research essay

The benefits of Home over School Learning

Introduction

Since time immemorial, learning has either taken place in a classroom setting or at home, the former prevailing over the latter and the trend has become generally acceptable. Remarkably, each of the methods has its fair share of merits, as well as demerits, and the choice of either depends on the prevailing circumstances. However, home learning is gradually proving to be a feasible alternative on the basis of its merits.

A Discussion of My Subject

My major is economics and it entails the use of limited resources to meet the unlimited human wants and needs. Due to scarcity, it introduces the aspects of choice to select the actual need to fulfill first while others come later, and opportunity cost, which is the value of the second-best foregone alternative. Other aspects considered in the field include utility, which is the value of a good or service to satisfy human wants, while the consideration of income levels takes precedence to determine the purchasing power of individuals. The amount of money that individuals have determined demand, which is the quantity of the commodities that buyers are willing to buy, while supply is the quantity that suppliers are willing to supply to the market. The forces of demand and supply influence the prices of commodities.

Research Topic

My research topic of interest is homeschooling and I find the concepts therein interesting as the trend is rapidly taking shape in the modern world. Some people continually feel that formal schooling that involves the attendance of learning facilities has numerous challenges and they resort to studying at home. Moreover, the trend is associated with saving and economic concepts as it eliminates the payment of hefty school fees and other costs associated with learning processes in formal schools (Rodriguez, 2011). In some cases, however, the outcome proves better than that of learners in the formal schools. Other than benefits, the development has its share of limitations.

Research Question

The research question is whether homeschooling is better than learning in a school setting and it evaluates the advantages as well as disadvantages of each of the options.

A Summary of the Major Issues

As an illustration, the former involves reduced cost in the elimination of the need to travel, maintain classrooms, hire full-time teachers, and engage in mandatory co-curricular activities. The other merit is that it eliminates unnecessary competition and the effect of making some learners feel that they have limited capability due to persistent poor ranking. In a similar manner, it gets rid of some irrelevant examinations that cause unnecessary stress to learners, sometimes even causing them to develop stress and engage in self-annihilation. Above all, the learner enjoys the opportunity to learn at their convenience and the comfort of their homes, allowing them to take royal naps in case of exhaustion (Niklas & Schneider, 2017). Furthermore, no strict schedules exist as flexibility is exercised according to the situations of the learner and instructor. A limitation, however, is that the learners hardly develop social skills and interaction becomes a problem, while the instructors may not be available for long enough like it happens in school settings. Conversely, the learners hardly develop strict discipline as it happens in schools.

School learning, on the other hand, has a share of merits, the first one being that knowledge acquisition takes place in an environment that is specifically designed for learning, with minimal disruptions and distractions for increased concentration, while the second one is the availability of a broad variety of instructors to bring in the needed expertise and a mix of talent. In a similar manner, the strict schedules that learners have to adhere to increase their discipline levels and respect for authority, while a mix of learners and playtime enhances the learners’ social skills and interactivity (Ogbu, 2017). Moreover, many of the activities undertaken prepare the learners for responsible adulthood life. A limitation, however, is high cost for the maintenance of the facilities, while the mix of learners may lead to the corruption of good morals. Again, the overcrowded classrooms make the delivery of content hard, while exposing learners to communicable diseases.  

References

Galbraith, J. K. (2017). Economics in perspective: A critical history. Princeton University Press.

Niklas, F., & Schneider, W. (2017). Home learning environment and development of child competencies from kindergarten until the end of elementary school. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 263-274.

Ogbu, J. U. (2017). Understanding cultural differences and school learning. Education Libraries, 16(3), 7-13.

Rodriguez, E. T., & Tamis‐LeMonda, C. S. (2011). Trajectories of the home learning environment across the first 5 years: Associations with children’s vocabulary and literacy skills at prekindergarten. Child Development, 82(4), 1058-1075.