On the third Tuesday of each month we post a quick roundup of some recent academic publications and news about homeschooling, offered for your interest. These are typically university research papers, and they may have a positive, negative, or neutral outlook on home education. The title links generally point to the full text of each publication, which is often a printable pdf file. In some cases, a paid subscription may be required to read the whole article. The article abstracts or introductions below are quoted in full whenever possible, without editing.
We have five items this month, on outdoor education and homeschooling; curriculum analysis; physical activity; digital technologies in homeschooling; and homeschool parental support:
(1) Effectiveness of an Outdoor Education Program with Homeschool Studentsย โ Y.ย Chen, A.ย McCreary, & T.ย Stenger-Ramsey (2023)
Abstract: Compared to public-school peers, homeschoolers are less physically active. The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of an outdoor education program (OEP) on increasing adolescent homeschoolersโ physical activity and life skills. Homeschoolers were recruited to participate in a nine-week OEP that included activities such as hiking and mountain biking and a pre- and post-test to assess physical fitness and life skills. Descriptive and inferential (e.g., paired-samples t-tests) statistics were used to analyze the resulting data. Findings reveal that male homeschoolers self-report higher levels of life skills and that the OEP had a greater positive impact on malesโ fitness outcomes. Recommendations for OEP practitioners include developing OEPs that increase the frequency and decrease the duration of physical activity time and emphasize skills such as emotional control. Recommendations for future research are to utilize large, diverse sample sizes and to consider at-home activities that may influence variables of interest.
(2) Making Sense of Homeschooling Approaches Through Content Analysisย โ A.ย Lai (2023)
Abstract: A common problem for new homeschoolers is understanding how to choose and implement specific educational approaches. In response, I conducted a qualitative content analysis on key texts representative of popular homeschooling approaches, including The Well-Trained Mind (classical), Home Education (Charlotte Mason), and Teach Your Own (unschooling); and compared these to current classroom-based learning. This paper finds that classical homeschooling and modern-day classroom teaching are similar; the Charlotte Mason approach is the most varied in teaching methods; and unschooling makes little mention of teaching methods. This report also suggests that homeschooling families can be defined by the teaching methods they regularly employ.
(3) Comparison of Physical Activity Between Traditional and Homeschool Elementary School Students: A Pilot Studyย โ X.S.ย Lopezย (2023)
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to was to examine the difference between the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and time spent sedentary behavior (SEB) between traditional and homeschool elementary students during one school week. Methods: There was a total of 25 participants (mean age = 8.8 ยฑ 1.6 years; 10 girls, 15 boys), 13 traditional school students (mean age = 9.5 ยฑ 0.7 years; 5 girls, 8 boys) who were recruited from an elementary school and a sample of 12 homeschool students (mean age = 8.1 ยฑ 2.1 years; 5 girls, 7 boys) were also recruited. Participants were required to wear an Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer (ActiGraph, Florida, USA) on their dominant wrist during each day of data collection between the time frame of 10:00am to 2:00pm. The MVPA and SEB measures were recorded using a 15s epoch at 100Hz sampling rate and was calculated using the Freedson children cut points. The data exported and averaged was calculated for time in MVPA and SEB for each participant. Results: On average, the traditional school participants demonstrated higher levels of MVPA (MVPA average ยฑ SD = 64.21 ยฑ 8.5, p = .508, t = 2.2, df = 23) and lower levels of SEB (SEB average ยฑ SD = 23.1 ยฑ 7.9, p = .968, t = 3.2, df = 23) when compared to their homeschool counterparts levels of MVPA (MVPA average ยฑ SD = 56.24 ยฑ 9.5, p = .508, t = 2.2, df = 23) and SEB (SEB average ยฑ SD = 33.27 ยฑ 7.9, p = .968, t = 3.2, df = 23). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the MVPA and SEB of both groups. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that traditional elementary students may be more physically active, as they demonstrated more time in MVPA and less time in SEB, however there was no statistically significant difference present between the two groups levels of PA.
(4) Homeschooling in a Digital Age: Children Fostering a Love for (Self-directed) Lifelong Learning with Constructive Use of Digital Technologiesย โ T.M.ย Morris & S.J.ย Pannone (2023)
Abstract: Opting to homeschool children is a growing trend worldwide. However, surprisingly, there is a dearth of research on understanding how digital technologies are used by learners who opt for homeschooling. Thus, in the present study, semi-structured interviews with homeschoolers in the United States were conducted to examine (1) how are digital technologies being used? (2) why do homeschoolers use these technologies to support their learning process? And (3) what digital technologies are they using? Thematic analysis revealed that homeschooled children utilised a wide array of digital technologies to support their learning. Childrenโs learning projects commonly stemmed from their interaction with the real-world: a good portion of homeschoolerโs learning was self-directed. Digital technologies afforded learners access to specific materials and enabled homeschoolers to collaborate with other learners. Perhaps most importantly, homeschoolers reported a love for (self-directed) lifelong learning: where they are habituated to learn in a self-directed and autonomous manner, and more likely to use digital technologies constructively and productively.
(5) Homeschool Support for Parent Educatorsย โ S.P.ย Weigel (2023)
Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect parent involvement in homeschool groups has on parent self-efficacy within the domains of content knowledge, required administrative duties, teaching strategies, and social-emotional well-being. The quantitative, non-experimental study utilized a modified survey instrument based on Bandura’s (2006) โGuide for Constructing Self-Efficacy Scales.โ The 56 study participants were homeschooling parents in the United States of America. The independent variable was involvement in homeschool groups and the dependent variables were the four domains of self-efficacy. The researcher sought to discover if the level of involvement in homeschool groups exerted a statistically significant effect upon the four domains of homeschooling parentsโ self-efficacy. The combination of the four domains of the construct of self-efficacy had a significant effect among the levels of the variable of homeschool groups (F (8, 98) = 2.36, p = .02), and the magnitude of effect for involvement in homeschool groups upon the four domains of the construct of self-efficacy was considered large (ฮท2p = 0.16). Follow-up post hoc analyses were conducted with the self-efficacy domain of social-emotional well-being identified as the only dimension reflecting a statistically significant effect on homeschooling parent self-efficacy (F (2, 52) = 6.84, p = .002).
What interesting homeschool news and academic research have you come across this Cygnus Term?ย ๐
โกโ Explore more: If you’d like to investigate the academic literature on homeschooling more extensively, the best place to start is Google Scholar, the special academic search engine from Google. Just enter a search term or phrase of interest (“homeschool,” “unschooling,” “classical homeschooling,” “deschooling,” etc.), and Google Scholar will return a list of research publications that mention your topic. In addition, for research prior to 2020 in particular, see the comprehensive bibliographic essay by Kunzmanย & Gaither (2020), “Homeschooling: An Updated Comprehensive Survey of the Research.” ๐
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