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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.
In addition to this month’s academic papers, homeschoolers may also be interested in a news essay by Anna Kaladish Reynolds on the Federalist website: “Homeschooled Adults are More Religious and Less Anxious.” “A recent report from the Cardus Educational Survey analyzed educational, economic, mental health, civic, family, and faith status for American adults who were homeschooled…. The study shows improved mental health outcomes among adults who were homeschooled compared to their peers who were never homeschooled. In an epidemic of mental health issues among teens and young adults, this is an important finding that warrants more investigation. While leftists continue fearmongering about the imagined dangers of homeschooling, the results show that homeschoolers are a success in some of the ways that matter most.”
We have three regular items for the month, on homeschoolers’ self-perceptions; student variability in homeschooling; and homeschooling children with autism:
(1) Homeschooled Students’ Perceptions of Their Social Competence, Emotional Intelligence, and Academic Skills Development — K.J. Dixon (2024)
Abstract: This applied dissertation was designed to explore the lived experiences of homeschooled students and to learn the perceptions they have on their social, emotional, and academic skills development. It also examined their views toward homeschooling as a practice.
The researcher interviewed nine homeschooled students from a homeschooling facility in southeast Florida. A semi-structured approach to explore their beliefs and practices toward engaging with peers, adults, and authorities other than their parents was utilized. Their interactions and activities were examined to determine the essence of their experiences. The researcher aimed to learn if homeschooled students harbor the same perceptions that critics possess—that homeschooled students are socially and emotionally impaired.
An analysis of the data revealed that the homeschooled students believe they are well-socialized, self-aware, and well-educated. Many of the participants thought they were more socialized and emotionally stable than their public and private school peers, relishing the numerous field trips and extracurricular activities they participated in, the deep connections and bonds they forged with others, and their advanced academic rigor. The results further demonstrated that homeschooled students developed an intrinsic motivation for learning due to their active participation in the planning of their lessons and learning process.
(2) Learner Variability in the Successful Homeschool Environment: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry — C. Parker-Wheeler (2024)
Abstract: This qualitative narrative inquiry explored how primary homeschooling parents in a Southwestern U.S. state adapt to their children’s learner variability, including background, social-emotional learning, cognition, content, and sociocultural influences such as norms, values, and traditions, to foster individualized learning environments while home educating their children. The problem addressed is the limited understanding of how these factors impact homeschooling practices, particularly in enabling students to gain information, build conceptual understanding, and express their knowledge. The purpose of this study was to uncover how homeschooling parents’ approaches to learner variability support student success in a homeschool setting. Guided by three research questions on lessons learned, sociocultural influences, and learning environment adaptation, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with homeschooling parents and analyzed thematically to identify nine key themes. Findings indicated that child-centered approaches, flexible learning spaces, and emotional growth through parent-child interaction were among other central findings that were essential in meeting individual learner needs and promoting resilience, independence, and academic growth. This study provides insights for education professionals and homeschooling families alike, aiming to integrate learner variability into personalized education practices and suggests that such adaptive strategies can significantly enhance educational outcomes by aligning instruction with each child’s unique developmental needs and strengths
(3) The Perspectives of African American Parents’ Decisions to Homeschool Children with Autism in New Jersey — S. Stephenson (2025)
Abstract: New Jersey is an autism epicenter and may indicate future trends in the United States. The population of American families opting to homeschool is growing, especially among African-American families in New Jersey. The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to examine the perspectives of African American parents’ decisions to homeschool their children with autism in New Jersey through storytelling. The conceptual framework used was the model of parental involvement developed by Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 homeschooling African-American parents using a basic qualitative approach. The results were organized into five themes. One theme was the educational considerations; another time was social and emotional well-being; theme three was educational outcomes and progress. The fourth theme was parental involvement and empowerment, and the final theme was a personalized learning environment. This qualitative study promotes positive social change by increasing our understanding of African American parents’ decisions to homeschool their children diagnosed with autism; such knowledge has the potential to contribute to increased advocacy and awareness within the broader African American community.
What interesting homeschool news and academic research have you come across this Orion Term? 🎓
❡ 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 Kunzman & Gaither (2020), “Homeschooling: An Updated Comprehensive Survey of the Research.” 🔎
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❡ Join us! The aim of the River Houses project is to create a network of friendly local homeschool support groups — local chapters that we call “Houses.” Our first at-large chapter, Headwaters House, is now forming and is open to homeschoolers everywhere. Find out how to become one of our founding members on the Headwaters House membership page. 🏡
