Examines the issue of balance between community rules and personal freedom as it relates to who should control the education of children in Norway. Reviews the historical development of alternative education in Norway, including the growth of private schools and home schooling. Comments on future educational needs and the provision of good…

Observations and interviews conducted in three different series over an 18-month period provided data about the operation of one family's home school. When combined with data from observations conducted in two other home schools, the information led to a number of conclusions concerning both potential strengths of home schools as learning…

Considers the range of reasons for the growth of the home schooling movement, providing several examples. Describes the practical difficulties facing home schoolers, and discusses the variety of legal reactions to home schooling, both supportive and suppressive, at state and local levels across the nation. (PGD)

Profiles the current trend of parents' choosing to educate their children at home. Provides data on the numbers and motivations of such parents and examines the surrounding legal issues. Challenges the premise of compulsory schooling on the basis of achievement data that document the superior performance of home-schooled children. (KH)

Common elements among unschooled families include an environment conducive to exploration and experimentation, adult models and facilitators of learning, and underlying trust that children will learn. Public education limits its expectations of children to narrow standards of behavior and academic achievement, whereas unschooling allows children…

This paper describes an ethnographic study of how fundamentalist Christian parents new to home schooling are socialized to norms, beliefs, and values of the Christian home schooling organizations with which they are affiliated. Research involved participant observation and interviews with "home schoolers" and educators over an 18-month…

The social context within which home schooling takes place is described, and the ideological frameworks and contexts within which parents (most of them fundamentalist Christians) make schooling decisions are examined. Research involved participant observation and interviews with 16 home schooling families (13 families self-labeled…

Discusses the status of home schooling in Canada, pointing out the rapid expansion of the movement and the unresolved points of difference between schooling and the research findings used in its support. Urges full cooperation between schools and home schoolers. (JHZ)

A study examined how critical literacy activities within a homeschooling education project sustained or transformed the participants' awareness of gender identities and inequities in texts. Subjects were two brother pairs who had been close friends for over 4 years at the time of the study. The older brothers (13 years of age) attended a rural…

This study investigated autonomous local home schooling parent support groups in Kansas. The home schooling movement in Kansas is an alternative educational entity whose membership has recently been increasing. Accompanying support groups have also increased in number. The purpose of this study was to conduct a naturalistic inquiry into the…

Examines parents who teach their children at home. While families have complex motives for home schooling, a common factor is parents' desire to maintain or further develop family unity, and to resist the effects of urbanization and modernization on the family. Suggests benefits of home/public school partnerships. (AF)

When homeschooling parents discuss public schools, they often draw on their own notions of citizenship, and each parent's view of public schools is also likely influenced by his or her larger view of government's proper role in society. This article reports on a 3-year study designed to seek a better understanding of these issues. The study…

In the midst of a trend toward uniformity of education, parents, teachers, community groups, and government groups are struggling for control over what that education shall be. Regarding problems concerning religious and ethical education, the courts' interpretations of the establishment clause ultimately conflict with interpretations of the free…

Beginning with a brief history of homeschooling in America, this paper discusses literature describing today's population of homeschoolers. Although older, the binary typology offered by Van Galen (1987, 1991) to categorize the motivations of homeschoolers is still utilized in much of the homeschooling literature. Van Galen breaks homeschoolers…

Maintains that the past two decades have seen a remarkable growth in alternative education options, particularly home schooling. Asserts that the parents' religious and moral beliefs are primary reasons for the home schooling movement. Reviews research on home schooling and calls for more relevant lines of inquiry. (CFR)