What Is the Number One Reason Parents Home School Their Children?

Homeschooling Quality of Education

The Need for and the Purpose of the Project

The Subproblems

Definitions and Abbreviations of Terms

Books

Methodology for investigating problems identified as subproblems

Note on the Anti-Homeschooling Debate

Specific data by subproblem

Conclusion by subproblem

Subproblem one

Subproblem two

Subproblem three

Sources Cited

Growth in Homeschooling, 1978-1999

NCES Reasons for Homeschooling

The Need for and the Purpose of the Project

Homeschooling is providing a child's main educational program at home. (Webster) Homeschooling takes the place of full-time school attendance, whether at public or private schools, and should meet all the state requirements for each grade and for graduation from high school and the interim graduations, such as middle-school and so on.

Homeschooling is not a new idea, but rather one that has returned to the forefront of educational discussion in the past generation.

Until public education became widely available in the United States during the late nineteenth century, most children were educated at home. The children of the wealthy had tutors, who often taught them what they needed to know to attend universities.

The children of those who were a bit less well off might go to a church or private school, but often, formal education for those children ended long before university attendance was a possibility.

The children of the poor often learned little more than basic reading, writing and arithmetic, if that.

Once public education became a function of government, standards accompanied that education, but so did problems. For example, a common standard was that children are not ready for first grade until they have reached the age of six years. But some children are ready a year earlier, some a year later. Those ready a year earlier would do fine and, in fact, would probably excel. Those ready a year later (and often that just meant their sixth birthday came very close to the 'must be six years old by' date, making the child e effectively as much as half a year, or more, younger than the most ready children in the class. Chances are those children would have a harder time with the required material.

Some children do well in crowds; others are loners. Some children excel in mental pursuits, others in physical. And yet, the standards set by the states say each child must attain minimal competence in all required subjects in order to move on to the next grade and graduate.

It was inevitable that some parents would seek to tailor their children's education to the child, and begin to homeschool the child.

The need for this project is to see how prevalent homeschooling has become, and to determine the primary reason for homeschooling today in the United States.

The Statement of the Problem

The problem is to determine what the foremost reason for parents to choose homeschooling is in the United States at present, and to determine whether or not the objections to homeschooling that are often raised have any validity. Among those objections are: lack of academic skills; lack of physical education opportunities, and; lack of socialization.

The Subproblems

The first subproblem is to determine whether or not parents choose homeschooling because of religious reasons. If so, are they choosing homeschooling because of what is being taught (for example, Darwinism in public schools) or what isn't (for example, anything about religion at all, including even a moment of silent meditation)?

The second subproblem is to determine whether or not parent chooses homeschooling because they have a child with a learning disability. The question has been raised: are parents creating what it tantamount to a learning disability by not allowing their child to go to a public or private school and, through interaction with the other children, develop skills that will assist in their development later on?

The third subproblem is to determine whether or not parents are choosing homeschooling because they are concerned about the quality of the education their children are receiving or would receive in a public school.

The Hypotheses

The first hypothesis is that religion is not the main reason parents choose to homeschool their children.

The second hypothesis is that parents choose homeschooling because public schools, in many cases, are not able to provide the sort of education their child's learning style or ability (or disability) might require.

The third hypothesis is that educational quality is the main reason parents decide to homeschool their children.

Definitions and Abbreviations of Terms

The term homeschooling means to provide essentially all of a child's educational experiences at home, or on field trips organized by the homeschooling parent, or through study groups and opportunities made possible through cooperatives of homeschooling families.

The spelling homeschooling was chosen over home schooling or home-schooling because it then appears as a single term on a par with schooling. The other choices might leave open the possibility of contrasting the term with public schooling (or public-schooling) and private schooling (or private-schooling.) Because the thrust of this research is to determine facts about teaching/learning done at home rather than at either sort of institution, it was thought best to make the comparison with schooling in general rather than the two other specific subtypes.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The following is a list of some books and journals, though by no means all, which help to clarify the reasons for homeschooling in the United States.

Books

Ballman, Ray E. The How and Why of Home Schooling. Rev. Ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway books, 1995. This book provides an overview of the reasons for home schooling and adds information about how to do it. It has a helpful appendix that lists many homeschooling resources.

Lopez, Diane. Teaching Children: A Curriculum Guide to What Children Need to Know at Each Level Through Grade Six. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1988. This has much practical information about how to homeschool, but also tackles, in some depth, how to develop a Christian worldview, which may limit its usefulness to some.

Macaulay, Susan Schaeffer. For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1984. Again, very Christian in its outlook, dealing more with questions about the nature of education, but doing so in a decidedly Christian manner.

Moore, Raymond S. And Dorothy N. Better Late than Never: A new Approach to Your Child's Education. New York: Reader's Digest Press, 1975. This was an early exposition of the psychological argument that it is best to teach children at home, at least through their early years.

Ray, Brian D., Ed.

Home Centered Learning: An Annotated Bibliography

4th ed. This compilation of more than 900 entries concerning homeschooling research is available form National Home Education Research Institute, P.O. Box 13939, Salem, OR 97309.

Ray, Brian D. Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling: Fact and Stats on the benefits of Home School, 2002-2003. Salem, Ore.: National Home Education Research Institute, 2003.

This volume has a multitude of uses, from discussions that may help parents decide whether to home school, to profiles of homeschooling communities worldwide.

It may be useful to journalists and researchers as well as homeschooling parents.

Journals

Home School Researcher. It is published by and available from the National Home Education Research Institute, address above. It chronicles recent research on homeschooling.

Education Policy Analysis Archives. This is a peer-reviewed scholarly electronic journal edited by Gene V. Glass, College of Education, Arizona State University.

Summary

By and large, the bulk of homeschooling information is either in support of homeschooling, or in support of homeschooling with the added information needed for parents to begin homeschooling. Much of the printed material, whether in paper or electronic form, assumes a bias on the part of the reader in favor of homeschooling, if the reader is not, in fact, already homeschooling or planning to, and in need of further information.

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

General Methodology cursory glance at both books in libraries and on bookstore shelves makes it clear that there are very few 'anti-homeschooling' published works to be easily had, with the bulk of publishing regarding homeschooling consisting of pro-homeschooling popular books and homeschooling 'how-to' books. It would not help the advancement of these hypotheses to study those volumes.

However, there is abundant information on websites from those specifically aimed at promoting homeschooling, to those dealing with debate-worthy subjects in many disciplines to government-sponsored sites that have done studies of who homeschools and why. Thus the answers to the hypotheses, absent conducting a nationwide original survey project, was likely to be found on those sites. They have been consulted for both statistical and explanatory material.

Methodology for investigating problems identified as subproblems

Specific Treatment of Subproblem One

Specific Treatment of Subproblem Two

Specific Treatment of Subproblem Three

All three subproblems were treated similarly. Searches were conducted using key words relevant to each subproblem/hypothesis. Often, the same material was returned for one, two or even all three of the ideas, regardless of keyword. That is because, it is assumed, there is no research that found a single reason for homeschooling, although many found clusters of reasons. Within those clusters, all three of the subproblems, or a combination of two of them, was likely to be found.

Note on the Anti-Homeschooling Debate

CNN online article from more than two years ago mentioned a National Education Association (NEA) commentary against homeschooling. It read:

The National Education Association, the nation's largest public-school teachers' union, has an official resolution stating that 'home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.'

The NEA advocates a requirement that only "persons licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency" be allowed to home school and that the curriculum should be approved by the state department of education.

Correspondent Charles Zewe and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris.

A search of the NEAWeb site in July, 2003, revealed the link had been broken.

A further search of the NEA Web site revealed no discussions currently regarding homeschooling. A complete list of NEA topics on its NEA on the Issues page, on July 12, 2003, included these, in toto (annotated where appropriate):

Accountability and Testing

Charter Schools

Class Size

ESEA ("No Child Left Behind" Act)

International Issues

Mathematics

National Board Certification

No Child Left Behind" Act

Priority Schools

Privatization

Reading

Rural Education

School Modernization

School Quality

NEA is committed to doing all it can to make public schools great for every child. Learn what makes for a quality school as well as how NEA's KEY's Initiative is helping educators, parents and community members improve their local schools.

School Safety

Special Ed/IDEA

Social Security

Teacher Quality

The National Education Association works with researchers, educators and policymakers to assure a qualified, competent, caring educator in every American classroom. NEA's commitment to teacher quality extends to each critical component of the teacher development continuum, including the quality of teacher education programs, the quality of beginning teachers and the continuing quality of experienced teachers.

Teacher Shortage

Technology in Schools

Title IX

Vouchers

CHAPTER 4

THE PRESENTATION OF THE DATA

Background

As of 2001, about 1.5 to 1.9 million U.S. children were being homeschooled, a number equal to about two percent of all U.S. school-aged children.

Growth in Homeschooling, 1978-1999

NEHRI Web site)

Some estimates also say homeschooling is growing at between ten and 20% per year. "Teaching specific philosophical or religious values, controlling social interactions, developing close families, and high level academics are the most common reasons for home schooling," were given as the most frequent reasons cited.

Whatever the reasons, it is apparent that, as many researchers claim, homeschooling has become more popular over more than the last two decades, as this chart reveals.

Coping with learning disabilities is not mentioned in the NEHRI report. The social/academic histories of the parents are linked to the choice more often than are the needs of the child. "One researcher (Knowles, 1988) has linked the life histories (e.g., positive or negative experiences) of parents to their rationales for home educating their own children."

In the aftermath of the Columbine High School events, some parents also cited safety as a reason for homeschooling. Writer Jillian Lloyd, writing in June, 1999, in the Christian Science Monitor, reported that inquiry calls to Christian Home Educators of Colorado, that state's larges homeschooling advocacy group, had more than quadrupled in the wake of those events. Lloyd also reported that the group's public relations coordinator, who homeschools her own children, cautioned that homeschooling was a "way of life" and to be successful, had to be based on a lot more than safety issues.

Three more cogent possible issues -- religious concerns, disabilities and academic achievement -- were identified in the beginning of this project, and research was conducted to locate material to develop cogent and likely answers for all three subproblems. Searches for support each of the three hypotheses were also conducted. Abundant material, both Internet-originated and reprinted on Internet sites from print journals, both popular and academic, was located. Many of the more highly developed sites/materials are referenced here. Others, however, reinforced the main hypotheses, although they were merely repetitive of the primary sources used here and so were not specifically cited.

It is easy to find reference material citing religion as a reason for homeschooling. For example, a Web site called Citizen Link and maintained by and organization called Focus on the Family, sets the tone for that issue on its home page:

We believe that home schooling provides an important option for parents who want to educate their children within the context of the family. Home schooling allows parents to provide their children with the security, love and guidance they need during their early years of learning. Parents can also alter the pace and style of their children's education according to their developmental needs. In addition, research indicates that children who are home schooled can learn as well or better than children in formal schooling. Home schooling also allows parents to provide their children with an integrated Christian education about all aspects of life.

The organization covers a lot of ground, but its concluding 'mission statement' thought makes it clear this is not research, but propaganda. Sources used for finding statistical evidence for one hypothesis or another did not display an obvious bias.

Specific Data by Subproblem

Subproblem One

To restate the first subproblem:

The first subproblem is to determine whether or not parents choose homeschooling because of religious reasons. If so, are they choosing homeschooling because of what is being taught (for example, Darwinism in public schools) or what isn't (for example, anything about religion at all, including even a moment of silent meditation)?

A report from the National Homeschooling Educational Research Institute (NHERI) indicated that early studies suggested the most common reasons parents gave for homeschooling their children were moral or religious reasons.

CNN report from June, 1999, also cites religion as one major reason for homeschooling.

Other parents cite religious guidelines, the desire to spend more time with their kids, a better education, concern about morals taught at school and fear of school violence.

The story was about a woman who had chosen to homeschool her children after realizing her children had "different learning needs and different learning styles." (CNN, Web site)

The story said that Ramona Peterson looked into home schooling after realizing that her children had "different learning needs and different learning styles." The story itself, however, pointed to yet another reason for homeschooling. The title of the article was "School violence helps spur rise in home schooling." (CNN Web site)

To restate the second subproblem:

The second subproblem is to determine whether or not parents choose homeschooling because they have a child with a learning disability. The question has been raised: are parents creating what it tantamount to a learning disability by not allowing their child to go to a public or private school and, through interaction with the other children, develop skills that will assist in their development later on?

In all the Web sites surveyed, and in the studies that produced significant information regarding reasons for homeschooling, learning disabilities was rarely mentioned as a reason for homeschooling. However, although there were low numbers of responses by parents giving learning disabilities as a reason for homeschooling, when those students were homeschooled, there were benefits.

A study by NHERI, found that:

Research comparing home educated to public school learning disabled students found higher rates of academic engaged time and greater academic gains were made by the home educated..".. [P]arents, even without special education training, provided powerful instructional environments at home...." (Facts on Homeschooling 11)

To restate the third subproblem:

The third subproblem is to determine whether or not parents are choosing homeschooling because they are concerned about the quality of the education their children are receiving or would receive in a public school.

The NEHRI report cited above regarding subproblem one is useful again here. It stated that "a desire for high educational achievement, dissatisfaction with public schools' instructional program, and concerns about school environment, including safety, drugs, and peer pressure" are the next most important reasons parents gave for homeschooling their children. (NHERI Web site, referencing Lines 2000a, Grubb 1998, Mayberry 1991)

The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), an agency of the federal government, supported educational achievement as a primary reason for parents to choose to homeschool. In one study conducted by NCES:

Parents gave a wide range of reasons for homeschooling in the Parent-NHES:1999 3. Parents were asked to list their reasons for homeschooling and could provide as many reasons as applied. The reasons parents gave were coded into 16 categories and included better education, religious reasons, and poor school environment. (NCES HomeSchool Web page)

The following graphic from NCES sums up the findings regarding all three subproblems. It shows that clearly, the third subproblem is the one of most concern to parents making the decision to homeschool. The first subproblem comes in second, although there is a ten-point spread. And surprisingly, perhaps, the second subproblem -- learning disabilities -- is last out of ten.

NCES Reasons for Homeschooling

National Center for Education Statistics)

Just because parents choose academic issues as a reason for homeschooling is not, however, sufficient reason by itself to assume that successful academic achievement, or any other educational factor, is the result.

However, the same researchers, by and large, have concluded that it is both the reason chosen by parents for homeschooling, and it results in superior academic, and allied, achievement.

List of Homeschooling Academic Achievements

From NHERI Home Education Fact Sheet)

Nor is this the only group that has done research indicating there is no problem with the academic achievement of homeschooled students. The Education Policy Analysis Archives published "Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998" by Lawrence M. Rudner. In it, Rudner said the results of the largest survey and testing program for homeschooled students (20,760 K-12 home school students in 11,930 families) to that date (Spring, 1998) revealed:

the achievement test scores of this group of home school students are exceptionally high -- the median scores were typically in the 70th to 80th percentile; 25% of home school students are enrolled one or more grades above their age-level public and private school peers; this group of home school parents has more formal education than parents in the general population; the median income for home school families is significantly higher than that of all families with children in the United States; and almost all home school students are in married couple families. Because this was not a controlled experiment, the study does not demonstrate that home schooling is superior to public or private schools and the results must be interpreted with caution. The report clearly suggests, however, that home school students do quite well in that educational environment. (Abstract)

It appears that there is abundant evidence to support the contention that homeschooled children do attain excellent academic achievement, not matter what the underlying reason their parents chose to homeschool them.

Other data developed by NHERI reveal that when 16,311 students nationwide were tested with the nationally normed Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the nationwide average for the homeschooled students was the 77th percentile overall. In reading, they were at the 79th percentile on average, and the 73rd in math. The national average for traditionally educated students is the 50th percentile overall.

Of course, this study cannot correct for any skewing that may be caused by the intellectual caliber of homeschooled students vs. The general public school student population. It cannot evaluate whether the homeschooled students enjoy a family with a greater than average capacity for academic success, nor whether that predisposes parents toward homeschooling. No studies were found to deal with that issue.

The same NHERI article revealed that a Canadian study revealed similar findings regarding academic success of the homeschooled. Dr. Brian Ray found students scoring, on average, at the 80th percentile in language, the 79th in math.

The really instructive portion of those findings, however, was that the students whose parents were certified teachers did no better than those whose parents were not certified teachers.

CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

Conclusion by subproblem

Subproblem one

This subproblem was concerned with determining whether religion was the, or one of the, main reasons parents chose homeschooling.

The research revealed that is was often a very important reason, but perhaps not so primary as early research by NHERI had suggested.

Later research by NCES placed it in the number two spot.

Subproblem two

This subproblem was concerned with the possibility that a primary reason, or the primary reason, parents chose homeschooling was to cope with learning disabilities.

There is very little to support this claim in NHERI or NCES research, or in a number of anecdotal reports in the popular press.

Subproblem three

This subproblem was concerned with investigating the possibility that parents were choosing to homeschool their children because they didn't feel the children would or could attain the desired level of academic achievement in, particularly, the public schools.

Even a brief survey of the literature and the studies by NHERI and NCES indicate that this may be the primary reason for the rise in homeschooling.

Summary

It is apparent that of the three subproblems, two were found to contain significant veracity in fact, and one was almost entirely absent from the reasons given for homeschooling. If one is to take the results of homeschooling, then, hands down, the investigation into subproblem three reveals that academic achievement is the overwhelming reason parents choose to homeschool. Further, it is necessary to note that this bonus is likely to appeal to parents investigating homeschooling for other reasons if they are aware of it. The fact that a significant study by a respected organization concluded that the homeschooling parent need not be a certified teacher to attain excellent results will probably encourage more parents to homeschool. It would be reasonable to believe that some who would have liked to homeschool, for whatever reasons, have failed to do so because they mistrusted their own credentials/abilities.

Recommendations

There are two sets of recommendations that arise from this project.

The first set applies to those who would like to investigate homeschooling for their own children.

Any parent who wishes to homeschool his or her children will find that, with the growth of the activity, more and more sources are available, both for advice and, later, for instructional materials. Some of the latter are collected in the Appendices to this report. If a parent has a strong desire to homeschool, and a willingness to make the lifestyle changes required according to experts, then there is likely no reason not to do so.

The second set of recommendations applies to those concerned about public education. It is significant that the NEA has chosen to remove all references to homeschooling from its Web site. A few years ago, commentary was regularly forthcoming from the NEA concerning the evils of homeschooling. However, it is likely that the NEA, too, has seen the abundant evidence in favor of the results of homeschooling, both academically and in the other areas of a student's life that are regularly studied and evaluated by institutions of higher learning and so on. In short, even the argument that homeschooling creates socially and physically inept individuals does not hold up, at least as far as the research procured for this report. It would be wise for mainstream educators, if they are concerned as well about the future of and respect for public education, to do two things. First, they would be advised to study homeschooling and see if there are any techniques that will translate well to classroom situations. Second, they might begin to close the divide by offering various services and points of contact between homeschooled and public schooled students and parents.

APPENDICES

Appendix A Here is a set of questions, developed by NHERI, to which parents considering homeschooling might want to develop answers before beginning to homeschool.

Why do people homeschool?

What are current trends in homeschooling, and what is its history?

How are homeschooled students doing academically?

What about socialization?

Are homeschooled students getting into college?

I am I capable, as a parent, of teaching my own children?

What about teaching advanced subjects like algebra?

What about special-needs children?

What about gifted children?

How do homeschooled children fare in the "real world"?

What about teenagers who want to homeschool?

Is homeschooling right for us and our family?

How do we get started homeschooling?

Appendix B

Following are brief descriptions of organizations useful to homeschooling parents and respected for their research in education.

National Homeschooling Education Research Institute:

The mission of NHERI is three-fold:

Produce high-quality research on home-based education.

Serve as a clearinghouse of research for homeschoolers, researchers, and policy makers.

Educate the public concerning the findings of all research on home education.

Whether called homeschooling, home schooling, home-based education, home education, unschooling, deschooling, or a form of alternative education, the movement is growing and the National Home Education Research Institute is tracking and analyzing it, internationally. NHERI's forte is in the realm of research, statistics, technical reports, data, facts, demographics, the academic world, consulting, academic achievement tests, and expert witness while serving people ranging from researchers and policy makers to professional educators, teachers, homeschoolers (home schoolers), and parents in general to the media, marketing consultants, and the general public.

NHERI was founded by its president http://www.nheri.org/

National Home Education Research Institute, Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., President; P.O. Box 13939; Salem, OR 97309; Ph: 503 / 364-1490; Fax: 503 / 364-2827.

Christian Home Educators Association, P.O. Box 2009 Norwalk, CA 90651-2009, 310/864-2432. This organization provides training and resources to home schooling parents, support group and seminars, a monthly magazine, curriculum manual, and updated information on legislative and legal issues through a monthly newsletter.