Homeschooling or homeschool (also called home
education or home based learning) is the
education of
children at
home, typically by parents or by
tutors,
rather than in other formal settings of
public or
private school. Although prior to the introduction of
compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred
within the family or community,[1]
homeschooling in the modern sense is an alternative in
developed countries to attending public or private schools.
Homeschooling is a legal option for parents in many countries, allowing
them to provide their children with a learning environment as an
alternative to public or private schools outside the individual's home.
Parents cite numerous reasons as motivations to homeschool their
children. The three reasons that are selected by the majority of
homeschooling parents in the
United States are concern about the school environment, to provide
religious or
moral
instruction, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at public and
private schools. Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of
parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living
in isolated rural locations, living temporarily abroad, to allow for
more traveling, while many young athletes and actors are taught at home.
Homeschooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, where a tutor
or teacher is with the child for many years and then knows the child
very well.
Homeschooling can be used as a form of supplementary
education, a way of helping children learn, in specific circumstances.
For instance, children that attend downgraded schools can greatly
benefit from homeschooling ways of learning, using the immediacy and low
cost of the Internet. As a synonym to e-learning, homeschooling
can be combined with traditional education and lead to better and more
complete results. Homeschooling may also refer to instruction in
the home under the supervision of
correspondence schools or
umbrella schools. In some places, an approved
curriculum is legally required if children are to be home-schooled.[2]
A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling may be called
unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator and
author
John Holt in his magazine
Growing Without Schooling. In some cases, a
liberal arts education is provided using the
trivium and
quadrivium as the main model.
History
For much of history and in many cultures, enlisting professional
teachers (whether as tutors or in a formal academic setting) was an
option available only to a small elite. Thus, until relatively recently,
the vast majority of people were educated by family members (especially
during early childhood), family friends or any one with useful
knowledge.[1]
The earliest
public schools in the modern
West began in the early 16th century in the German states of
Gotha and Thurungia.[3]
However, even in the 18th century, the vast majority of people in Europe
lacked formal schooling, which means they were homeschooled, tutored or
received no education at all.[4]
The same was also true for colonial America[5][unreliable
source?] and for the United States until the 1850s.[6]
Formal schooling in a classroom setting has been the most common means
of schooling throughout the world, especially in developed countries,
since the early and mid 19th century. Native Americans, who
traditionally used homeschooling and apprenticeship, vigorously resisted
compulsory education in the United States.[7]
In the 1960s,
Rousas John Rushdoony began to advocate homeschooling, which he saw
as a way to combat the intentionally
secular nature of the
U.S.
public school system. He vigorously attacked
progressive
school reformers such as
Horace Mann and
John Dewey and argued for the dismantling of the state's influence
in education in three works: Intellectual Schizophrenia (a
general and concise study of education), The Messianic Character of
American Education (a history and castigation of public education in
the U.S.), and The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum (a
parent-oriented pedagogical statement).
Rushdoony was frequently called as an expert witness by the HSLDA (Home
School Legal Defense Association) in court cases.
During this time, the American educational professionals
Raymond and Dorothy Moore began to research the academic validity of
the rapidly growing
Early Childhood Education movement. This research included
independent studies by other researchers and a review of over 8,000
studies bearing on Early Childhood Education and the physical and mental
development of children.
They asserted that formal schooling before ages 8–12 not only lacked
the anticipated effectiveness, but was actually harmful to children. The
Moores began to publish their view that formal schooling was damaging
young children academically, socially, mentally, and even
physiologically. They presented evidence that childhood problems such as
juvenile delinquency, nearsightedness, increased enrollment of students
in
special education classes, and behavioral problems were the result
of increasingly earlier enrollment of students.[8]
The Moores cited studies demonstrating that
orphans who were given
surrogate mothers were measurably more intelligent, with superior
long term effects – even though the mothers were "mentally retarded
teenagers" – and that illiterate tribal mothers in Africa produced
children who were socially and emotionally more advanced than typical
western children, "by western standards of measurement."[8]
Their primary assertion was that the bonds and emotional development
made at home with parents during these years produced critical long term
results that were cut short by enrollment in schools, and could neither
be replaced nor afterward corrected in an institutional setting.[8]
Recognizing a necessity for early out-of-home care for some children –
particularly
special needs and starkly impoverished children, and children from
exceptionally inferior homes– they maintained that the vast majority of
children are far better situated at home, even with mediocre parents,
than with the most gifted and motivated teachers in a school setting
(assuming that the child has a gifted and motivated teacher). They
described the difference as follows: "This is like saying, if you can
help a child by taking him off the cold street and housing him in a warm
tent, then warm tents should be provided for all children – when
obviously most children already have even more secure housing."[8]
Similar to Holt, the Moores embraced homeschooling after the
publication of their first work, Better Late Than Early, 1975,
and went on to become important homeschool advocates and consultants
with the publication of books like Home Grown Kids, 1981,
Homeschool Burnout, and others.
At the time, other authors published books questioning the premises
and efficacy of compulsory schooling, including Deschooling Society
by
Ivan Illich, 1970 and No More Public School by
Harold Bennet, 1972.
In 1976, Holt published Instead of Education; Ways to Help People
Do Things Better. In its conclusion, he called for a "Children's
Underground Railroad" to help children escape compulsory schooling.[9]
In response, Holt was contacted by families from around the U.S. to tell
him that they were educating their children at home. In 1977, after
corresponding with a number of these families, Holt began producing
Growing Without Schooling, a newsletter dedicated to home
education.[10]
In 1980, Holt said, "I want to make it clear that I don't see
homeschooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools. I think that
the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we
call learning or education. Home would be the best base no matter how
good the schools were."[11]
Holt later wrote a book about homeschooling, Teach Your Own,
in 1981.
One common theme in the homeschool philosophies of both Holt and the
Moores is that home education should not be an attempt to bring the
school construct into the home, or a view of education as an academic
preliminary to life. They viewed it as a natural, experiential aspect of
life that occurs as the members of the family are involved with one
another in daily living.[citation
needed]
Methodology
Homeschools use a wide variety of methods and materials. There are
different paradigms, or
educational philosophies, that families adopt including unit
studies,
Classical education (including
Trivium,
Quadrivium),
Charlotte Mason education,
Montessori method,
Theory of multiple intelligences,
Unschooling,
Radical Unschooling,
Waldorf education,
School-at-home,
A Thomas Jefferson Education, and many others. Some of these
approaches, particularly unit studies, Montessori, and Waldorf, are also
available in private or public school settings.
It is not uncommon for the student to experience more than one
approach as the family discovers what works best for them. Many families
do choose an eclectic approach. For sources of
curricula and books, "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003"[12]
found that 78 percent 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 in 2003
utilized some sort of
distance learning, approximately 20 percent by "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."
Individual governmental units, e. g. states and local districts, vary
in official curriculum and attendance requirements.[13]
Unit studies
The unit study approach incorporates several subjects, such as art,
history, math, science, geography and other curriculum subjects, around
the context of one topical theme, like water, animals, American slavery,
or ancient Rome.[14][unreliable
source?] For example, a unit study of
Native Americans could combine age-appropriate lessons in:
social studies, how different tribes lived prior to colonization vs.
today; art,
making patterns or artifacts influenced by Native American decorative
crafts;
history (of
Native Americans in the U.S.);
reading from a special reading list; and the
science
of plants used by Native Americans.[citation
needed]
Unit studies are particularly helpful for teaching multiple grade
levels simultaneously, as the topic can easily be adjusted (i.e. from an
8th grader detailing and labeling a spider's anatomy to an elementary
student drawing a picture of a spider on its web). As it is generally
the case that in a given "homeschool" very few students are spread out
among the grade levels, the unit study approach is an attractive option.[citation
needed]
All-in-one
curricula
All-in-one homeschooling curricula (variously known as
"school-at-home", "The Traditional Approach", "school-in-a-box" or "The
Structured Approach"), are methods of homeschooling in which the
curriculum and
homework of the student are similar or identical to what would be
taught in a public or private school; as one example, the same textbooks
used in conventional schools are often used. These are comprehensive
packages that contain all of the needed books and materials for the
whole year. These materials are based on the same subject-area
expectations as publicly run schools which allows for easy transition
back into the school system. These are among the more expensive options
for homeschooling, but they require minimal preparation and are easy to
use. Step-by-step instructions and extensive teaching guides are
provided. Some include tests or access information for remote testing.
Many of these programs allow students to obtain an accredited high
school diploma.[15][16]
Unschooling and natural learning
Some people use the terms "unschooling"
or "radical
unschooling" to describe all methods of education that are not based
in a school.
"Natural learning" refers to a type of learning-on-demand where
children pursue knowledge based on their interests and parents take an
active part in facilitating activities and experiences conducive to
learning but do not rely heavily on textbooks or spend much time
"teaching", looking instead for "learning moments" throughout their
daily activities. Parents see their role as that of affirming through
positive feedback and modeling the necessary skills, and the child's
role as being responsible for asking and learning.[citation
needed]
The term "unschooling" as coined by John Holt describes an approach
in which parents do not authoritatively direct the child's education,
but interact with the child following the child's own interests, leaving
them free to explore and learn as their interests lead.[11][12]
"Unschooling" does not indicate that the child is not being educated,
but that the child is not being "schooled", or educated in a rigid
school-type manner. Holt asserted that children learn through the
experiences of life, and he encouraged parents to live their lives with
their child. Also known as interest-led or child-led learning,
unschooling attempts to follow opportunities as they arise in real life,
through which a child will learn without coercion. An unschooled child
may utilize texts or classroom instruction, but these are not considered
central to education. Holt asserted that there is no specific body of
knowledge that is, or should be, required of a child.[13]
"Unschooling" should not be confused with "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.[citation
needed]
Both unschooling and natural learning advocates believe that children
learn best by doing; a child may learn reading to further an interest
about history or other cultures, or math skills by operating a small
business or sharing in family finances. They may learn animal husbandry
keeping dairy goats or meat rabbits, botany tending a kitchen garden,
chemistry to understand the operation of firearms or the internal
combustion engine, or politics and local history by following a zoning
or historical-status dispute. While any type of homeschoolers may also
use these methods, the unschooled child initiates these learning
activities. The natural learner participates with parents and others in
learning together.[citation
needed]
Autonomous
learning
Autonomous learning is a school of
education which sees learners as individuals who can and should be
autonomous i.e. be responsible for their own learning climate.
Autonomous education helps students develop their self-consciousness,
vision, practicality and freedom of discussion. These attributes serve
to aid the student in his/her independent learning.
Autonomous learning is very popular with those who home educate their
children. The child usually gets to decide what projects they wish to
tackle or what interests to pursue. In home education this can be
instead of or in addition to regular subjects like doing math or
English.
According to
Home Education UK the autonomous education philosophy emerged from
the
epistemology of
Karl Popper in The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science
and Rationality, which is developed in the
debates, which seek to rebut the neo-Marxist social philosophy of
convergence proposed by the
Frankfurt School (e.g.
Theodor W. Adorno
Jürgen Habermas
Max Horkheimer).
Homeschooling and college admissions
Many students choose to pursue higher education at the college or
university level, some through
dual enrollment while in high school and through standardized tests
such as the
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DANTES Subject Standard
Tests (DSST).
The
College Board suggests that homeschooled students keep detailed
records and portfolios.[17]
In the last several decades, US colleges and universities have become
increasingly open to accepting home-schooled students.[18]
Such students have matriculated at over 900 different colleges and
universities, including institutions with highly selective standards of
admission such as the US military academies,
Rice University,
Haverford College,
Harvard University,
Stanford University,
Cornell University,
Brown University,
Dartmouth College, and
Princeton University.[19][citation
needed]
Homeschool
cooperatives
A Homeschool Cooperative is a
cooperative of families who homeschool their children. It provides
an opportunity for children to learn from other parents who are more
specialized in certain areas or subjects. Co-ops also provide social
interaction for homeschooled children. They may take lessons together or
go on field trips. Some co-ops also offer events such as prom and
graduation for homeschoolers.[citation
needed]
Homeschoolers are beginning to utilize
Web 2.0
as a way to simulate homeschool cooperatives online. With
social networks homeschoolers can chat, discuss threads in forums,
share information and tips, and even participate in online classes via
blackboard systems similar to those used by colleges.[citation
needed]
Homeschool
athletics
In 1994, Jason Taylor was a homeschool football player in
Pennsylvania who engaged a legal battle against the N.C.A.A. (the
leading oversight association governing U.S. collegiate athletics) and
its classification of homeschool athletes as essentially high school
drop-outs. Taylor's legal victory has provided a precedent for thousands
of other homeschool athletes to compete in colleges and attain the same
opportunities in education and professional development that other
athletes enjoy. Other homeschool students who have risen to the top of
collegiate competition include N.C.A.A. 2005 champion tennis player,
Chris Lam, Kevin Johnson of the Tulsa University basketball team,
2010-2011
Big South Player of the Year Jesse Sanders of the
Liberty University Flames and the 2007
Heisman Trophy winner
Tim
Tebow from the
University of Florida .[citation
needed] In 2012, another homeschool student was a
Heisman Trophy finalist:
Collin Klein of
Kansas State University.
In Texas, Six-Man Football has also been popular among homeschoolers,
with at least five teams being fielded for the 2008-2009 season.
Interestingly enough, the top 3 places in the Texas Independent State
Championship (TISC, also referred to as "the Ironman Bowl) were claimed
by homeschool teams.
Motivations
|
The
examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with
the United States and do not represent a
worldwide view of the subject.
Please
improve this article and discuss the issue on the
talk page. (September 2010)
|
Number and percentage of homeschooled students in the
United States, by reason for homeschooling: 1999, National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES)
Reason for homeschooling |
Number of
homeschooled students |
Percent |
s.e. |
Can give child better education at home |
415,000 |
48.9 |
3.79 |
Religious reason |
327,000 |
38.4 |
4.44 |
Poor learning environment at school |
218,000 |
25.6 |
3.44 |
Family reasons |
143,000 |
16.8 |
2.79 |
To develop character/morality |
128,000 |
15.1 |
3.39 |
Object to what school teaches |
103,000 |
12.1 |
2.11 |
School does not challenge child |
98,000 |
11.6 |
2.39 |
Other problems with available schools |
76,000 |
9.0 |
2.40 |
Child has special needs/disability |
69,000 |
8.2 |
1.89 |
Transportation/convenience |
23,000 |
2.7 |
1.48 |
Child not old enough to enter school |
15,000 |
1.8 |
1.13 |
Parent's career |
12,000 |
1.5 |
0.80 |
Could not get into desired school |
12,000 |
1.5 |
0.99 |
Other reasons* |
189,000 |
22.2 |
2.90 |
Parents give many different reasons for homeschooling their children.
In the 2003 and 2007 NHES, parents were asked whether particular reasons
for homeschooling their children applied to them. The three reasons
selected by parents of more than two-thirds of students were concern
about the school environment, to provide religious or moral instruction,
and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other
schools. From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of students whose parents
reported homeschooling to provide religious or moral instruction
increased from 72 percent to 83 percent. In 2007, the most common reason
parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or
moral instruction (36 percent of students). This reason was followed by
a concern about the school environment (such as safety, drugs, or
negative peer pressure) (21 percent), dissatisfaction with academic
instruction (17 percent), and "other reasons" including family time,
finances, travel, and distance (14 percent).[20]
Other reasons include more flexibility in educational practices and
family core stability for children with
learning disabilities or prolonged chronic illnesses, or for
children of missionaries, military families, or families who move often,
as frequently as every two years.
Research
Supportive
Test results
Numerous studies may suggest that homeschooled students on
average outperform their peers on standardized tests.[21]
Homeschooling Achievement, a compilation of studies published by
the Home School Legal Defense Association, supported the
academic integrity of homeschooling. This booklet summarized a 1997
study by Ray and the 1999 Rudner study.[22]
The Rudner study noted two limitations of its own research: it is not
necessarily representative of all homeschoolers and it is not a
comparison with other schooling methods.[23]
Among the homeschooled students who took the tests, the average
homeschooled student outperformed his public school peers by 30 to 37
percentile points across all subjects. The study also indicates that
public school performance gaps between minorities and genders were
virtually non-existent among the homeschooled students who took the
tests.[24]
A study conducted in 2008 found that 11,739 homeschooled students, on
average, scored 37 percentile points above public school students on
standardized achievement tests.[25]
This is consistent with the Rudner study (1999). However, Rudner has
said that these same students in public school may have scored just as
well because of the dedicated parents they had.[26]
The Ray study also found that homeschooled students who had a certified
teacher as a parent scored one percentile lower than homeschooled
students who did not have a certified teacher as a parent.[25]
In 2011 Martin-Chang found that unschooling children ages 5-10 scored
significantly below traditionally educated children, while academically
oriented home schooled children scored from one half grade level above
to 4.5 grade levels above traditionally school children on standardized
tests (n=37 home schooled children matched with children from the same
socioeconomic and educational background).[27]
In the 1970s Raymond S. and Dorothy N. Moore conducted four federally
funded analyses of more than 8,000 early childhood studies, from which
they published their original findings in Better Late Than Early,
1975. This was followed by School Can Wait, a repackaging of
these same findings designed specifically for educational professionals.[28]
They concluded that, "where possible, children should be withheld from
formal schooling until at least ages eight to ten."
Their reason was that children, "are not mature enough for formal
school programs until their senses, coordination, neurological
development and cognition are ready." They concluded that the outcome of
forcing children into formal schooling is a sequence of "1) uncertainty
as the child leaves the family nest early for a less secure environment,
2) puzzlement at the new pressures and restrictions of the classroom, 3)
frustration because unready learning tools – senses, cognition, brain
hemispheres, coordination – cannot handle the regimentation of formal
lessons and the pressures they bring, 4) hyperactivity growing out of
nerves and jitter, from frustration, 5) failure which quite naturally
flows from the four experiences above, and 6) delinquency which is
failure's twin and apparently for the same reason."[29]
According to the Moores, "early formal schooling is burning out our
children. Teachers who attempt to cope with these youngsters also are
burning out."[29]
Aside from academic performance, they think early formal schooling also
destroys "positive sociability", encourages peer dependence, and
discourages self-worth, optimism, respect for parents, and trust in
peers. They believe this situation is particularly acute for boys
because of their delay in maturity. The Moores cited a Smithsonian
Report on the development of genius, indicating a 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."[29]
Their analysis suggested 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."[29]
Socialization
John Taylor later found, using the Piers-Harris Children's
Self-Concept Scale, "while half of the conventionally schooled children
scored at or below the 50th percentile (in self-concept), only 10.3% of
the home-schooling children did so."[30]
He further stated that "the self-concept of home-schooling children is
significantly higher statistically than that of children attending
conventional school. This has implications in the areas of academic
achievement and socialization which have been found to parallel
self-concept. Regarding socialization, Taylor's results would mean that
very few home-schooling children are socially deprived. He states that
critics who speak out against homeschooling on the basis of social
deprivation are actually addressing an area which favors homeschoolers.[30]
In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute conducted a
survey of 7,300 U.S. adults who had been homeschooled (5,000 for more
than seven years). Their findings included:
-
- Homeschool 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.
-
- Homeschool graduates are more involved in civic affairs and
vote in much higher percentages than their peers. 76% of those
surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last
five years, compared with only 29% of the corresponding U.S.
populace. The numbers 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.
-
- 58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life, compared
with 27.6% for the general U.S. population. 73.2% find life
"exciting", compared with 47.3%.[31]
Criticism
Critics claim the studies that show that homeschooled students do
better on standardized tests,[32][25]
compare voluntary homeschool testing with mandatory public-school
testing.
By contrast, SAT and ACT tests are self-selected by homeschooled and
formally schooled students alike. Homeschoolers averaged higher scores
on these college entrance tests in South Carolina.[33]
Other scores (1999 data) showed mixed results, for example showing
higher levels for homeschoolers in English (homeschooled 23.4 vs
national average 20.5) and reading (homeschooled 24.4 vs national
average 21.4) on the ACT, but mixed scores in math (homeschooled 20.4 vs
national average 20.7 on the ACT as opposed homeschooled 535 vs national
average 511 on the 1999 SAT math).[34]
Some advocates of homeschooling and educational choice counter with
an input-output theory, pointing out that home educators expend only an
average of $500–$600 a year on each student, in comparison to
$9,000-$10,000 for each public school student in the United States,
which suggests home-educated students would be especially dominant on
tests if afforded access to an equal commitment of tax-funded
educational resources.[35]
Controversy
and criticism
|
The
examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with
the United States and do not represent a
worldwide view of the subject.
Please
improve this article and discuss the issue on the
talk page. (September 2010)
|
Opposition to homeschooling comes from some organizations of teachers
and school districts. The
National Education Association, a United States
teachers' union and
professional association, opposes homeschooling.[36][37]
Criticisms by such opponents include:
- Inadequate standards of academic quality and comprehensiveness
- Lack of socialization with peers of different ethnic and
religious backgrounds
- The potential for development of religious or social
extremism/individualism
- Potential for development of
parallel societies that do not fit into standards of citizenship
and community
Stanford University
political scientist Professor Rob Reich
[38]
(not to be confused with former U.S. Secretary of Labor,
Robert Reich) wrote in The Civic Perils of Homeschooling
(2002) that homeschooling can potentially give students a one-sided
point of view, as their parents may, even unwittingly, block or diminish
all points of view but their own in teaching. He also argues that
homeschooling, by reducing students' contact with peers, reduces their
sense of civic engagement with their community.[39]
Gallup polls of American voters have shown a significant change in
attitude in the last 20 years, from 73% opposed to home education in
1985 to 54% opposed in 2001.[40]
International status and statistics
Homeschooling is
legal in many countries. Countries with the most prevalent home
education movements include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. Some countries have highly regulated
home education programs as an extension of the compulsory school system;
others, such as Sweden and Germany,[41]
have outlawed it entirely. Brazil has a law project in process. In other
countries, while not restricted by law, homeschooling is not socially
acceptable or considered undesirable and is virtually non-existent.
See also