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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.
We have four items this month, on the growth of homeschooling; homeschooling psychology; homeschooling in Lithuania; and homeschooling in China:
(1) Home School: A Growth MarketΒ β R.J.Β Ballard Jr. (2024)
Abstract: The private home has long been the education center of school-aged children in the U.S., from the late 1700s until the early 1950s, when the government assumed responsibility for a child’s education, obligating parents to enroll their children in public school systems. Parents generally opposed the governmentβs interdiction into family affairs by way of mandated public-school attendance for children grades Kβ12, contending that children educated by the state result in the socialization of children consistent with state interests and values, which may not include many of the values, needs, and interests sought by parents that had historically reared and educated their children. The 2.6 million homeschooled students in March 2020 grew to nearly 5 million in March 2021, and when combined with U.S. private school enrollment during these periods, non-public school Kβ12 enrollment in the U.S. in 2021 totals 15 million, or approximately 30% of public-school enrollment of 49.4 million students. This qualitative, phenomenological study aimed to discover why an increasing number of parents of Kβ12 students in the U.S. are removing their children from public school education and homeschooling them. Homeschool and public-school Kβ12 students may have similar and distinct interests, needs, and values from one another that need to be considered in any form of education.
(2) Listen to the Parents: Homeschooling and Positive PsychologyΒ β O.Β GutermanΒ & L.M.Β Rodriguez (2024)
Abstract: The scope of homeschooling has increased significantly in recent years in several western countries. Studies of the subject have shed light on the perspective of parents who choose to homeschoolΒ β reasons for the choice, educational goals and actual resultsΒ β from their point of view. The research literature also teaches us about the perspectives of kids and adolescents who were raised in homeschooling regarding the same questions. Understanding these points of view indicates certain aspects that those who are educated at home perceive as most central. Some of the subjects included in these aspects are also central to the research on positive psychology, a field that has developed over the same period. The present article presents the findings regarding these aspects in the study of homeschooling and suggests possible links between them and the development of research on positive psychology. The article indicates several similarities and examines the possible theoretical and methodological contributions of a broader perspective of the two fields, as well as the potential benefit to the study of homeschooling in identifying the reasons for homeschooling, examining the results of homeschooling, and understanding the practice of families that homeschool.
(3) Functions of Parents Homeschooling Their Children: The Case of LithuaniaΒ β E.Β NaidaitΔΒ & E.Β StasiΕ«naitienΔ (2024)
Abstract: The origins of homeschooling can be traced back to the ideas of John Holt, an educational theorist and advocate of school reform in the 1970s, who argued that schools created an oppressive emotional environment and that education at schools aimed to make childrenβs achievements meet the standards required of compliant employees. Homeschooling is understood as an independent way of organising a form of individual learning, when the child is educated in a family and community environment using a variety of learning tools and environments. The number of homeschooled children is growing, and more and more parents are becoming interested in this form of education and in the legal aspects of its regulation. This article analyses the case of Lithuania. The aim of the article is to answer the questions of how homeschooling of children is organised and what functions parents perform in homeschooling. The qualitative research approach was chosen to analyse the experiences of parents homeschooling their children and to identify the functions of parents as educators.
(4) Homeschooling Among Urban Chinese Protestants: A Descriptive StudyΒ β S.Β Yang (2024)
Abstract: As individualized education increases in popularity, homeschooling likewise garners more attention from Chinese middle-class families. Over the past decade, the number of families choosing homeschooling has increased annually. However, most homeschooling Chinese Protestants wish to focus on the cultivation of beliefs, character, and values in the education of their children. In their eyes, homeschooling provides the best way to transmit cultural heritage.
Homeschooling brings with it many challenges and difficulties in the daily lives of Chinese Protestants: cross-pressure from traditional Chinese culture systems, opposition from parents and other family members, conflicts with mainstream educational institutions, and power struggles with Chinese secular authorities. Moreover, educational resources, guides, and materials for Chinese homeschooling families are scarce, thus leaving homeschooling families to grope in the dark. The biggest deterrent to them is the disqualification of their children from taking college entrance examinations because homeschooled children lack the requisite status to enroll as official students. Thus, the role conflicts among Chinese, Christian, pariah, and legal deviant statuses pose considerable tensions for parents and children.
This paper offers insight into these issues through qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 50 respondents from urban Chinese Protestant families that had previously been screened through a brief survey instrument.
What interesting homeschool news and academic research have you come across this Hercules Term?Β π
β‘β 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 KunzmanΒ & Gaither (2020), “Homeschooling: An Updated Comprehensive Survey of the Research.” π
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