 19th century, most education worldwide occurred within the family and community, with only a small proportion of the population attending schools or employing tutors.

The terms homeschooling or home education may refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling may be called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator John Holt in his magazine Growing Without Schooling.

Especially in the English-speaking nations, homeschooling can be an option for parents who wish to provide their children with a quality of education they believe is unattainable in schools. At present, most children are institutionally schooled.

History of homeschooling

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Thomas Edison attended compulsory school for only three months.

The earliest compulsory schooling in the West began in the late 17th century and early 18th century in the German states of Gotha, Heidelheim, Calemberg and, particularly, Prussia. In the United States, the first state to issue a compulsory education law was Massachusetts, in 1789, but not until 1852 did the state establish a true comprehensive statewide, modern system of compulsory schooling." During this time period it was usual for parents in most of the U.S. to utilize books dedicated to home education such as Fireside Education, Griswold, 1828, or Burton and Warren's Helps to Education In The Homes Of Our Countries, 1863, or to utilize the services of itinerant teachers, as means and opportunity allowed. After the establishment of the Massachusetts system other states and localities began to make school attendance mandatory, but even by 1912 A.A. Berle of Tufts University asserted that the previous twenty years of mass education had been a failure and that he had been asked by hundreds of parents about how they could teach their children at home.

In the early 1970s the premises and efficacy of compulsory schooling came into question with the publication of books like Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich, 1970, and No More Public School by Harold Bennet, 1972. These ideas developed in the mind of education reformer John Holt to produce, in 1976, Instead of Education: Ways To Help People Do Things Better. After the book's publication Holt was contacted by families from various parts of the country to tell him that they had taken the almost unheard of step of educating their own children at home, and from this point Holt began producing a magazine dedicated to homeschooling, Growing Without Schooling.

Almost simultaneously, in the mid to late 1970s, educators Ray and Dorothy Moore began to document and publish the results of their research into optimizing educational results in children, the principle finding being that children should not be introduced to formal education until at least 10 years of age for optimum social and educational results. The Moores also embraced homeschooling, and became important homeschool advocates with the publication of books like Better Late Than Early, 1975 and Home Grown Kids, 1984.

Motivations to homeschool

According to a 2003 U.S. Census survey, the parents of 33% of homeschooled children cited religion as a factor in their choice. The same study found that 30% felt the regular school had a poor learning environment, 14% objected to what the school teaches, 11% felt their children weren't being challenged at school, and 9% cited morality.

According to the U.S. DOE's "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003", 85 percent of homeschooling parents cited "the social environments of other forms of schooling" (including safety, drugs, bullying and negative peer-pressure) as an important reason why they homeschooled their children. 72 percent cited their "desire to provide religious or moral instruction" as an important reason, and 68 percent cited "dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools." 7 percent of parents cited "Child has physical or mental health problem" as a reason they homeschool, another 7 percent cited "Child has other special needs" and 9 percent cited "Other reasons" (including "child's choice," "allows parents more control of learning" and "flexibility").

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Number and percentage of homeschooled students, by reason for homeschooling: 1999, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Other reasons include the allowance of more flexibility in adapting educational practices for children with learning disabilities or illnesses, or for children of missionaries, military people, or otherwise traveling parents. Homeschooling also is sometimes opted for when a child has a significant career hobby, such as acting, circus performance, dancing or violin.

Socialization

Some families feel that the negative social pressures of schools, such as sexualization, bullying, drugs, school violence, and other school-related problems, are detrimental to a child's development. Some such advocates believe that the family unit, not same-age peers, should be the primary vehicle for socialization.

Many homeschoolers participate in a variety of community athletics and membership organizations. In fact, many feel that having friends separate from school results in richer and more successful social lives for them. Technological advances allow students to relate to other students online on parent approved forums, classes, and other networks based on the interests, cultural backgrounds, curriculum, etc. of the students.

Parents or guardians in the home school environment need to create opportunities for the child to learn how to relate with others in order for social skills to develop. This can be done through community organizations or through cooperative homeschooling activities such as park days, field trips, or working with other families to create coop classes.

In 2003, Dr. Brian Ray of the Home School Legal Defense Association conducted a research survey of over 7,300 homeschooled adults of which over 5,000 had been home educated at least seven years.

Homeschool graduates are active and involved in their communities. Seventy-one percent participate in an ongoing community service activity (e.g., coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association), compared to 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages (Table 2). Eighty-eight percent of the homeschool graduates surveyed were members of an organization (e.g., such as a community group, church or synagogue, union, homeschool group, or professional organization), compared to 50% of U.S. adults.

Legality of homeschooling

Home education exists legally in many parts of the world. Countries with the most prevalent home education movements include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Some countries have highly regulated home education programs which are actually an extension of the compulsory school system, while others have outlawed it entirely. In many other countries, while not restricted by law, home education is not socially acceptable or not considered desirable and, therefore, virtually non-existent.

In many countries where home education does not exist legally, underground movements flourish where children are kept out of the compulsory school system and educated at, sometimes considerable, risk. Still, in other countries, while the practice is illegal, the governments do not have the resources to police and prosecute offenders and, as such, it takes place largely in the open.

Home education in the United States is governed by each individual state and therefore regulations vary greatly from one state to another. In the U.S., homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. In some states homeschooling parents are occasionally faced with prosecution under truancy laws. The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on homeschooling specifically, but in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972)[1] it supported the rights of Amish parents to keep their children out of public schools for religious reasons. Many other court rulings have established or supported the right of parents to provide home education. Each year, more and more charter schools are formed supporting homeschooling families using government funding for such things as materials, curriculum, technology, classes, testing, as well as being supervised by accredited teachers and public school administration.

Homeschooling demographics

Australia

The Australian census does not track homeschooling families, but the number of families may be a very roughly estimated 15,000. In 1995, Roland Meighan of Nottingham School of Education estimated some 20,000 families homeschooling in Australia.

Canada

Meighan estimated the total number of homeschoolers in Canada, in 1995, to be 10,000 official and 20,000 unofficial.

Karl M. Bunday estimated in 1995, based on journalistic reports, that in Canada as a whole about 1 percent of school-age children were homeschooled.

As of April 2005, the total number of registered homeschool students in British Columbia appears to be 3,068.

Republic of Ireland

An estimated 250-350 children are officially registered as being educated in their home in the Republic of Ireland., however it is believed that there may be as many as 1500 more who are not registered. The right to a home education is enshrined in the constitution of Ireland.

United Kingdom

An estimated 50,000 children are considered "home-educated" in the United Kingdom.

Meighan's 1995 estimate for the UK was "almost 10,000", and in 1996 the London Evening Standard stated that 15,000 families home-educating in Britain was a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

United States

According to U.S. Dept of Education report NCES 2003-42, "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003", there was an increase in homeschooled students overall in the U.S. from 850,000 students in 1999 (1.7 percent of the total U.S. student population) to 1.1 million students in 2003 (2.2 percent of the total U.S. student population).

During this time, homeschooling rates increased among students whose parents have high school or lower education, from 2.0 to 2.7 percent among White students; 1.6 to 2.4 percent among student in grades 6-8; and 0.7 to 1.4 percent among students with only one parent.

Race and ethnicity ratios remained "fairly consistent" in this time period, with 2.7 percent of White students homeschooling, 1.3 percent of Black students, and 0.7 percent of Hispanic students.

As in 1999, homeschooling rates were highest in families with three or more children (3.1 percent), and higher in families with two children (1.5 percent) than only one child (1.4 percent). Not surprisingly, there were more homeschool students from families with two parents (2.5 percent) than only one parent (1.5 percent), and students from two parent families where only one parent worked were more than twice as likely to be homeschooled (5.6 percent).

By 2001, according to the Canadian based Fraser Institute, Muslim Americans were the fastest growing subgroup in the homeschool movement, and were predicted to double in number every year for the following eight years after.

New Zealand

Karl M. Bunday cites the New Zealand TV program "Sixty Minutes" (unrelated to the U.S. program), as stating in 1996 that there were 7,000 school-age children in New Zealand being homeschooled. Philip Strange of the Australian Home Education Association Inc. quotes "5274 registered home educated students in 3001 families" in 1998 from the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Homeschooling methodology

There is a wide variety of home education methods and materials. Home education families may adopt a particular educational philosophy such as:

• Classical education (including Trivium, Quadrivium)
• Waldorf education
• Charlotte Mason education
• Theory of multiple intelligences
• Montessori method

For sources of curricula and books, "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003" found that 78 percent of homeschool parents utilized "a public library"; 77 percent used "a homeschooling catalog, publisher, or individual specialist"; 68 percent used "retail bookstore or other store"; 60 percent used "an education publisher that was not affiliated with homeschooling." "Approximately half" used curriculum or books from "a homeschooling organization", 37 percent from a "church, synagogue or other religious institution" and 23 percent from "their local public school or district." 41 percent of homeschoolers in 2003 utilized some sort of distance learning. Approximately 20 percent by way of "television, video or radio"; 19 percent via "Internet, e-mail, or the World Wide Web"; and 15 percent taking a "correspondence course by mail designed specifically for homeschoolers."

Because home education laws vary widely according to individual government statutes, official curriculum requirements vary.

Unit studies

Unit studies teach most subjects in the context of a central theme. For example, a unit study of Native Americans could combine age-appropriate lessons in: social studies, like how different tribes live now, and lived prior to colonization; art, such as making Native American clothing; history (of Native Americans in the U.S.); reading from a special reading list; and the science of plants used by Native Americans. The following unit-study subject could change to some other broad topic of study.

Community resources

Home educators take advantage of educational programs at museums, community centers, athletic clubs, after-school programs, churches, science preserves, parks, and other community resources. Secondary school level students often take classes at community colleges, which typically have open admission policies.

Unschooling

"Unschooling" is a term that can be used with two distinct meanings.

Some use the term "unschooling" to describe methods of education that do not resemble instructional schools. These people are primarily indicating that they do not use textbooks and/or do not spend much time at desks. The parents definitely are in charge of the children's education and they may use a variety of resources.

The term "unschooling" as coined by John Holt indicates that the parents do not direct much of the children's education, but that the children are free to explore and grow and learn as they wish. In this method students are not directly instructed but encouraged to learn through exploring their interests. Also known as interest-led or child-led learning, unschooling attempts to provide opportunities with games and real life problems where a child will learn without coercion. An unschooled child may choose to use texts or classroom instruction, but it is never considered central to education.

Advocates for unschooling claim that children learn best by learning from doing. For example, a child may learn reading and math skills from playing card games, better spelling and other writing skills because he's inspired to write a science fiction story for publication, or local history by following a zoning or historical-status dispute.

The term "unschooling" is distinct from "deschooling," which may be used to indicate an anti-"institutional school" philosophy, or a period or form of deprogramming for children or parents who have previously been schooled.

Criticism of homeschooling

Opposition to home education comes from varied sources, including organizations of teachers and school districts. One example is the National Education Association, a teachers' union, which is the largest labor union in the United States. They are on record as opposing homeschooling outright; though, in recent years they have not been as outspoken in this opposition. Opponents state concerns falling into several broad categories, including: academic quality and completeness; reduced government money for the publicly-run schools; socialization of children with peers of different ethnic and religious backgrounds; and fear of religious or social extremism. Gallup polls of American voters have shown a significant change in attitude in the last twenty years, from 73% opposed to home education in 1985 to 54% opposed in 2001.

Opponents view home-educating parents as sheltering their children and denying them opportunities that are their children's right, reducing the amount of government funds publicly-run schools would receive if more children were attending the publicly-run school, and providing an unfair advantage to home-educated children over students whose parents lack the time or money for home education. With regard to the latter point, however, parents choosing to homeschool often intend that to be the case.

Two recent studies by the Home School Legal Defense Association, a home education advocacy group in the United States, dispute the claim that the academic quality of home education programs is substandard.

Research results

Academic findings

Some studies have suggested the academic integrity of home education programs, demonstrating that on average, home-educated students outperform their publicly-run school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects. Moreover, the performance gaps between minorities and gender that plague publicly-run schools are virtually non-existent amongst home-educated students.

Some critics argue that while home-educated students generally do extremely well on standardized tests, such students are a self-selected group whose parents care strongly about their education and would also do well in a conventional school environment.

Some opponents argue that parents with little training in education are less effective in teaching. However, some studies do indicate that parental income and education level affect home-educated student performance on standardized tests very little.

Home-educated student curricula often include many subjects not included in traditional curricula. Some colleges find this an advantage in creating a more academically diverse student body, and proponents argue this creates a more well-rounded and self-sufficient adult. Increasingly, colleges are recruiting home-educated students; many colleges accept equivalency diplomas as well as parent statements and portfolios of student work as admission criteria; others also require SATs or other standardized tests. Some opponents argue that home education curricula often exclude critical subjects and isolate the student from the rest of society, or presents them with their parents' ideological world views - especially religious ones - rather than the publicly sanctioned worldviews taught at state schools.

The results of home education with gifted and learning-disabled children have not been as thoroughly studied.

Social findings

In 1986, Dr. Ray and Dorothy Moore, early leaders in the homeschool movement, conducted a federally funded analysis of more than 8,000 early childhood studies. This analysis concluded that, "where possible, children should be withheld from formal schooling until at least ages eight-ten," a conclusion clearly at odds with the majority thinking on the subject of education. The reason determined in the analysis for this conclusion is that children, particularly boys, are simply, and profoundly, "not mature enough for formal school programs until their senses, coordination, neurological development and cognition are ready." Moore concluded that the outcome of societal insistence on forcing children into the regimentation of formal schooling is a sequence, beginning with uncertainty, leading to puzzlement, then frustration, hyperactivity, failure and finally delinquency. According to the Moores, "early formal schooling is burning out our children. Teachers who attempt to cope with these youngsters also are burning out." Aside from damaging the academic performance of students, this situation also actually destroys "positive sociability", encouraging peer dependence and discouraging self worth, optimism, respect for parents and trust in peers. This situation is particularly acute for boys because of their well documented delay in maturity. In sharp contrast, the Moore's cite a Smithsonian Report on genius which indicates a clear requirement for "1) much time spent with warm, responsive parents and other adults, 2) very little time spent with peers, and 3) a great deal of free exploration under parental guidance." The analysis suggests, among other things, that children need "more of home and less of formal school" "more free exploration with...parents, and fewer limits of classroom and books," and "more old fashioned chores – children working with parents – and less attention to rivalry sports and amusements."

In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) conducted a survey of over 7,300 U.S. adults who had been home-educated (over 5,000 for more than seven years). Their findings included:

• Home-educated graduates are active and involved in their communities. 71% participate in an ongoing community service activity, like coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association, compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages from a traditional education background.

• Home-educated graduates are more involved in civic affairs and vote in much higher percentages than their peers. For example, 76% of surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last five years, compared with only 29% of the relevant U.S. population. The numbers of home-educated graduates who vote are even greater in older age groups, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace.

• Of those adults who were home-educated, 58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life (compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population). Moreover, 73.2% of homeschooled adults find life "exciting", compared with 47.3% of the general population.

The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), a U.S. government agency, has published multiple articles on home education. Here are excerpts from one which examined several studies on home-educated children socialization:

According to the findings, children who were educated at home "gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children."

and;

The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups, and maintains that "insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children."

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