For Phyllis Young Only

Literature Review for Homeschooling

Nashiera Free

Liberty University

Abstract

Homeschooling refers to education that is home-based or led by a parent. This form of education has been on the rise in the recent years. This has been attributed to many reasons. Most of these reasons emerge on the side of the parents. For instance, most parents are dissatisfied with the formal education provided by the government. This is among the reasons why parents are now opting for homeschooling. This paper will discuss facts relating to homeschooling, why parents are considering homeschooling, the benefits and drawbacks of homeschooling.

Key words: home education, philosophical traditions, scripture, virtue, homeschooling

Facts about Homeschooling

According to Ray (2015), homeschooling is home-based parent-led education. It is a tradition that was practiced decades ago, but it has found its way into the current mainstream education in the United States. It is the fastest growing form of education in the United States. This form of education is also growing very fast in other parts of the world. Some parts where this trend is being evident are the United Kingdom, Thailand, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Kenya, Japan, France, Hungary, Canada, and Australia. Ray goes on to state that families that are practicing homeschooling do not depend on tax funded resources and public for the education of their children. The finances that are associated with homeschooling represent approximately $24 billion, which most American taxpayers do not have to spend, yearly, because the children are not learning in public schools. Ray estimate that there are about 2.2 million learners who are home-educated in the United States. Also, approximately 1.73 to 2.35 million children were home educated in the United States during the spring of 2010. These children were in the grades K to 12.

What brought a new attention to this phenomenon of homeschooling is the victory of Rebecca Sealfon in the 1997 National Spelling Bee (Lyman, 1998; Spiegler, 2017)). Rebecca was a 13-year old child who was homeschooled. Lyman estimates the number of homeschooled children to reach 1.23 million. As per his argument, the number has been growing very fast. This is in the past 15 years. The idea of homeschooling is growing very fast in popularity among the minorities. From a survey that was carried out by Spiegler (2017), 15 percent of home educated families are non-Hispanic or non-Whites, that is, not white or Anglo.

According to Isenberg (2007), the professional education establishment has been taken by surprise due to reemergence of homeschooling. In the year 1985, there were about 50,000 children who were homeschooled. This figure went up come the year 1990. The number grew to 250,000 to 355,000 children. These estimates by Isenberg were based on three sources. These were state homeschool associations' estimates of their constituencies, distribution of curricular packages for homeschoolers, and data from state education agencies. The data from these sources were reliable at giving estimates of the number of children who were homeschooled at the time. This number tripled within a period of five years, that is, from 1991 to 1996 reaching about 700,000 homeschoolers. The population of homeschoolers is growing at a rate of 20 percent annually. There is no state in the United States where the number of homeschooled children is declining. It is difficult to give prediction when this growth will taper off. Isenberg estimated that with the growth rate that is being evident, there will be about 1.5 to 2 million homeschoolers by the year 2000-01. This is approximately 4 percent of school-aged children throughout the nation.

For a long time, private schools had have provided heavens for parents who were not comfortable with public school curriculum. The competitive impact of homeschooling is being felt by private schools. A survey carried out showed that among the largest number of learners who are being homeschooled were previously attending private schools (West, 2009). Private schools, which were based on the movement directed towards strong, vigorous, and unstructured learning, are losing many learners to liberal wing of homeschooling movement and to other public school-choice programs. Many Christian schools that emerged around 1960s have also lost a significant number of learners to homeschooling. Homeschooling is not a new practice or idea. Children have learned outside formal school setting for many years or centuries. This took place even when schools were available.

Reasons for Homeschooling

Many parents in the United States and other parts of the world are quickly losing faith in the American classroom. This has made homeschooling to become a serious alternative (Burke & Movement, 2009). A research that was carried out by Burke and Movement, found out that many parents are not satisfied with the performance of government-run schools. This has made parents in America to start teaching their children at home.

There are two historical reasons why some individuals have decided to go for homeschooling. Ray (2015), terms these two historical reasons are countercultural-left thread inspired by John Holt and a religious-right thread inspired by Raymond Moore (an author). The differences between the two displays some concerns that make parents decide to choose homeschooling. There are some parents who want religious value in education, some are against the conformity and bureaucracy in the schools, some worry about lack of discipline and many cases of crime in government schools, other believe that children are best educated by their parents, and there are others who are concerned with the declining quality of education.

Recently, there have been an increased number of homeschooled learners getting many admissions to selective colleges. This has signified the effectiveness and growth of homeschooling. Such a trend has made many parents to opt for homeschooling compared to private and public schools. The thing that most parents have realized is that homeschooling has very little government interference. Due to this, there has been the production of literate learners compared to those learning in government program. There is little regulation when it comes to homeschooling. This has made the work of parents to be very easy.

There are other parents who base their decisions relating to homeschooling on thinkers from a variety of philosophical traditions (Princiotta & Bielick, 2006; (Princiotta, Bielick, & Chapman, 2004). There are some philosophical thinkers who did not really favor formal due to some reasons. One example of these philosophical thinkers is John Locke. Locke argued that the primary aim of education was virtue. The best place to teach virtue was at home. Parents are now in pursuit of a liberal philosophy of education that was advocated by different educators. Among the educators is John Holt. Moreover, Holt also argues that the best form learning occurs without the existence of curriculum. He further stated that learners should pursue their interests with the encouragement and support of their parents’ other individuals.

Furthermore, even John Dewey did not argue for formal education. Dewy showed some regrets for formal education. Dewy stated, “a society is a number of people held together because they are working along common lines, in a common spirit, and with common aims.... The radical reason that the present school cannot organize itself as a natural social unit is because just this element of common and productive activity is absent” (Princiotta & Bielick, 2006). Dewey further argued that schools turned out to be so isolated from the normal motives and conditions of life. Also, they were set apart from the society. Formal schools were one place in the world where it is hard to attain experience. It is the mother of all discipline that is now only worth the name. Parents who are intelligent enough and know the needs of their children have the ability to supply the child will all the resources that are required for learning. The child will end up learning due to this support from the parent. This idea by Dewey was a form of recommendation for homeschooling. Formal schools had a rigid system.

According to Martin (1997), there are a number a reason why the parents consider home educating. Most youth and parents decide homeschooling is the best due to one reason or another. Among some of the reasons given for homeschooling is that homeschooling can be individualized or customized to create a learning environment and curriculum for each and every student. Other parents believe that it is possible to accomplish more academically when it comes to homeschooling compared to formal schooling. Additionally, home education makes use of pedagogical approaches that are effective even compared to those that are being used by normal institutional schools.

Family relationship between homeschooled learners and parents are enhanced due to homeschooling (Martin, 1997). The good relationship will also apply to others, such as siblings and relatives. With regards to homeschooling, it is possible for parents to provide reasoned and guided social interactions with adults and youthful peers during the process of learning. Moreover, a safe environment is provided for youth and children when it comes to homeschooling. This is because public and private schools are filled with things relating to unhealthy and improper sexuality, racism, psychological abuse, alcoholism, drugs, and physical abuse among others. Finally, it becomes possible to teach and impart a certain set of beliefs, worldview, and values to the learners through homeschooling (Martin, 1997).

The article by Princiotta and colleagues, “Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2003,” considers parents reactions with regards to homeschooling. According to their study, parents homeschool their children due to religious reasons (Princiotta et al., 2004). As per their perspective, religion is one major reason why parents decide to choose homeschooling over the other methods. Others are issues relating to special needs of learners, educational quality, and trust. The reasons are not limited to the ones mentioned since there are others who have issues when it comes to drugs in public schools and overcrowding, safety, prevent children from being exposed to negative peer pressure, and others want to be the ones who discipline their children.

Religion has been the dominant reason for homeschooling for many parents (Isenberg, 2007; Martin, 1997; West, 2009). A number of parents feel that their children are not getting ethical and moral training much less religious values in public schools of America. Homeschooling makes it very easier and possible for parents to pass on their spiritual values to children. Furthermore, it makes it easier for families to pass integrate their personal religious values and beliefs into different areas of curriculum. With homeschooling, it is possible to incorporate reading and scriptures during the process of learning. These are scriptures and readings that revolve around the Bible (Martin, 1997).

There are some learners who are having special needs. Caring for the needs of such children is easier through homeschooling. Parents feel that they can pay more attention to the needs of such children at home and give them education that is directly meant to meet their needs. Parents believe that this is a way of giving their children an opportunity to learn at their own pace and level without the need to bring about embarrassing comparison of learners. When it comes to gifted children, there are some parents who will homeschool them because they believe these children are not getting all the required attention in public schools. With homeschooling, gifted learners will have additional time or enough time to explore their talent as well as their academic interests.

Importance of Homeschooling

West (2009), states that there is an increased performance in homeschooling. According to a research he carried out, home educated learners score 15 to 30 percentile points above learners in public schools. This is when it comes to standardized achievement tests. The home educated learners score above average on achievement examinations irrespective of the level of formal education of the parents or the household income of the family (Martin, 1997; West, 2009). This is one good thing that is making most parents to consider homeschooling above other forms of schooling. The academic achievement of homeschooled children will not be determined by things, such as whether the parents are or were certified teachers. This good achievement makes homeschooled learners to be actively recruited by colleges even compared to learners who have attended formal institution. The ACT and SAT tests scores, which are always considered by colleges, for homeschoolers are usually above average. This is the reason why most colleges are considering homeschooled learners when it comes to admission.

Burke and & Movement, (2009), state that there is association between homeschooling and emotional, social, and psychological development of children. Homeschooling is doing well. It is performing above average, especially on measures touching on psychological, emotional, and social development. Some of the elements that were measured in this study were self-esteem, participation in community service, family cohesion, leadership skills, self-concept, and peer interaction. Home educated learners are usually involved in a number of activities, such as educational and social activities (West, 2009; Spiegler, 2017). These are activities that are outside their homes and with individuals that are other than their nuclear-family members. Some of the activities that they are commonly involved in are community volunteer work, sports teams, church ministry, political drives, 4-H, scouting, and field trips among others.

Spiegler (2017), discuses a number of benefits relating to homeschooling in his article, “Parents’ motives for home education: The influence of methodological design and social context.” Spiegler states that homeschooling promotes gender difference in learners and youth respected. According to this article, homeschooling makes it possible for learners for children to as question, such as who they are and what they really want (Spiegler, 2017). Through asking such questions and being able to answer them, girls develop the resistance abilities and strength, which gives them a strong sense of self that is very unusual. There are those who believe that the tendency to physical expression and energetic nature of boys can be accommodated easily in home-based schooling. Many individuals have raised their concerns because a large number of learners in public school special-education are boy. Also, boys with attention deficit hyperactivity are likely to be in public schools 2.5 times compared to girls.

Learners who were homeschooled are likely to have success in the real world of adult Lyman, (1998). According to survey based on adults who were home educated is growing. Among some that have been carried out, it has been found that adults who were homeschooled take part in local community services more often compared to those who attended formal learning. Also, these adults are more likely to attend and vote in public meetings more frequently compared to their counterparts. These individuals are likely to take part in challenges and succeed very easily.

Disadvantages of Homeschooling

One disadvantage of homeschooling is that it may put the learning of a learner at risk if the process is not properly carried out (Wahisi, 2012). A child will end up not learning anything if he or she is being tutored by one who lack the experience and capabilities of offering home education. This means that home education should be carried out by individuals who really who what they are doing and what is right or suited for a particular learner. Learning should be designed to meet the specific need of each and every learner.

According to Wahisi (2012), homeschooling encourages isolation. A child is isolated from other peers since he or she has to learn at home. The level of interaction between a child and other age mates is very low. Interaction is very important since it makes it possible for one learner to learn from the other learner. However, this interaction does not exist in homeschooling. A child who is being homeschooled will only interact most of the time with family members and individuals doing the tutoring.

Conclusion

Homeschooling is growing popularity in different parts of the world. There is a boom when it comes to the number of homeschooled children who are winning selective college admission. This among other factors is showing the effectiveness of homeschooling in the society. There are a number of reasons that parents are having supporting their move towards homeschooling. Some factors are influential compared to others. However, most of the parents are driven by the need to have a system that caters for religious or moral elements as well as a safe environment when it comes to learning.

This trend of homeschool learning is expected to increase for unforeseeable time. There are many benefits that are associated with homeschooling, such as better performance and specialized learning specifically designed for a learner. Even with all these benefits, the biggest concern related to homeschooling is reduced socialization of a child. However, this is a problem that can be solved very easily. Parents should plan activities to be carried out by their children and other children, such as the peers. Doing this will help do away with the biggest concern of homeschooling.

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