This study examined teaching methods used by homeschooling families. Interviews were conducted with parents from three homeschooling families who used a variety of teaching methods. Researchers collected information on children's ages, number of years of homeschooling, teaching methods, and curriculum choice. Respondents described how they chose…

To study the characteristics and academic achievement of home schooled students, data were compiled for 20,760 students in 11,930 families. Families chose to participate before they knew their children's test scores, reducing the possibility of reporting higher scores while leaving lower scores out of the analysis. All students took the Iowa Tests…

Addresses the sources of dissatisfaction from parents who had removed their children from public schools to begin home schooling. Implications for public schools' community relations and practice specifically focus on three areas of greatest concern: student grouping practices, peer relationships, and the extension of the school day via homework.…

This study examined attitudes toward physical fitness of parents who home school their children, noting the relationship with children's physical activity levels. Questionnaires (11% returned) indicated parents felt positively about fitness, but children were not physically active. A low correlation existed between mothers' attitudes and…

Findings from a study of 19 families in rural Pennsylvania who educate their children at home show that, overall, these home educators are asserting their historical option of cultural agency and schooling. Their decisions have implications for the reform of public education. (SLD)

An exploratory study that involved two male and two female elementary students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was carried out in homeschools and public schools. The general purpose of the study was to determine whether parents could provide instructional environments that facilitated the acquisition of their children's basic…

Home educators are often stereotyped by concerned professionals and others who make statements based upon their beliefs rather than research. Characteristics such as eccentric, arrogant, ignorant, middle-class and hippy are often associated with home educators. Increasingly too, they are represented as a potential danger to their children, either…

Research has documented that the self-esteem of girls plunges at adolescence. Whether this is true for girls educated outside the school system was studied through interviews with 20 homeschooled girls, a questionnaire completed by 20 more, and tape-recorded responses of 5 others. Subjects were asked to describe themselves and their interests,…

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of children being home schooled during the past decade. The history of home schooling and its increasing interrelationship with public schooling are detailed. Demographic information on the home school population, a definition of home schooling, reasons to home school, and beliefs surrounding this…

U.S. students now have four choices of schooling: public schooling, private-religious schooling, private-independent schooling, and home-schooling. Of these options, home-schooling is the most novel. Since legalization across the states in the last few decades, it has grown in importance and legitimacy as an alternative choice. Thus, it is now…

In the print and online stories that appear in this issue of Northwest Education, teachers and students share that the intimacy of one-to-one computing has let them get to know and understand each other better than they ever could in a crowded classroom. In "Long-Distance Relationships," a blind student speaks about the uncommon bond he feels with…

Discusses the history and advantages of home schooling. Reviews available curricula. Emphasizes immediate feedback, character development shaped by family values and religious beliefs, and low per-pupil costs. (FMW)

Teacher education programs continue to search for alternative field experiences for preservice teachers. Whether the public schools are overloaded with interns or a break from certain schools is recommended for various reasons, it is important to identify appropriate alternative practice teaching opportunities prior to student teaching. With the…

The purpose of this study was to determine differences, in first-year college academic performance, between home school and traditional high school graduates, measured by grade point average, retention, ACT test scores, and credits. To accomplish the purpose, nine null hypotheses were tested to determine if there were differences between home…

A study involving six elementary and two junior high students with learning disabilities investigated whether parents provided four home schooled students with instructional environments that facilitated the acquisition of basic skills. Results found the home school students were academically engaged about two-and-a-half times as often as public…