Experiences with racism and other emotionally laden encounters are intricately entangled with parents' motivations to take direct action that can lead to voluntary separation from school or homeschooling. Using the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (HDS) model, this article expands parental involvement by including homeschooling and examines the…

Alternative schooling has been staunchly advocated for by groups disillusioned by government-sponsored public schooling that want to take personal control of their children's education. There are concerns, however, about nontraditional schooling options that do not meet standards that apply to public schools. The "United Nations Convention on…

All across the country, in traditional public, public charter, and private schools, entrepreneurial educators are experimenting with the school day and school week. Hybrid Homeschools have students attend traditional classes in a brick-and-mortar school for some part of the week and homeschool for the rest of the week. Some do two days at home and…

Following the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, the US Census Bureau (USCB) conducted regularly scheduled surveys to assess the impact that the virus had on American families. These showed that the number of adults/parents with children who were taught entirely in their homes doubled between the spring and fall 2020. Though millions of these…

Homeschooling can be challenging. Particularly as children age, parents can find themselves out of their depth trying to teach more advanced coursework. Many families also want their children to be part of a community while still maintaining primary control of their child's education. For them, traditional schools (whether public or private,…

Across OECD countries, education choice is proliferating as parents seek and governments permit choice both inside and outside public education systems. The movement of students out of the common public school, however, varies significantly across jurisdictions and sociodemographic characteristics such as race and class. This variation in…

During the COVID pandemic, schools have found new ways of working with children and, crucially, their families. This has far-reaching implications for how schools and policy-makers consider homeschool communication as a means of developing parental and community engagement in the future. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through…

The author shares that her journey with gifted homeschooling was filled with folly and a slow learning curve. By sharing some of the struggles and insights she faced, the author hopes others will benefit or find solace in knowing they are not alone when their square peg children do not fit into round holes. In this article the author discusses:…

Consistent, reliable data are hard to come by given vastly differing opinions on the role states should play in creating structures, tracking data, and monitoring outcomes on homeschooling. The goal of this brief is to cut through some of this complexity and provide policymakers with an objective resource on homeschooling, including what is known…

Legitimate parental interests need to be distinguished from any putative rights parents "qua" parents may be said to possess. Parents have no right to insulate their children from conceptions of the good at variance with those of their own. Claims to the right to faith schools, private schools, home-schooling or to withdraw a child from…

This paper provides a descriptive account of the growing landscape of school choice in Canada through a comparative analysis of funding and student enrolment in the public, independent and home-based education sectors in each province. Given that the provinces have responsibility for K-12 education, the mixture of public, independent and home…

As a teacher in a public school system, the author had a different perspective on the need to home school the twice-exceptional learner. She thought that schools could provide differentiation for all students and she thought that certified teachers were the only adults who should be providing instruction. Yet, she realized that there are times…

In this article, the author shares his own observations and experiences as a veteran GT coordinator in a large school district that includes several charter schools and several families who have opted for home schooling. Specifically, he recounts several occasions when parents requested a hybrid educational model that combined home schooling with…

This Issue Brief provides estimates of the number and percentage of homeschooled students in the United States in 2007 and compares these estimates to those from 1999 and 2003. From 1999 to 2007, the number of homeschooled students in the United States increased, as did the homeschooling rate. In 2007, parents homeschooled their children for a…

With many thousands of home-educated children across the UK, the subject of support for the home-education community is widely debated. A report conducted by the NFER for the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation is based on detailed interviews with 20 home educators and presents findings on support needs. This Research Briefing illustrates some key findings…