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Thomas Edison attended compulsory school for only three months.

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 called "umbrella schools" [example: Christian Liberty Academy]. 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.

In the United States, 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, however, most children are institutionally schooled.

History

The foundations of modern home education may originate with the rise of publicly-run schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[citation needed] The usual situation in rural areas before 1860 was that most children were taught farm chores and rudimentary arithmetic and spelling.[citation needed] Occasionally some families would pool and hire a traveling tutor, usually a young Yankee like Stephen Douglas.[citation needed] In exchange for room and board he would provide a few months schooling for the children in the group.[citation needed] In this fashion Abraham Lincoln acquired about 18 months of schooling.[citation needed]

A few famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and Woodrow Wilson might be considered to have been home-educated, as they underwent little formal education[citation needed]. Home schoolers may go on to college --Roosevelt went to Harvard and Wilson to Princeton-- as colleges and universities do accept home school applicants. Patrick Henry College in Virginia is particularly welcoming to home schooled youth with strongly conservative political and religious beliefs[citation needed].

In the United States, the "curriculum in a box", or All-in-one curriculum form of home education appeared in 1906, when the Calvert Day School of Baltimore, Maryland made such materials available through a downtown Baltimore bookstore and a National Geographic advertisement[citation needed]. Within five years, nearly 300 children were making use of materials from Calvert's Home Instruction Department.[citation needed] In less than a century the materials became the basis for lessons for more than 350,000 children annually in more than 90 countries.[citation needed]

Population

Australia & New Zealand

About 26,500 children in Australia & New Zealand are involved in home schooling.[1]

Canada

As of 2001, it was estimated that 80,000 children are educated at home in Canada.[citation needed]

Ireland

An estimated 500-600 children are officially registerd as being educated in their home in Ireland.[2]. 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.[3]

United States

In 2003 about 1.1 million children (up 29% from 850,000 in 1999) were home-educated in the United States, which represented about 2.2% of the children of school age.[4].

As educational choices become abundant through a vast array of educational products and services available, computers, and the World Wide Web, the idea of homeschooling in the U.S. is expanding in popularity and acceptance. Some state governments, like those in Alaska, California, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Kansas, sponsor home-education "virtual" charter schools and/or reimburse parents who purchase curricula approved by the state. [5][6]

Characteristics of families

Families that homeschool in the USA are quite different demographically. 94% are non-Hispanic whites (compared to 71% nationwide). 97% of parents are currently married. (compared to 72%) 62% have 3 or more children (compared to 20%). Nearly all the mothers are stay-at-home housewives. 58% are Fundamentalist in religion (compared to about 10%) 64% of fathers have college or postgraduate degrees (compared to 24%) Average income was $52,000 in 1997, (compared to $36,000)

Thus the profile is a group of well educated, high income white parents with numerous children and a strong commitment to fundamentalist religion. (Rudner 1999) (Peer Review) The commitment to fundamentalism is not always along formal doctrinal lines, it is almost always along lines of traditional or family-based moral and character issues.

Motivations

Individual motivations to home-educate are varied, and are the source of vibrant debate, particularly in the United States. 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. [7]. [8]

Some proponents advocate that home education should be the dominant educational policy. The motivations listed below are not mutually exclusive; many families adhere to two or more of these reasons for homeschooling.

Religion

The desire to provide religious or moral instruction is one of the most common reasons for homeschooling. Some are religious conservatives who see non-religious education as contrary to their moral or religious systems. Many parents choose to provide religious education along with education on traditional subjects. They do this because religious education is not available in the public school setting, and though it is available within many private schools, this alternative may be too expensive for some families. Other families may reject this option because the faith taught in available schools may differ from that of the family.

Unschooling

As the original incarnation of homeschooling, unschoolers choose to not teach at all. Unschooling families believe that children simply learn better when that learning through the normal experiences of life.

Personal liberty

Some homeschoolers object to allowing the "intrusion" of the curriculum of government-operated schools into their personal lives. They want to be free to decide what subjects their children should be exposed to, and when. Proponents of this educational alternative invoke parental responsibility and the classical liberal arguments for personal freedom from government intrusion.

Efficacy

In the United States, homeschooling is the focus of a substantial movement among parents who wish to provide their children with a custom or more complete education, which they feel is unattainable in most private schools or in the state governments' public school systems. Some feel that they can more effectively tailor a curriculum to suit an individual student's academic strengths and weaknesses, especially children who are gifted or have learning disabilities. They believe that tailoring their children's education to them individually maximizes the benefit from the time spent on education, and that a homeschooled child may "get more done" in two hours a day than a traditionally schooled child will do in seven.

Additionally, since homeschoolers can work at their own pace, some advocates claim that the time that students will use their time better than schooled children.

Unique family needs

Other reasons include the allowance of more flexibility in adapting educational practices for children with learning disabilities or illnesses. Homeschooling may also allow for the introduction of more non-traditional studies, such as Latin and agriculture, focusing more on a child's unique gifts, such as art or mathematics; and providing more hands-on methods of learning.

Socialization

Some families feel that the negative social pressures of schools, such as 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. In this view, time spent on family vacations is a valuable part of the child's development, and should not be subject to the limitations of a school calendar.

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

Racism

Some have accused homeschooling parents of trying to perpetuate segregation. It is alleged that some families homeschool to avoid having to have their children pass their day in a racially-mixed environment. However, those in favor of homeschooling, allege that it is only organizations opposed to homeschooling who create rumors and allegations in order to tarnish the idea of homeschooling and those who do it.[9]

Miscellaneous

  • Providing a legal option for families who wish to abstain from mandatory immunizations.
  • Providing consistency in education for families that travel or move frequently.
  • Many parents simply like the idea of teaching their own children rather than letting someone else do so.

Methods

The Internet has made information more accessible than ever.

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

Others use a broad combination of ideas or allow the child to develop their own motivation, through what is known as unschooling.

Because home education laws vary widely according to individual government statutes, official curriculum requirements vary. [10]

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.

Supporters say unit studies make excellent use of student time by combining several fields into one study time, and permit students to follow personal interests. Unit studies also permit children of different ages to study together. For example, in a Native American unit, a 10th-grade student might make a deer-skin coat for an art project, while a 1st-grade student might make construction-paper tipis.

Home educators often purchase unit-study guides that suggest materials, projects and shopping lists, and supplement them with specialized curricula for mathematics, and sometimes reading and writing.

Special materials

Special materials focus on skill-building. Individual subject materials usually consist of workbooks, sometimes with textbooks, and an instructional guide. Many specialized subjects are only available in this form. Special materials are frequently used for math and primary reading.

Critics say that some parents over-focus on skills while excluding social studies, science, art, history and other fields that help children learn their place in the world.

All-in-one curricula

"All-in-one" curricula, sometimes called "school in a box", are comprehensive packages covering many subjects, usually an entire year's worth. They contain all needed books and materials, including pencils and writing paper. Most such curricula were developed for isolated families who lack access to public schools, libraries and shops, or are overseas.

These materials typically recreate the school environment in the home, and are typically based on the same subject-area expectations as publicly-run schools, allowing an easy transition into school if desired. They are among the most expensive options for the home-educated, but are easy to use and require minimal preparation. The instructional guides are usually extensive, with step-by-step instructions. These programs may include standardized tests, and remote examinations to yield an accredited privately-run school diploma.

Student-paced learning

Similar to All-in-one curricula are learner paced curriculum packages. Often times called paces, these workbooks allow the student to progress at an individualized speed. They allow the student to master concepts before moving on to the next subject, instead of being held back by the speed of the teacher and other students or rushing forward for the same reasons. Prices vary widely depending upon the publisher.

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.

Eclectic curricula

The majority of today's home-educated use an eclectic mix of materials. For instance, they might use a pre-designed program for language, arts or mathematics, and fill in history with reading and field trips, art with classes at a community center, science through a homeschool science club, physical education with membership in local sports teams, and so on.

Unschooling

Unschooling is an area in which 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. 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.

Social development

A common concern voiced about home-educated children is they lack the social interaction with peers that a school environment provides. Many home-education families address these concerns by joining numerous organizations, including home-education cooperatives, independent study programs and specialized enrichment groups for physical education, art, music, and debate. Most are also active in community groups.[citation needed] Outside of school, home-educated children generally socialize with other children the same way that school children do, via personal visits, through sports teams, clubs, and religious groups.

Most home education proponents have argued that their alternative actually enhances the student's social development. They argue that the school years are the only time in a person's life that he or she will be artificially segregated into chronologically-determined groups. These advocates assert that home-educated children have a more normal interaction with persons across the age spectrum. This, in turn, results in more influence on the child from adults, and less from other children, leading to more mature young citizens.

Social concerns

Opponents of home education offer criticisms concerning socialization, pointing out that not all home-education families participate sufficiently in community activities. Some of the concerns offered include:

  • Interaction with different social groups is essential to learning to live in society; a common criticism is that home-schoolers' "interaction" is solely with other home-schooled children from like-minded families.
  • Schools are a unique environment that provide students with necessary social networking skills that help them succeed in the workplace and in the politics of business. Real life includes school as well.
  • Home-educated children tend to live in an insulated world where they aren't exposed to a variety of ideas, which can impede personal growth and independence later in life.
  • If children are insulated from unpleasant social situations, then they will be left unprepared when they are inevitably left to make their own way in the world. Children should be allowed to live and learn from their mistakes rather than sheltered from reality.

Some people oppose home education because they fear that children will be exposed to an extremely narrow set of view-points and will lack the broad range of experiences gained through interaction in a larger group setting. However, the public school setting is also a time when developing children are exposed to violence, bullying, negative peer pressure, drugs and sex. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ Avoiding this constant negative influence allows homeschooled children to develop in environments where learning is a priority and high academic achievement the norm. http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp

Cost

Home education may have a financial impact on families. In addition to purchasing school supplies and curriculum materials, parents often cut back or refrain from employment outside the home in order to supervise the child's education. This may have long-term career consequences in addition to the more immediate concerns of reduced family income. However, many such parents say that one unique benefit is the additional time they get to spend with their children.

Conversely, families may see a financial benefit. Families may save unspent money on the costs of tuition outside the home, such as: school fees; levies; uniforms; compulsory books and extra curricular activities, such as school sports teams or clubs.

Of course home education can be expensive if a full curriculum is purchased and many costly activities are attended. It can also be very inexpensive by using free resources, taking advantage of free facilities, such as public libraries, art galleries, parks, and gardens, and resources available on the Internet. Considering private school tuition rates could be in a range anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 or more per year, the range of home schooling costs, $100 to $800 per year is clearly more economical.

Public opinion

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 [11].

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.[12][13]

Legality

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 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.

See also: Legality of homeschooling in the United States

Research results

Academic findings

The academic effectiveness of home education is largely a settled issue. Numerous studies have confirmed 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.[14]

Some critics argue that while home-educated students generally do extremely well on standardized tests[15], 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 ideological world views, especially religious ones.

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

Social findings

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.[16]

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." [17]

Proponents argue further that the social environment of traditional schools:

and that socialization in the wider community:

  • leads them to see adults, rather than peers, as role models,
  • better prepares them for real life,
  • encourages them to be more involved in youth, church, and sports organizations,
  • helps them develop an independent understanding of themselves and their role in the world, with the freedom to reject or approve conventional values without the risk of ridicule,
  • teaches children to deal with a variety of situations and people,
  • still provides for interaction with conventionally-educated children after school hours in their neighbourhood and in other after-school activities.

Notable home-educated individuals

See also

References

Advocacy books

Academic studies

  • Vernon L. Bates; "Lobbying for the Lord: the New Christian Right Home-Schooling Movement and Grassroots Lobbying" Review of Religious Research, Vol. 33, 1991
  • Kyungseok Kang; "School Choice, Family Characteristics, and Home-School Relations: Contributors to School Achievement?" Journal of Educational Psychology Volume: 88. Issue: 3. Publication Year: 1996. pp 451+
  • Henry M. Levin; Privatizing Education: Can the School Marketplace Deliver Freedom of Choice, Efficiency, Equity, and Social Cohesion? Westview Press, 2001
  • Susan McDowell. But What About Socialization? Answering the Perpetual Home Schooling Question: A Review of the Literature (2004)
  • Susan McDowell and Brian Ray, eds. The Home Education Movement in Context, Practice, and Theory: A Special Double Issue of the Peabody Journal of Education (2000)
  • Bruce M. Mitchell, Robert E. Salsbury; Unequal Opportunity: A Crisis in America's Schools? 2002
  • Michael T. Peddle; Does Government Need to Be Involved in Primary and Secondary Education: Evaluating Policy Options Using Market Role Assessment Garland, 2000
  • Lawrence M. Rudner. "Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998" Education Policy Analysis Archives Volume 7 Number 8 March 23, 1999 ISSN 1068-2341; detailed demographic analysis
  • Marie L. Sterne; "Should Physical Education Be Required for Home-Schooled Children?" JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 68, 1997
  • Mitchell Stevens. Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement (Princeton University Press, 2001)
  • Theodore C. Wagenaar; "What Characterizes Home Schoolers? A National Study" Education. Volume: 117. Issue: 3. 1997. pp : 440+. statistical study compares all home-schooled students (and their parents) with others; small sample size.
  • Wentzel, K., Feldman, S., & Weinberger, D. "Parental child rearing and academic achievement in boys: The mediational role of social-emotional adjustment". Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, (1991) 321-339
  • Michelle Wichers. "Homeschooling: Adventitious or Detrimental for Proficiency in Higher Education" Education. Volume: 122. Issue: 1. 2001. pp 145+.

USA / Canada / UK / France / New Zealand / Ireland

General

Research

Legalities

Canada

UK

France

  • IndigoExtra - provides information and links on home education in Europe, with a focus on France
  • Les Enfants d'Abord - A home-education organisation with information in English and French.

New Zealand

  • Home Education Foundation - The Home Education Foundation is a charitable trust established to encourage parents to take up the option of educating their children at home and to support them in their task.

Ireland

Helpful resources

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