HYBRID HOMESCHOOLS: Why Parents Choose Them

Record: Eric Wearne, “A Descriptive Survey of Why Parents Choose Hybrid Homeschools.” Journal of School Choice, 10, No. 3 (2016): 364-380. [Abstract / Modified Version Available Here]

Summary: Eric Wearne is Assistant Professor of Education at Georgia Gwinnett College. In this article he investigates the phenomenon of hybrid (part-time) homeschooling.

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CLASH OF TWO WORLD VIEWS: Homeschoolers’ Perceptions of Education

Record: Ari Neuman and Oz Guterman, “The clash of two world views – a constructivist analysis of home educating families’ perceptions of education.” Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 24, No. 3 (2016): 359-369. [Abstract]

Summary: Neuman is senior lecturer of education at Western Galilee College, in Akko, Israel, and Guterman is senior lecturer in the Department of Human Resources at the same university. In this article, they discuss the results of a study in which they interviewed 30 homeschooling mothers to discover the impact of homeschooling on the women’s children and families.

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EXTENDED SCHOOL NON-ATTENDERS: Developing Best Practice

Record: Isabel Rose Gregory and Anita Purcell, “Extended School Non-Attenders’ Views: Developing Best Practice.” Educational Psychology in Practice, 30, No. 1 (2014), 37-50. [Abstract]

Summary: This article from the UK by Isabel Rose Gregory from the West Berkshire Educational Psychology Service and Anita Purcell from the National Educational Psychology Service is not about home education but rather extended school nonattendance. The authors aim to identify the key concerns and experiences of extended school non-attenders in order to inform the service delivery of the Educational Psychology Services (EPS), an institution that attempts to successfully include all children within mainstream school settings.

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NCES HOMESCHOOLING DATA: 2012 Complete Report

Record: Jeremy Redford, Danielle Battle, Stacey Bielick, and Sarah Grady, Homeschooling in the United States: 2012, (NCES 2016-096) (U.S. Department of Education: Washington, D.C., 2016) [Available Here]

Introduction: Every four or five years, the National Household Education Survey developed by the National Center for Education Statistics includes questions about homeschooling. This survey provides us with the best information available about homeschooling because it is consists of a representative, randomized sample of the entire American population. In 2013, we summarized some preliminary findings from this 2012 data-set; however, we now have the complete findings at our disposal. As I summarize this article, I will be making frequent reference to the previous survey from 2007, which we summarized here.

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AFRICAN AMERICAN HOMESCHOOLING PRACTICES: Empirical Evidence

Record: Ama Mazama, “African American Homeschooling Practices: Empirical Evidence.” Theory and Research in Education, 14, No. 1 (2016): 26-44. [Abstract]

Summary: Mazama, one of the leading researchers on African American homeschooling, is Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Programs of the Department of African American Studies at Temple University. In this article, she seeks to investigate the daily instructional practices of African American homeschoolers.

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VIRTUAL SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.: A Comprehensive Analysis (2015 Update)

Record: Alex Molnar, ed., Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2015: Politics, Performance, Policy, and Research Evidence (Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center, 2014). [Available Here]

Introduction: This report is the third in an annual series published by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC). The first report in 2013 was followed by the 2014 report, which was reviewed on this blog here. If you have not done so before, I recommend reading the in-depth 2014 review first because this post will only cover the information that has been updated for 2015.

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AFRICAN AMERICAN HOMESCHOOLERS: Parental Motivations and Student Achievement

Record: Brian Ray, “African American Homeschool Parents’ Motivations for Homeschooling and Their Black Children’s Academic Achievement” in Journal of School Choice, 9, no. 1 (2015): 71-96. [Abstract]

Summary: Brian D. Ray is the founder and current president of the National Home Education Research Institute. In this study he explores the academic achievement of Black homeschool students in grades 4 through 8 as well as their parents’ motivations for homeschooling. The rate of Black homeschoolers nearly doubled from 1999 to 2012, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In that time, many Black parents became actively involved in the choice of their children’s school. Ray ponders why so many African Americans are choosing homeschooling when they fought so hard to be mainstreamed into the public-school system.

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INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON HOME EDUCATION: Do We Still Need Schools?

International Perspectives of Home Education discusses home-based education in a wide variety of countries such as the UK, USA, Australia, Israel, Afghanistan, Norway, Germany and more. The volume was edited by Paula Rothermel, a UK academic in the field of home education. She is Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and Elected Associated Fellow of the British Psychological Society (ABPS). She also coordinates the International Network for Research into Home Education, a global community of scholars interested in home education research.

 

Over the next several weeks, all 21 chapters will be reviewed in order. Links will be added as reviews are posted. Here follows a table of contents for the volume:

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HOME EDUCATING PARENTS: Martyrs or Pathmakers?

Record: Leslie Safran Barson, “Home Educating Parents: Martyrs or Pathmakers?” in International Perspectives on Home Education (2015): 21-29. [Table of Contents]

Summary: This article is part of a series of reviews on the book International Perspectives on Home Education. Barson is a homeschooling mother who went on to get her PhD in Education. Here she discusses the sacrifices that parents make to homeschool their children.

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MATHEMATICAL LEARNING WITHIN THE HOME ENVIRONMENT: Views of Parents and Children

Record: Noraisha Yusof, “Parental and Children’s Views on Mathematical Learning within the Home Environment” in International Perspectives on Home Education (2015): 44-56. [Table of Contents]

Summary: This article is part of a series of reviews on the book International Perspectives on Home Education. Yusof was home educated in the UK for 16 years before receiving a PhD in mathematics from Warwick University. Here she presents the results of a semi-structured questionnaire about how the parents’ approach to home education affected their children’s views and understanding of math.

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