The political and religious characteristics of parents in four western states who educate their children at home are examined. The relation of those characteristics to parents' decisions to circumvent state-sponsored education services are also considered. Additional discussion focuses on the relevance of the findings for public policy. The target…

This digest offers background information on home schooling and discusses conflicting viewpoints culled from research on the socialization of home-schooled children. The digest first notes the rapidly escalating numbers of children who are being home schooled in the 1990s and comments upon the professionalization of resources offered for parents…

After defining and tracing the historical background of home schooling in the United States, this paper focuses on studies which deal with: (1) the socialization of home-schooled children; and (2) creativity in home-schooled children. Noting that according to the Home School Legal Defense Association the number of home-schooled children has jumped…

A discussion of compulsory attendance legislation and issues relevant to home schooling are presented in this report. The first section offers a literature review and discussion of the socialization and academic achievement arguments. Section 2 provides a chronologically ordered summary of cases that address such issues as qualifications of…

Neil Devins, in part 1 of this chapter, discusses state regulation of home instruction. A different perspective on this subject is presented by Perry A. Zirkel in part 2. Parents have claimed that state regulations deprive them of their right, protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, to direct their children's upbringing.…

In Maine and across the nation, increasing numbers of parents are choosing to educate their children at home, often illegally. The anarchistic home schooling movement springs from various motivations: religious views, pursuit of independent lifestyles, desire to spend more time with one's children, and others. Whatever their reasons, home…

This brochure is a response to numerous questions that have been directed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office since the passage of Chapter 441, Laws of 1985, (SSB 3279, the "Home Based Instruction" law). The following information is presented: (1) responses to questions relating to Chapter 28A.27 RCW (compulsory…

The controversy over whether parents should have the right to determine in detail the type and scope of their children's education harks back to colonial times and has been manifested more recently in court cases considering home instruction in lieu of public school attendance. This first chapter of a book on school law objectively examines both…

John Naisbitt's "Megatrends" has implications for schools. Since most jobs require information processing, schools should teach students to operate computers, and develop their critical thinking, literate, numeric, and interpersonal skills. Administrators, as facilitators, should employ planning processes which include staff, students…

Progress on school choice in the statehouse and courtroom during 2002 set the stage for ambitious 2003 legislative agendas in many states and the U.S. Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that voucher programs do not violate the Constitution, even when participating schools are overwhelmingly religious. Research supporting choice has grown…

Home schooling is the formal instruction of children in the home instead of the school. This pathfinder guides readers to useful sources of information about home schooling, and is intended for any public library setting. The resources have been evaluated and chosen to answer basic questions and to serve as entry points into the greater body of…

This paper examines the American tradition of educational freedom, following its ebb and flow at various points in history. America's ethos of educational freedom has always been strong, tied to its values of pluralism, tolerance, and free inquiry. However, its legacy of freedom has suffered repeated assaults by individuals and groups who wish to…

Homeschooling, one of the fastest growing educational alternatives, is enjoying increasing respect from educators and parents alike. This is partly because homeschooling children score as well and often better on standardized tests than their publicly schooled counterparts. However, the vast majority of homeschooled students come from the…

Learning environments have an impact on acquiring skills in reading as well as developing positive attitudes toward reading. Another variable that affects attitudes and aptitude toward reading is the "climate" or "environment" in which children learn their skills. This paper concentrates on the phenomenon that is reaching epic proportions in the…

Place-based education, which draws from local culture, history, and geography to create a meaningful curriculum, holds particular promise for rural homeschooling. Following a brief review of the homeschooling phenomenon, this digest identifies ways that rural place-based education can counter common concerns about homeschooling. In 1999 about 1.7…