Home schooling has a long cross-cultural history. Parents who teach their children at home have diverse characteristics and rationales: dissatisfaction with public schools, avoidance of conformity, freedom, or concern for their values. (SK)

Although this author expresses her belief in public education, and states that homeschooling her two sons was not her first choice, she describes how she feels that she was forced into this decision by a school system that was insensitive to the special needs of her children. She discusses the experiences of her two boys in a local,…

Homeschooling has grown over the past several decades. It is estimated that 923,700 to 1,275,098 children will be homeschooled by the 2001-02 school year. Homeschooling families come from all major ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds and all income levels. Homeschooling parents are commonly active in their communities and join community…

Examines the educational beliefs of John Gatto, a former award-winning teacher, now author and lecturer, whose classroom experiences convinced him that public schools must go. He believes that public education dumbs down students, makes them morally incomplete, and extends childhood far beyond natural bounds. Gatto recommends that families take…

Presents one family's experience with home schooling, explaining that no two home schools are alike, which is both a strength and a weakness of the movement. The paper discusses the parent's educational philosophy and the family's personal curriculum and pedagogical choices. It concludes by examining the growing trend in home schooling. (SM)

Addresses why families choose home schooling. Summarizes the most common arguments put forth by advocates and critics of home schooling regarding the perceived strengths and limitations of this unique form of education. Concludes that parents have the right to determine what form of schooling best meets the needs of their children. (SG)

This article defines and describes teaching strategies used in homeschooling. It reviews several research and other literature sources from the homeschool community. It finds four themes from relevant research that inform the practices and seven major strategies used in the home-based education. Recommendations are made to parents who choose…

If home education is not just school in another place, how can we conceptualise it and how does it work? This paper considers the peculiar set of relationships that characterise home-educating families and traces their extension out into the wider community. It further shows how, through the ongoing family conversation, experiences gained from…

The rapidly growing homeschooling movement has been around for centuries. No definitive data exist on the scope of homeschooling, but limited data note that homeschooling families are generally religious, conservative, middle income, educated whites. People often consider homeschooling after disappointments with public school quality. Homeschooled…

This book argues that the American school system is based on a false definition of education that leads to false goals. It explains the need for home schooling and describes the changes that must occur in child-rearing practices in order to shore up America's moral and spiritual fiber. Sixteen chapters are based on the notion that education is an…

Many people dissatisfied with the public school system are actively seeking alternatives to public education. In the past, the only alternatives to public school were parochial or private schools or privately hired tutors. Not everyone could afford these alternatives. Over the past 20 years, another alternative to public school education has come…

This paper discusses the home-schooling trend and identifies reading instructional methods used by home-schooling parents. Interviews were conducted with 5 home-schooling families of children ranging in age from 1 to 14 years. Parents reported that they began reading instruction with their child at about age 5 and agreed that instruction in…

Public schools and home-school advocates have moved closer in tolerance. All 50 states now allow some kind of home schooling. Four states (Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Iowa) allow home-schooled children to take part in public school extracurricular activities. One California district provides funds to home-schooling families to purchase…

Examines the relationship between variables found conducive to creating effective learning environments and the education experiences of children in home schools. Many variables associated with effective learning climates are embodied in the home-school setting, which seems to provide children with learning processes emphasizing interdependence,…

Home school is evolving and gaining popularity in the United States. This paper describes different methods of home schooling, presents various home schooling resources that are available, and discusses the relationships between home schooling families and public schools, noting that a relationship between schools and home schools could be…