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 four items this month.
(1) Georgia Library Spotlight: Homeschool Meetup at the Woodstock Public Libraryย โ J.ย Brooks & M.ย Elliott (2022)
Introduction: A new homeschool initiative has begun at the Woodstock Public Library! Library staff are working alongside North Georgia Homeschool to bring a monthly program to the library. Jenny Brooks (Youth Services Specialist), Mary Elliott (Teen Services Specialist), and Kara Rumble (Programming Manager) have been the primary staff involved. The program meets for an early morning session and an afternoon session once a month. The chosen monthly topic is presented to two groups to accommodate differentiated learning needs. Having the program twice in the same day also allows for families to choose the time that best works for them. This is a relatively new initiative that has proven to be well worth the amount of time, collaboration, and effort shown by all parties involved.
(2) How Do Homeschoolers Approach Creative Arts Learning and How Can They Be Supported? Developing a Flexible Framework for Homeschool Contextsย โ K.M.ย Burke (2022)
Abstract: Research has identified that creative arts education in homeschooling contexts presents unique challenges. A range of factors contribute to this, including a dearth of home-education-specific support. As such, the development of supporting resources that target the unique needs and approaches of homeschooling parents has previously been recommended. This paper reports on part of a larger Design-Based Research project that consulted with up to 193 homeschooling families with the aim of developing such a support resource, one flexible enough to reflect the diversity of approaches across homeschooling contexts. The phase of the research reported here sought detailed insights into the processes that five families employed when planning and facilitating their childrenสผs arts learning. Through a series of three semi-structured interviews with each family, observations of arts learning episodes in action and arts artefact analysis, each familyสผs approach to arts learning was mapped and analysed for insights into the processes that families employed when planning and actioning arts learning. The outcome of this phase of the project is a suggested framework to support homeschoolers in facilitating arts learning, aiming to be suitable across a variety of pedagogical approaches.
(3) On the Disappearance of Childhood: An Exploratory Interview Study of the Christian Homeschooling Milieu in Canadaย โ D.ย Jahr & R.ย Kruschel (2022) [Book chapter]
Abstract: This chapter concentrates on the topic of homeschooling. The authors compare the legislative preconditions for homeschooling in Canada and Germany. They also explore the potential for homeschooling to support and to hinder inclusive education in each jurisdiction. The discussion of Canada concentrates on the provincial and territorial differences in legal frameworks and funding for homeschooling in the country.
(4) Qualitative Explanation of Lived Experience of Parents from the Process of Forming the Homeschooling Curriculumย โ J.ย Soleymฤni, P.ย Samadi, & P.ย Ahmadi (2022)
Abstract: Homeschooling constitutes part of an unofficial education process which enables students to choose a learning method and form a curriculum corresponding to their own interests in an atmosphere other than a school environment. Despite its informality, this type of education is growing in Iran. The aim of this study was to explain the process of forming a homeschooling curriculum. To do so, a qualitative research with a phenomenological approach was conducted with participation of twelve persons from the families who had educated their children at home. Data was analyzed by the seven-level Colaizzi method. To answer the first research question, two pivotal ideological and pedagogical codes were identified. To answer the second research question, and considering the components of purpose, content, teaching strategies, atmosphere, and evaluation, all in all, eleven pivotal codes were extracted. Findings indicated that the parents try to take their child’s interests and talents into account when developing the curriculum and keep him or her away from a stressful and competitive environment.
What interesting homeschool news and academic research have you come across this Leo Term?ย ๐
โกโ See for yourself: If you’d like to investigate the current academic literature on homeschooling directly, 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 academic publications that mention your topic.ย ๐
โกโ Explore more: For a comprehensive review of homeschooling research prior to 2020, see the paper by Kunzman & Gaither that is linked in our Research & News post for July 2020.ย ๐
โกโ Stay in the loop: This is one of our regular Homeschool Research & News posts. Add your name to our weekly mailing list and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year.ย ๐
