In "Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice," James G. Dwyer and Shawn F. Peters examine homeschooling's history, its methods, and the fundamental questions at the root of the heated debate over whether and how the state should oversee and regulate it. The authors trace the evolution of homeschooling and the…

Homeschooling is legal and growing in many countries but is virtually forbidden by law in Germany and a few others. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has reviewed and upheld this ban. Is home education a human right? How do these courts employ their jurisprudence of proportionality to find banning home education does not violate relevant…

The newly created Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN) at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) invited a group of conservative education thinkers to sketch policy proposals that they would like to see in a new education agenda. The only requirement was that they offer suggestions that would complement the traditional conservative…

Governments in the United Kingdom have been contracting out policy reviews to individuals. One such review, of elective home education in England, reveals serious shortcomings to this practice. This paper explores the shortcomings--methodological and presentational--with the review, and highlights the fact that there was no governmental mechanism…

Choice is most frequently realized within the public sector using the mechanisms of residence, magnet schools, and open enrollment systems, whereas the voucher-like systems applauded by choice advocates and feared by opponents are extremely rare. Further, the charter sector is neither large enough nor sufficiently prepared to go to scale to…

In this essay James Conroy raises the question of how far the state should engage in the rearing of children, looking in particular at homeschooling as a site for contestation. He considers this question by looking specifically at recent developments in the United Kingdom around the elision of child safeguarding issues with concern about the…

Rob Reich's claim that fruitful discussions about the balance among state, parental, and children's educational interests would benefit by contemplating the widespread phenomenon of homeschooling is a welcome suggestion. His policy recommendations, however, place an unjustified burden on parents to show the adequacy of homeschooling arrangements…

Choosing to homeschool or to educate a child traditionally is often a difficult and confusing decision for parents and guardians. To help them make the best possible choice, this brochure answers basic questions about homeschooling and suggests other useful sources of information. The questions include the following: (1) Do families have a right…

This paper studies homeschooling as an alternative form of educational provision in South Africa and USA to determine what knowledge and experiences from research on homeschooling in the USA may be relevant to the South Africa situation. Homeschooling in the USA has a sound legal foundation and has become an acceptable educational alternative.…

Uses the home-education policy arena as a lens through which to view changing beliefs and practices about student assessment. The home-education policies of 10 states illustrate issues relating to accountability in public and private schools and the use of standardized tests. (SLD)

This study was commissioned by Alberta Education to examine the development and organization of private schools in Alberta and to consider future directions. It examines the financial issues related to private schools, the effect of private schools on public school systems and on the education of children, and implications for public school…

This review of the literature on the current state of parent and community involvement looks at the programs and practices, and their effects, in the research and practice literature, especially since 1980. The review explores past history and offers a contemporary view of the policies, trends, and factors that provide an understanding for the…