Home education

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Home education (also called homeschooling (US), home learning or homeschool) is the education of children at home, typically by parents or guardians, rather than in a public or private school. Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, with only a small portion of the population attending schools or employing tutors or governesses. Currently, the great majority of children in developed nations receive their formal education in public and private schools.

Contents 1 Description 2 Families' motivations 2.1 Number of learners 2.1.1 In the UK 2.1.2 In the US 2.1.3 In Canada 2.1.4 In Australia 2.1.5 In New Zealand 3 Alternative education practices and the Environment 4 References 5 See also 5.1 Internal links 5.2 External links 5.3 Bibliography 6 Notes and references

[edit] Description

Homeschooling may refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. In some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are to be home-schooled. A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling may be called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator John Holt in his magazine Growing Without Schooling.

[edit] Families' motivations

In many places homeschooling is a legal option for parents who wish to provide their children with a different learning environment than exists in nearby schools.

• Possible constraints :
  • Some of these families make this choice on religious grounds.
  • Many do it because of a dissatisfaction with the schools in their area or with the institutional effect of school in general.
  • Others do it because their children are being bullied and abused by other children or teachers.
  • Some may feel the school rhythm is not adequate one way or the other (hyperactivity of the child, autism or else high potential and IQ).
  • It is also an alternative for families living in isolated rural locations and those who, for practical or personal reasons, choose not to have their children attend school.
  • Others need to organize their time to practice music or sports at a high level.
• A shared goal :
  • Adapting the training to the young according to his/her intellectual or biological rhythm to ensure sound progress.
  • Letting the young grow unconstrained, enjoying attention and free speech.
  • Gaining autonomy and a taste for learning.
  • Enjoying a harmonious social life.
  • Objecting to the traditional system based on punishments, rewards and assessments.

As a census was being conducted in the US a study ^[1] was led to investigate the reasons why parents would rather not send their children to school :

• home education is better (50,8 %) of parents ;
• religious motives (33,0 %) ;
• poor quality of school education (29,8 %) ;
• object to the syllabus (14,4 %) ;
• poor level of school education (11,5 %) ;

However, we may state it as a fact that, in France, religious motives for home education is really a minority figure.

[edit] Number of learners

[edit] In the UK

Since parents do not have to register to the Local Authorities, it's not easy to give a fair estimate of the proportion of families who choose this option. A 2006 study^[2] shows this concerns a very small minority of children (between 0.09% to 0.42%), however the trend is on the increase for philosophical or security reasons (school bullying, school anxiety).

[edit] In the US

In the States, « homeschooling » or « home education ») is fairly widespread, at least it's known to all. In 2007, the estimate was 1,5 million homeschoolers, which is about 2,9% of the number of school age children^[3].

[edit] In Canada

Home education is legal though there are differences according to the provinces^[4]. Even though it concerns a minority of people, a thorough study has been led to compare home and publicly educated adults^[5] ; it shows former homeschoolers fared just as well.

[edit] In Australia

Parents are free to home educate their children but must apply for registration^[6]. Homeschooling there has constantly been on the rise these last twi decades.

[edit] In New Zealand

About 1% of parents opt for homeschooling and it's a growing trend. The motives and incentives have been the object of a recent PhD thesis^[7].

[edit] Alternative education practices and the Environment

Compared to the traditional school system, distance education^[8] may also be the answer for those who aim at limiting their ecological footprint. Whether it be home education with the parents or online education, the idea is to do away with the ecological rucksack that material schools imply^[9].

[edit] References

• The US study
• The British 2006 study
• The number of school age children
• H.E. map : differences according to the provinces
• Compare home and publicly educated adults
• Australian regulations
• The NZ thesis
• The environment and distance education
• The environmental impact of schools

[edit] See also

[edit] Internal links

[edit] External links

• The Wikipedia article
• Home education in the UK
• Education otherwise
• the video channel

[edit] Bibliography

• Learning without School: Home Education, by Ross Mountney ISBN 184310685X
• How Children Learn, by John Holt ISBN 0140136002

[edit] Notes and references

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ [2]
3. ↑ [3]
4. ↑ [4]
5. ↑ [5]
6. ↑ [6]
7. ↑ [7]
8. ↑ [8]
9. ↑ [9]