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There is a wide variety of home education methods and materials. Home education families may adopt a particular educational philosophy such as:
Others use a broad combination of ideas or allow the child to develop their own motivation, through what is known as unschooling.
Because home education laws vary widely according to individual government statutes, official curriculum requirements vary. [8]
Unit studies
Unit studies teach most subjects in the context of a central theme. For example, a unit study of Native Americans could combine age-appropriate lessons in: social studies, like how different tribes live now, and lived prior to colonization; art, such as making Native American clothing; history (of Native Americans in the U.S.); reading from a special reading list; and the science of plants used by Native Americans. The following unit-study subject could change to some other broad topic of study.
Supporters say unit studies make excellent use of student time by combining several fields into one study time, and permit students to follow personal interests. Unit studies also permit children of different ages to study together. For example, in a Native American unit, a 10th-grade student might make a deer-skin coat for an art project, while a 1st-grade student might make construction-paper tipis.
Home educators often purchase unit-study guides that suggest materials, projects and shopping lists, and supplement them with specialized curricula for mathematics, and sometimes reading and writing.
Special materials
Special materials focus on skill-building. Individual subject materials usually consist of workbooks, sometimes with textbooks, and an instructional guide. Many specialized subjects are only available in this form. Special materials are frequently used for math and primary reading.
Critics say that some parents over-focus on skills while excluding social studies, science, art, history and other fields that help children learn their place in the world.
All-in-one curricula
"All-in-one" curricula, sometimes called "school in a box", are comprehensive packages covering many subjects, usually an entire year's worth. They contain all needed books and materials, including pencils and writing paper. Most such curricula were developed for isolated families who lack access to public schools, libraries and shops, or are overseas.
These materials typically recreate the school environment in the home, and are typically based on the same subject-area expectations as publicly-run schools, allowing an easy transition into school if desired. They are among the most expensive options for the home-educated, but are easy to use and require minimal preparation. The instructional guides are usually extensive, with step-by-step instructions. These programs may include standardized tests, and remote examinations to yield an accredited privately-run school diploma.
Student-paced learning
Similar to All-in-one curricula are learner paced curriculum packages. Often times called paces, these workbooks allow the student to progress at an individualized speed. Prices vary widely depending upon the publisher.
Community resources
Home educators take advantage of educational programs at museums, community centers, athletic clubs, after-school programs, churches, science preserves, parks, and other community resources. Secondary school level students often take classes at community colleges, which typically have open admission policies.
Eclectic curricula
The majority of today's home-educated use an eclectic mix of materials. For instance, they might use a pre-designed program for language, arts or mathematics, and fill in history with reading and field trips, art with classes at a community center, science through a homeschool science club, physical education with membership in local sports teams, and so on.
Unschooling
Unschooling is an area in which students are not directly instructed but encouraged to learn through exploring their interests. Also known as interest-led or child-led learning, unschooling attempts to provide opportunities with games and real life problems where a child will learn without coercion. An unschooled child may choose to use texts or classroom instruction, but it is never considered central to education.
Advocates for unschooling claim that children learn best by learning from doing. A child may learn reading and math skills from playing card games, better spelling and other writing skills because he's inspired to write a science fiction story for publication, or local history by following a zoning or historical-status dispute.
Cost
Home education may have a financial impact on families in addition to purchasing school supplies and curriculum materials, as parents may refrain from employment outside the home in order to supervise the child's education.[citations needed]
Public opinion
Opposition to home education comes from varied sources, including organizations of teachers and school districts. One example is the National Education Association, a teachers' union, which is the largest labor union in the United States. They are on record as opposing homeschooling outright; though, in recent years they have not been as outspoken in this opposition. Opponents state concerns falling into several broad categories, including: academic quality and completeness; reduced government money for the publicly-run schools; socialization of children with peers of different ethnic and religious backgrounds; and fear of religious or social extremism. Gallup polls of American voters have shown a significant change in attitude in the last twenty years, from 73% opposed to home education in 1985 to 54% opposed in 2001 [9].
Opponents view home-educating parents as sheltering their children and denying them opportunities that are their children's right, reducing the amount of government funds publicly-run schools would receive if more children were attending the publicly-run school, and providing an unfair advantage to home-educated children over students whose parents lack the time or money for home education. With regard to the latter point, however, parents choosing to homeschool often intend that to be the case.
Two recent studies by the Home School Legal Defense Association, a home education advocacy group in the United States, dispute the claim that the academic quality of home education programs is substandard.[10][11]
Legality
Home education exists legally in many parts of the world. Countries with the most prevalent home education movements include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Some countries have highly regulated home education programs which are actually an extension of the compulsory school system, while others have outlawed it entirely. In many other countries, while not restricted by law, home education is not socially acceptable and, therefore, virtually non-existent.
In many countries where home education does not exist legally, underground movements flourish where children are kept out of the compulsory school system and educated at, sometimes considerable, risk. Still, in other countries, while the practice is illegal, the governments do not have the resources to police and prosecute offenders and, as such, it takes place largely in the open.
Home education in the United States is governed by each individual state and therefore regulations vary greatly from one state to another.
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Research results
Academic findings
Numerous studies have confirmed the academic integrity of home education programs, demonstrating that on average, home-educated students outperform their publicly-run school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects. Moreover, the performance gaps between minorities and gender that plague publicly-run schools are virtually non-existent amongst home-educated students.[12]
Some critics argue that while home-educated students generally do extremely well on standardized tests[13], such students are a self-selected group whose parents care strongly about their education and would also do well in a conventional school environment.
Some opponents argue that parents with little training in education are less effective in teaching. However, some studies do indicate that parental income and education level affect home-educated student performance on standardized tests very little.
Home-educated student curricula often include many subjects not included in traditional curricula. Some colleges find this an advantage in creating a more academically diverse student body, and proponents argue this creates a more well-rounded and self-sufficient adult. Increasingly, colleges are recruiting home-educated students; many colleges accept equivalency diplomas as well as parent statements and portfolios of student work as admission criteria; others also require SATs or other standardized tests. Some opponents argue that home education curricula often exclude critical subjects and isolate the student from the rest of society, or presents them with their parents' ideological world views - especially religious ones - rather than the worldviews (characterised as secular humanism) sanctioned to be taught at state schools.
The results of home education with gifted and learning-disabled children have not been as thoroughly studied.
Social findings
In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) conducted a survey of over 7,300 U.S. adults who had been home-educated (over 5,000 for more than seven years). Their findings included:
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- Home-educated graduates are active and involved in their communities. 71% participate in an ongoing community service activity, like coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association, compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages from a traditional education background.
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- Home-educated graduates are more involved in civic affairs and vote in much higher percentages than their peers. For example, 76% of surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last five years, compared with only 29% of the relevant U.S. population. The numbers of home-educated graduates who vote are even greater in older age groups, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace.
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- Of those adults who were home-educated, 58.9% report that they are "very happy" with life (compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population). Moreover, 73.2% of homeschooled adults find life "exciting", compared with 47.3% of the general population.[14]
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), a U.S. government agency, has published multiple articles on home education. Here are excerpts from one which examined several studies on home-educated children socialization:
- According to the findings, children who were educated at home "gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children."
and;
- The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups, and maintains that "insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children." [15]
See also
References
- Vernon L. Bates; "Lobbying for the Lord: the New Christian Right Home-Schooling Movement and Grassroots Lobbying" Review of Religious Research, Vol. 33, 1991
- Kyungseok Kang; "School Choice, Family Characteristics, and Home-School Relations: Contributors to School Achievement?" Journal of Educational Psychology Volume: 88. Issue: 3. Publication Year: 1996. pp 451+
- Henry M. Levin; Privatizing Education: Can the School Marketplace Deliver Freedom of Choice, Efficiency, Equity, and Social Cohesion? Westview Press, 2001
- Susan McDowell. But What About Socialization? Answering the Perpetual Home Schooling Question: A Review of the Literature (2004)
- Susan McDowell and Brian Ray, eds. The Home Education Movement in Context, Practice, and Theory: A Special Double Issue of the Peabody Journal of Education (2000)
- Bruce M. Mitchell, Robert E. Salsbury; Unequal Opportunity: A Crisis in America's Schools? 2002
- Michael T. Peddle; Does Government Need to Be Involved in Primary and Secondary Education: Evaluating Policy Options Using Market Role Assessment Garland, 2000
- Lawrence M. Rudner. "Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998" Education Policy Analysis Archives Volume 7 Number 8 March 23, 1999 ISSN 1068-2341; detailed demographic analysis
- Marie L. Sterne; "Should Physical Education Be Required for Home-Schooled Children?" JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 68, 1997
- Mitchell Stevens. Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement (Princeton University Press, 2001)
- Theodore C. Wagenaar; "What Characterizes Home Schoolers? A National Study" Education. Volume: 117. Issue: 3. 1997. pp : 440+. statistical study compares all home-schooled students (and their parents) with others; small sample size.
- Wentzel, K., Feldman, S., & Weinberger, D. "Parental child rearing and academic achievement in boys: The mediational role of social-emotional adjustment". Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, (1991) 321-339
- Michelle Wichers. "Homeschooling: Adventitious or Detrimental for Proficiency in Higher Education" Education. Volume: 122. Issue: 1. 2001. pp 145+.