Research and Statistics for Managerial Decison Making

Today, it is not uncommon to hear of African American students being removed from the public-school classroom. This removal is not a result of bad behavior by the students, nor is it the authorities who are removing them. According to Noel, Stark, and Redford (2013), African American parents have steadily begun to homeschool their children and in fact, the number doubled from 1999 to 2012 (as cited in Ray, 2015, p. 71). This finding daringly lends support to other research conducted by scholars like Frederick M. Hess who found that by giving parents the right to select the source of education for their children, society would in fact increase the quality of education received by African Americans especially in areas where there is increased bureaucracy in schools and in mismanaged districts (Hess, 2010, p. 37-40). With the aforementioned in mind, a consideration of the reasons surrounding the choice by African American parents to homeschool their children and the impact on these children’s educational achievement is indeed necessary. Homeschooling of African American children can increase the probability of Black children’s academic achievement in the United States.

According to Ferguson (2008), In the United States, the documented academic achievement of African Americans is alarmingly low (as cited in Mazama, 2016). Research by Scott, Gage, Hirn and Han (2019), found that there is a clear gap between White and Black student success in schools within the America and the quality of teachers continue to play a prominent role in this gap. McGrady and Reynolds (2013) discovered that the perception of teachers on their students would vary based on the race and socioeconomic status of each one which would impact the interactions between the teacher and student (as cited in Scott et al., 2019, p. 23). While racial inequality is not the purpose of this study, its existence in schools and evidence supporting the favoritism of white teachers who make up the majority of educators in public schools emboldens the choice of African American parents to homeschool their children. The evidence of the unethical disparities may be only one of the causes of the poor academic performance of Black children in public schools yet there is some evidence pointing to the upward projection of Black children who are separated from these seemingly toxic learning environments called public schools.

Attending school is a requirement in the United States yet research continues to suggest that there is a variation in the methods in which students are taught and disciplined. This problem referenced is directed to an ethnic group which according to the United States Department of Education has increasingly begun transferring to the homeschool environment. While it is common to try to hide this bias, it has long been known that Black children have been subject to racial biases and treatment in an out of school. Even successful Black people are not associated with academic success but rather associated with fame either in sports or motion picture.

The poor dissemination of knowledge to African American students along with the poor treatment including constant negative feedback has affected the academic performance of these children. Scott et al. (2019) found that in a school setting, black students would receive seventy six percent (76%) more negative feedback than white students despite the behavior of either ethnic group. It was further suggested that this same group received less attention when knowledge was being imparted to the students. There is the additional problem of less than capable teachers being hired in schools with a high minority population or in high poverty areas. All of these factors may certainly impact the academic attainment of African American students. As more and more African American students are being homeschooled, there has been an increase in the academic performance of these students.

As education continues to play a large part in society and in ensuring that one has the means to succeed, it is imperative that all students can receive an equal opportunity. This study hopes to identify other underlying reasons for African American parents homeschooling their Black children along with a possible link between homeschooling and the academic achievement of African American children. If there is actually a correlation between homeschooling of African American students and academic attainment, then possibly more parents will be willing to do so, or the Department of Education can implement measures to improve the dissemination of knowledge in US schools.

The prominence of African American parents educating their Black children at home is evidenced by the ninety percent (90%) increase from 1999 to 2010 reported by the United States Department of Education, (2010). Ray (2015), suggested that accomplishing more academically was one of the corner stone reasons for this sharp increase in homeschooling by African American parents. Mazama and Lundy (2015) supported this with their finding that “African American parents choose to educate their children at home to protect them from the deleterious effects of the poor quality of education offered by most schools” (p. 36). A handshake between homeschooling and academic attainment was further extended when Ray (2015) found that Black children who are homeschooled usually scored at or above the 50th percentile in an array of courses compared to those who attended public schools and scored at or below the 30th percentile. The results of each of these arguments correlate but what is the link? An analysis of data from a population will be done to find a correlation and provide clarity to readers. Additionally, people who are randomly deciding to homeschool can make an informed decision.

This study will test the hypothesis that when African American children are homeschooled, they are more likely to perform better academically. The alternate hypothesis is that there is no correlation between being homeschooled and academic achievement.

RQ: Does the decision to homeschool African American children directly affect their success in academic achievement?

Ho1: There is no relationship between the decision to homeschool African American children and their academic achievement.

Ha1: There is a relationship between the decision to homeschool African American children and their academic achievement.

Are Black children who have been homeschooled more or less likely to realize academic achievement than those who attend public schools? What implications does the results of this study suggest? The purpose of this study is to find a correlation between homeschooling of African American children and the academic achievement of these children. The information derived from this study will provide African American parents with a sound basis for making a decision on whether or not this is a good choice for them.

Independent Variable: The decision to homeschool African American children. The group being studied will be African American students who are in the 12th grade or lower and are homeschooled. The independent variable will be used to determine the reasons behind the choice and the practices employed in the home school setting and the results achieved from this will affect the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable: Academic achievement of Black children. This will be measured by the grades and performance before and after being homeschooled. The dependent variable is affected by the independent variable, and these are the results that are measured in this study.

Intervening Variable: Demographic characteristics (Gender & Age). The age of the children being homeschooled may possibly affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

With the use of pie charts, histogram chart, the data derived from this study will be presented in a clear and meaningful way for any user to make an informed decision. The use of descriptive statistics will also play a key role in the success of this study. The data collected by the use of questionnaires will be used to establish a possibly link between homeschooling of African American children and the academic achievement of these children. The data will be collected from a diverse population of homeschooled children in and out of the Bronx. The researcher recognizes that there may be limitations to the study due to the narrow constraints of the target population. The results of the research may ideally aid African American parents who have children that are struggling academically in public schools and are looking for an alternative. With the limitations of the study in mind, the study may be very useful to readers inclusive of persons in the Department of Education who can make changes to help children not fortunate enough to be homeschooled.

The decision to homeschool children is often seen as a reactive approach taken by parents hoping to change a certain situation. Mazama and Lundy (2012), the broadness of the reasons for homeschooling renders the information around the decision useless. Clearly, while there has been considerable data derived from populations, the true reason for homeschooling is unclear. Some of these broad reasons identified include dissatisfactions with public schools, the needs of the household, academic, and racial biases (Mazama & Lundy, 2012). A focus on just the academic change seen in children who are homeschooled can lift the ambiguity around the idea and change the narrative of homeschooling.

Other research like that of Green and Hoover-Dempsey (2007), suggests that parents homeschool their children to be active in their child’s learning and as they hope to give them a wholistic learning experience unlike what is common in schools. Further Research by Knowles (1988), expressed that parents who may have had prior negative experiences in schools are more likely to homeschool their children (as cited in Green & Hoover-Dempsey, 2007). It is apparent that there is a pattern with these studies, as aforementioned they all suggest that homeschooling is a reactive decision made by parents. While this is true, the academic benefit of homeschooling is not to be ignored.

Homeschooling is not simply the act of parents keeping their children at home and teaching them whatever they feel like. According to Carlson (2020), there are associations which provide curricula, lesson plans and other educational material for parent who decide to homeschool. These resources along with an environment conducive to learning can potentially improve the academic success of children. Duvall, Delquadri, and Ward (2004) performed a sample study of four children where half attended public school and the other half being home schooled. The result of the study outlined that the academic engagement of the children being homeschooled was greater than that of the ones attending public school. Martin-Chang, Gould, and Meuse (2011), using a homeschool sample of (n = 25) found that two thirds of the sample performed academically better than another sample who utilized traditional learning. These clear supportive findings strengthen the argument that children who are homeschooled perform better academically than those who are not.

Maama and Lundy (2012), conducted 74 interviews across multiple states in the United States in an attempt to understand the homeschooling experience of African American children. The researcher found that the highest motivating factor for homeschooling was the quality of education. Other research has raised the question about socialization but a survey of 304 college students compared with a homeschooled population revealed that homeschoolers demonstrate a higher political and social tolerance than those who attend private and public schools (Cheng, 2014). Additional results from a sample of 732 homeschooled students and 732 traditional students from a population of (n = 824,940) confirmed that homeschooled students continue to surpass traditional students academically. The make-up of this population was general, and no particular ethnic group was highlighted.

For the purpose of this study a population of 30 families was surveyed and the variables considered included homeschooling of African American Children, the demographics of this population, and the academic achievement of African American children. A survey of 6 questions was used to obtain the data and descriptive statistics, regression analysis was used to interpret the data. The Survey used comprised of multiple-choice question with one question being open-ended. The survey was emailed to 30 participants of which 25 completed it and sent it back to the researcher. The data was then sorted and prepared for analysis through the use of the statistical software SPSS.

Figure 1 shows the gender of the participants. There were 25 participants, (68%) represent the females and (32%) represents the males.

Figure 1: Gender

Figure 2 shows the age range from 0 to 20 years. The data shows that (24%) represents 0-5yrs, (24%) represents 6-10yrs, (20%) represents 11-15yrs, and (32%) represents 16-20yrs.

Figure 2: Age Range

Regression analysis along with descriptive statistics will be utilized to process the data, the hypothesis will also be considered, and the research questions will be answered.

RQ: Does the decision to homeschool African American children directly affect their success in academic achievement?

Ho1: There is no relationship between the decision to homeschool African American children and their academic achievement.

Ha1: There is a relationship between the decision to homeschool African American children and their academic achievement.

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of independent variable

The study conducted in the State of New York City utilized participants who reside in the Bronx area. The range data showed that there is a relationship between the decision to homeschooling as it relates to homeschooling African American children. The mean of the decision towards homeschooling was (9.52) which shows that this has a high impact on homeschooling of African American children. Standard deviation represents how the mean data was shared. N represents the number of people who completed the questionnaire. The data was negatively skewed as reflected by the skewness in the table above (-0.76).

The data was further analyzed by conducting a regression analysis to determine is homeschooling of African American children affects their academic success. Table 2 displays the model summary. The correlation coefficient (R) of 0.0769 indicates that there is a positive relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The R square value of 0.0059 indicates that the independent variable accounts for 0.59% of the variation in academic improvement.

Table 2: Model Summary

Table 3 shows the statistical significance of using the regression analysis. The results show that the regression model accurately predicted the academic improvement. The p-value at the intercept was less than 0.05.

Table 3: ANOVA

The confidence level used in this analysis was 95%. At any value more than 0.05 on the distribution curve the Ho1 should be rejected The Significance of F is a reflection of the significance of the regression analysis and has the value of (0.72). The p-value of 0.0022 was less than 0.05 so we do not reject Ho1. The Data therefore shows that the decision to homeschool African American children will result in an improvement in their academic performance.

This study was designed to determine whether the decision to homeschool African American children affected their academic performance. The findings of the study suggest that there was a significant relationship between the decision to homeschool African American children and their academic performance. The survey showed that the majority of parents felt that they had seen a significant improvement in their child’s academic performance since they have been homeschooled. This was clearly supported by the data analysis.

References Carlson, J. F. (2020). Context and regulation of homeschooling: Issues, evidence, and assessment practices. School Psychology, 35(1), 10–19. https://doi-org/10.1037/spq0000335 Cheng, A. (2014). Does Homeschooling or Private Schooling Promote Political Intolerance? Evidence from a Christian University. Journal of School Choice, 8(1), 49–68. https://doi-org/10.1080/15582159.2014.875411 Green, C. L., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2007). Why Do Parents Homeschool? A Systematic Examination of Parental Involvement. Education and Urban Society, 39(2), 264–285. Hess, M. F. (2010). Does school choice “work”? National Affairs, 5, 35-53. Mazama, A. (2016). African American Homeschooling Practices: Empirical Evidence. Theory and Research in Education, 14(1), 26–44. Mazama, A., & Lundy, G. (2013). African American Homeschooling and the Quest for a Quality Education. Education and Urban Society, 47(2), 160-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124513495273. Mazama, A., & Lundy, G. (2012). African American Homeschooling as Racial Protectionism. Journal of Black Studies, 43(7), 723–748. https://doi-org/10.1177/0021934712457042 Ray, B. (2015). African American Homeschool Parents’ Motivations for Homeschooling and Their Black Children’s Academic Achievement. Journal of School Choice, 9, 71-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2015.998966 Scott, T. M., Gage, N., Hirn, R., & Han, H. (2019) Teacher and student race as a predictor for negative feedback during instruction. School Psychology, 34(1), 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000251 United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Table 40. Number and percentage of homeschooled students ages5 through 17 with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through 12th grade, by selected child, parent, and household characteristics: 1999, 2003, and 2007.Homeschooling in the United States: 2003; and Parent Survey (Parent:1999) and Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (PFI:2003 and PFI:2007) of the National Household Education Surveys Program. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_040.asp.

Percentage

0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 0.24 0.24 0.2 0.32

Age Group

Percentage

Male Female 8 17