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The scope of homeschooling has increased significantly in recent years in several western countries. Studies of the subject have shed light on the perspective of parents who choose to homeschool–reasons for the choice, educational goals and actual results– from their point of view. The research literature also teaches us about the perspectives of kids and adolescents who were raised in homeschooling regarding the same questions. Understanding these points of view indicates certain aspects that those who are educated at home perceive as most central. Some of the subjects included in these aspects are also central to the research on positive psychology, a field that has developed over the same period. The present article presents the findings regarding these aspects in the study of homeschooling and suggests possible links between them and the development of research on positive psychology. The article indicates several similarities and examines the possible theoretical and methodological contributions of a broader perspective of the two fields, as well as the potential benefit to the study of homeschooling in identifying the reasons for homeschooling, examining the results of homeschooling, and understanding the practice of families that homeschool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeschooling has grown into a large and highly diverse segment of American education. However, empirical studies of homeschooling have remained methodologically underdeveloped. The purpose of this article is to chart an agenda for a new generation of research on homeschooling. A narrative review of quantitative research published since 2000 is undertaken to identify gaps in the current evidence base. This review indicated that prior work is generally limited by small samples, uniform operationalizing of homeschool practice, and cross-sectional data sources. This article then concludes by describing strategies that researchers can use to address the limitations of previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This summary captures the current thinking on homeschool policy as expressed by a diverse group of homeschool policy stakeholders at a recent convening. Key topics discussed include the purpose of education, the regulation and support of homeschooling, and issues with access to needed resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies exploring homeschooling typically focus on comparing homeschoolers to conventionally schooled peers on a range of academic outcomes. Largely absent from the literature are within-group studies designed to identify experiences that facilitate (or hinder) homeschoolers' academic outcomes. The aim of this paper is to describe a heuristic model outlining ways the home environment, instructional practices, parent characteristics, child characteristics, and the broader context might relate to homeschoolers' academic competence. The heuristic model is attentive to the possibility that these relations might vary as a function of child characteristics. In addition, the potential for transactional and mediated relations is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private school choice programs are publicly-funded programs that provide families with funding to attend a private school of their choice. Since 2021, 15 states have enacted or expanded choice legislation, even making homeschoolers eligible to participate. However, homeschoolers are often reluctant to participate due to proposed regulations. We survey a national sample of hybrid school leaders, a sector that shares similarities with homeschoolers in modality, and randomly assign hypothetical regulations to them. We find that 65% are willing to encourage participation in the absence of regulations, but regulations reduce leaders' willingness to encourage participation by about 31 points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses three nationally representative data sets of U.S. school-aged children who are currently homeschooled and two nationally representative data sets of U.S. adults who have ever been homeschooled to empirically document the amount of time homeschooled individuals are homeschooled, how much time they spend in public- or private-school settings, and the amount of exit out of or entry into homeschooling over the course of their primary and secondary education. Findings reveal high levels of variation in when and how long individuals are homeschooled. Implications for researching the homeschooling population are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We articulate a theory suggesting that the way families practice homeschooling is based on practical constraints imposed by household demographic characteristics and ideological considerations. These theories are empirically tested using the 2012, 2016, and 2019 waves of the National Household Education Survey and a sample of 1,468 homeschooling families. Findings indicate that specific household characteristics such as family structure, labor force participation, and parents' educational background are associated with how long a child is homeschooled and the resources families use to homeschool their children. Comparisons between homeschooling and non-homeschooling families are also made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite upwards of 100,000 gifted students possibly being educated at home, research regarding this population is limited. The literature on gifted homeschooling includes topics such as motivations for homeschooling, modalities of instruction, and student achievement and social-emotional wellness. Recommendations for expanding the literature and providing better insight into these students' experiences include determining the demographics of gifted homeschool students, surveying methods and costs of instruction, and measuring educational outcomes. It is imperative to collect and make this information publicly available, and to prioritize research on this population. Doing so will ensure that policy better serves the needs of these unique learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are over one million school-age children in Missouri, and we estimate 61,000 (6% of all school-age children) are homeschooled. Missouri is one of 29 states that does not require homeschooling to be reported. Using methods that can be replicated elsewhere with publicly available data, we test three approaches to estimating homeschool participation: using American Community Survey (ACS) data; subtracting public and estimated private school counts from ACS school-age totals; and polling parents. We comment on the usefulness and limitations of each approach and provide a model for researchers seeking to estimate homeschooling trends in states that lack administrative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article explores the socio-historical and contemporary context of Black home education within the Black Belt of the American South through a literature review. This literature review aims to uncover the historical evolution, socio-cultural dynamics, and contemporary challenges and opportunities associated with Black home education in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of ethnographic fieldwork in Singapore, the article explores the tension between children's academic success and emotional wellbeing, and the ways in which middle‐class parents navigate these conflicting aspirations. It delves into families with young children who pursue alternative lifestyles by moving abroad to a presumably less stressful environment or by homeschooling their children. The study aims to understand how parents who 'opt out' perceive their children's future and the sacrifices they make in pursuing alternative education for their children. Decisions were made to 'protect' the child from the potentially negative effects of a competitive education system, while pursuing an alternative childhood and school–life balance. East Asian education systems are globally renowned for their high academic standards and for producing students who score at the top on international assessment tests and rankings. In this context, alternative educational pursuits are both less established and less well understood, yet they are central to understanding emerging aspirations of wellbeing as well as the reconfiguration of conventional ideals of upward social mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeschooled children spend more time than schooled children with their parents and siblings, which may, in turn, affect their attitudes about the family. In fact, earlier research has shown that fostering familial ideals is one of the central aims of parents who homeschool. Yet, few studies have been conducted about the ways homeschooled children relate to their family members and understand the family. The purpose of the present research was to use metaphor analysis to examine the attitudes of Israeli homeschooled adolescents towards their families. Twenty-four homeschooled individuals aged 15 to 21 participated in the research. The data were analysed in two stages. First, we identified the metaphors that were used to describe their families. We then analysed the interpretations of the metaphors. The adolescents in the sample viewed their families as a source of knowledge; stability and security; guidance and assistance with development; support with life’s diffculties; familiarity and connection; as well as a mixture of pleasantness and unpleasantness. Overall, the adolescents in our analytic sample held positive attitudes towards their families and expressed deep gratitude for and connection with their siblings and parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent trends indicate a significant increase in the number of families opting for home education in the UK, yet research dedicated to this area remains limited. Moreover, there is a notable scarcity of studies focusing on the lived experiences of home-educating families of young children. Amidst this context, a new conceptual framework was developed combining the portraiture approach and the life course theory to study five families with young children in the UK. Semi-structured interviews, observations, and curriculum document analysis were used to gain insights into these families' experiences. The study revealed diverse motivations driving parents to choose home education, including concerns about the traditional education system, a preference for personalized learning, and personal lifestyle choices and ideologies. The research data presented suggests that participants had diverse and dynamic daily routines shaped by their unique educational philosophies. In general, parents consistently sought beneficial opportunities to foster their children's social development. Challenges participants faced included curriculum suitability, financial burdens, and managing dual roles within the home. However, participants viewed these challenges as worthwhile because their main aim of educating their children in a purposeful manner was being met. In line with the theme of parental autonomy in education, parents shared their belief in the freedom for families to educate their children outside traditional schools. They supported flexi-schooling, advocated for accessible resources, the inclusion of home-educated children in assessments, and government funding provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dynamic landscape of education, homeschooling continues to offer a compelling alternative to traditional schooling. Homeschool numbers surged through the pandemic and have not decreased to pre-pandemic levels. This study examines the shared connections between homeschooled families in Connecticut and local public libraries by looking at how home educators use library resources and participate in library programming; and examining how Connecticut libraries perceive and respond to the diverse needs of homeschooling communities. Based on 2 Connecticut statewide surveys, one sent to public librarians and another to homeschoolers, the study sought to identify areas of strengths, weaknesses and disconnects in the homeschool community and public library relationships in Connecticut. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and reviewed to identify potential improvements to the evolving role of libraries in supporting alternative education pathways, and the potential for an infusion of public library support from the homeschool community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research is directly pertinent to the subject of concern, with the primary goal of identifying the current homeschooling curriculum and instructional models in Pakistan. This research employs a qualitative research approach to establish the factors that lead to the choices for the curriculum by homeschooling parents in Pakistan as well as the methods of teaching used by homeschooling parents. The study involved six parents, which is appropriate for phenomenological research based on the literature. All participants were living in Shikarpur; they were from different origins but represented the plural culture of Pakistan. The findings of the research study presented in this paper fill the identified gap in the literature and extend the knowledge of homeschooling practices in Pakistan regarding the opportunities and challenges of homeschooling in the country. The findings of this study suggest policy makers, educationists and the homeschooling parents and a good base will have been laid to enhance the understanding of homeschooling in the context of Pakistan and how its implementation can affect the current education structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 the Rights of the Child (CRC) specifies children's fundamental educational rights. In the United States, this includes mastering basic English literacy and numerical abilities, as well as exposure to some scientific and historical knowledge needed to negotiate mainstream society. This paper focuses on how certain homeschooling and religious schooling practices run the risk of denying adolescents the right to the education necessary to work in the modern economy and achieve their potential. We argue that the United States should allow alternative schooling options but ensure that they conform to specific standards set by the state in order to meet the CRC goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: From the in-group status as a former homeschool parent, the goal is to problematize the entanglement of neoliberalism within self-directed education (SDE) pedagogies. Further and importantly, this study aims to bring attention to and examine the neoliberal resistant practices found in Black homeschooling. Design/methodology/approach: A narrative literature review, content analysis and autoethnographic reflection to critically examine the neoliberal subjectivity of SDE and identify neoliberal-resistant SDE practices of Black homeschooling families. Findings: This paper identifies SDE's vulnerability to neoliberal subjectivity despite the neoliberal oppositional ethos of many of its practices and its antiestablishment historical context and rhetoric. It analyzes conceptions of self, autonomy and freedom (the ideas that underwrite self-direction) that can inform a critical self-directed learning (SDL) approach. It explores contemporary Black homeschooling and SDE practices for evidence of these conceptions, arguing that this demographic, at the margin of the discursive homeschooling community, instantiates an authentic resistance and disruption to neoliberal subjectivity in SDE. Originality/value: Very little research has been done on neoliberal subjectivity in the discursive SDE community. The vulnerability of SDE to neoliberalization is important to SDL homeschoolers, unschoolers and other SDE facilitators who want to practice alternative-to-mainstream values or social justice-oriented pedagogy. Without awareness of this vulnerability, neoliberal hegemony can be reproduced by SDE practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent-led, home-based education, or homeschooling, has grown rapidly over recent decades with participation rates increasing more than 100-fold to now nearly one in 25 students nationwide in the United States. However, the research base has not grown correspondingly, and homeschoolers remain understudied. We systematically surveyed a population of homeschooling families (N = 881 responses) who had reported homeschooling a high-ability student to learn more about their characteristics and perceptions. Specifically, we report a mixed-methods analysis of the survey responses addressing whether and why these parents would or would not consider returning their child to a traditional school setting. Respondents were predominantly mothers who reported a high level of formal education and who were primarily responsible for implementing homeschooling with their child. Qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended responses yielded five main themes: preference, academics, concerns about future educational opportunities, satisfaction, and well-being. Findings both support and extend prior research with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opting to homeschool children is a growing trend worldwide. However, surprisingly, there is a dearth of research on understanding how digital technologies are used by learners who opt for homeschooling. Thus, in the present study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten homeschoolers in the United States to examine: (1) how digital technologies are being used; (2) why these technologies are being used to support learning; and (3) what digital technologies are being used. Thematic analysis revealed that homeschooled children used a wide array of digital technologies to support their learning. Children's learning projects commonly stemmed from their interaction with the real world, and a good portion of their learning was self-directed. Digital technologies afforded children access to specific materials and enabled them to collaborate with other learners. Perhaps most importantly, the homeschoolers reported a love for (self-directed) lifelong learning. They tended to learn in a self-directed and autonomous manner, and they commonly used digital technologies constructively and productively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School choice is spreading across the U.S. at the same time that scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) are stagnant. We examine the association between education freedom and 8th grade student NAEP score levels and gains in states in 2019. We construct the 2019 Education Freedom Index as a composite measure of the accessibility of private school choice, public charter schools, homeschooling, and public school choice in each state. Using statistical regression, we find that more education freedom is significantly associated with increased NAEP scores and gains, supporting the claim that choice and competition improves system-wide achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the perception of parents of students attending private schools in the city of Tubarão, SC, Brazil, about the influence of community-wide quarantine due to COVID-19 on the interactions with their children. This exploratory and qualitative field research included semi-structured interviews held with ten families. Several aspects related to the quarantine were investigated, such as changes in the families' routine, feelings the parents experienced in the interactions with their children, difficulties faced in these interactions, and positive aspects. The interviews were assessed according to content analysis, from which categories of research emerged. The results revealed changes in the families' routine caused by distance education, less social contact, task overload, and impacts on professional life. The feelings the parents experienced included fatigue, guilt, stress, and emotional responses, adaptation to the change of roles, difficulty in implementing distance education, and more dependent children. A few positive aspects were mentioned: closeness, more mature children, and more affectionate interactions. A few families did not identify positive aspects. The results show the parents' lack of preparation to deal with the new contingencies, the importance of providing preventive parental guidance, and the need to assess the impact of the methods adopted to implement distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed identify the perception of parents of students from private schools in the municipality of Tubarão (SC) about the influence of quarantine due the COVID-19 pandemic in their interaction with their children. This is an exploratory and qualitative field research in which several aspects related to the quarantine period were investigated. The results were obtained through content analysis, which showed changes in routine related to distance education, less social contact, overload of activities, and professional impact. As feelings experienced by parents, fatigue, guilt, and stress were mentioned. As difficulties encountered, emotional reactions, adaptation to the change of roles, difficulties with distance education, and increased dependence were pointed out. Few were the positive aspects mentioned. Based on the results, the unpreparedness of parents to deal with new contingencies, the importance of preventive parental guidance, and the need to reevaluate the way distance education is applied were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing global popularity perceptions of homeschooling remain problematic. It resists trends towards mass compulsory education and the promotion of children's rights; it challenges the state's authority to educate citizens; and raises concerns about child protection issues and educational outcomes. Contemporaneously many homeschoolers identify their fears of risks and failings in mainstream schooling as the reason they homeschool. This article explores how discomfort and fear is ingrained within meanings associated with homeschooling often related to its domestic practice. It develops Freud's account of unheimlich (the unhomely) as a useful addition to the sociological analysis of the multiple renditions of meaning attached to homeschooling. These include the conflation of homely and unhomely accounts; the significance of anecdotal accounts as a means of restating class biases and racisms; and the ambiguous relationship between family and state. It argues both policymakers and homeschoolers need to acknowledge these ambiguities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental stress caused by monthlong school closures was measured as early as spring and summer of 2020. The present study investigated parental resilience during the second lockdown in Germany in January/February 2021 (n = 2,804). Based on an online questionnaire, parental stress, resilience, self-efficacy, children's school abilities, and the perceived quality of lesson design in distance teaching were queried. Multiple linear regression analysis identified significant relationships between the experienced stress perception and the time spent supporting children in distance learning. We identified parental resilience as a predictor of stress experiences. It was possible to demonstrate the considerable influence of child variables and perceived lesson design on parental stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to propose reflections on the recent discussions around the fundamental right to education and homeschooling, which has been proposed through the law 2.401 /2019. For this, we will make a brief discussion about the role of the school today and its importance in the socialization of young people, bringing arguments present in the Common National Curricular Base (BNCC), National Basic Education Guidelines and arguments related to the jurisprudential issue in the country’s Supreme Court. Then, we will analyze the positions adopted in relation to the homeschooling proposal, highlighting the issue of constitutionality and the adversities that are part of the specific Brazilian case. Finally, we will highlight the relevance of the school’s role as a place of sociability, where the child or adolescent can experience a democratic, citizenship and effectively open to diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic growth in the homeschool population in recent decades has coincided with an increase in the methods used to educate homeschooled children. However, researchers tend to treat homeschooled children as a uniform group without accounting for vastly different homeschooling arrangements. In this study, we examine the prevalence of four types of homeschool arrangements by pooling three cross-sectional waves of nationally representative data on American homeschool families (n = 1,468). Results indicate that most homeschool families supplement home education with cooperative instructors and private tutors, online education, and brick-and-mortar schooling. Families who do not use these resources are declining. They are also more likely to be White, less educated, and residing in the South region. Homeschool families whose children attend brick-and-mortar schools part-time are less likely to be White and more likely to reside in urban areas. Future research is needed to explore outcomes across different homeschool arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the historical and current challenges faced by Black communities in their pursuit of educational justice in the United States. It discusses the inequalities and anti-Black practices within the public education system, particularly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article explores the historical efforts of Black communities to establish and support educational systems, as well as their contemporary initiatives such as homeschooling and parental activism. It emphasizes the diverse strategies employed by Black communities to achieve educational justice and challenges the notion that there is only one clear path to success for Black students. The article draws upon Critical Race Praxis and motherwork as theoretical frameworks to analyze these efforts. [Extracted from the article]

Over the first two full school years under the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 enrollment in public schools fell dramatically (i.e., by more than 1.2 million students) with losses concentrated among the youngest students. Currently, little is known about where these students went and what learning environments they are experiencing. In this research note, I present leading descriptive evidence on this question by combining public-school enrollment data with newly collected state-level data on private-school and homeschool enrollment and Census-based estimates of the changed size of the school-age population resident in each state. These data indicate that, between the 2019-20 and the 2021-22 school years, homeschool and private-school enrollment grew by 30 and 4 percent, respectively. Across the states with available data, increased homeschool enrollment and population loss each explain 26 percent of the public-school enrollment decline while the more modest increase in private-school enrollment explains 14 percent. Over a third of public-school enrollment loss cannot be explained by observed changes in nonpublic-school enrollment and the school-age population. This large residual indicates the pandemic may have shaped learning opportunities, particularly for the youngest children, in additional ways (e.g., skipping kindergarten, unregistered homeschooling, truancy) that merit further scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this short response, we at the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE) offer two critiques of Ray and Shakeel's (2022) recent study on the influence of demographic factors on homeschool safety. We argue that, while the study's methodology is novel and valuable, concerns remain about its usage of snowball sampling to overrepresent certain demographics, as well as shortcomings in the survey instrument and its validation. Our main critique, however, questions the study's ideological roots. We argue that Ray and Shakeel's aim is to circumvent consideration of potential changes to policy measures that would protect homeschooled children. In CRHE's view, closing loopholes that enable abuse to occur unnoticed takes precedence over determining incidence of abuse relative to school type. Indeed, we caution against conflating the relative incidence of abuse within homeschooling communities with its absolute importance to a society that prioritizes child safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2020, schools across Canada closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring parents to homeschool their children. We examined the association between homeschooling and romantic conflict among couples during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian couples (N = 756) completed online measures, including whether they were homeschooling, hours spent homeschooling, and romantic conflict during the month of April 2020. Two hundred ten couples (27.8%) reported that they were homeschooling their children during this period, with 173 (22.9%) couples homeschooling due to the pandemic. Multilevel regressions were used to examine the association between homeschooling status and romantic conflict, and actor–partner interdependence models (APIMs) were used to examine the association between homeschooling hours and romantic conflict among homeschoolers. In our APIM analyses, significant links between hours spent homeschooling and romantic conflict were observed, even when controlling for demographic variables. We found significant actor effects, where an individual's own homeschooling hours were positively related to the conflict they enacted toward their partner, and significant partner effects, where the partner's homeschooling hours were positively related to conflict received by the individual. Among all couples, we found significant positive associations between homeschooling status (i.e., nonhomeschooler or homeschooler) and both types of romantic conflict. However, these associations were nonsignificant when controlling for demographic variables. Our findings suggest the number of hours spent in homeschooling may be an important contributor to romantic conflict between partners during the pandemic. We discuss implications for schools and governments in providing additional support for families homeschooling children during mandated school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

America's traditional public schools are facing challenges that may ultimately lead to their extinction. From their beginnings, some criticized them for being secular schools when much of the country was religious and wary of government. Today, the Internet has amplified conservative voices, swaying public opinion against government‐run schools, and citizens' opinions of them are extremely divided. School choice options have increased for homeschooling and private schools, and public charter enrollment has exploded, all competing with and siphoning funds from traditional public schools often accused of indoctrinating students in liberal ideology. These developments, spurred by the COVID‐19 pandemic and culture wars, damage traditional public schools and hurt literacy goals. Funding reductions mean fewer resources for struggling readers and difficulties retaining small class sizes in early grades that would contribute immensely to literacy development. Teachers are deeply dissatisfied, and states report difficulty in hiring qualified teachers for language arts and reading. Students' literacy development suffers. It is only when we better understand how literacy instruction and students' literacy achievements in traditional public schools are affected by efforts to dismantle these schools that we can begin to advocate for policies and constructive solutions for rebuilding them so they will serve all children well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the closure of schools due to the Covid-19-pandemic, parents of schoolchildren had to quickly adapt their daily schedules by taking over responsibilities of homeschooling for their children, while arranging their own schedule. This study first identifies the parents who are most challenged by having to ensure homeschooling responsibilities and then assesses how homeschooling affects different dimensions of parents' wellbeing. Analyzing data from a large general population-representative panel survey in Switzerland, we compare subjective wellbeing before the Covid-19-outbreak to wellbeing at the end of the semi-lockdown. Almost one fifth of parents report being sometimes overwhelmed by homeschooling obligations for their children. Women, mid-aged and lower-educated individuals as well as those with young children and a lower income are particularly overwhelmed. Being sometimes overwhelmed by homeschooling does not cause changes in life satisfaction, stress and negative affect. Yet, it leads to a decrease in positive affect. We derive recommendations for educational and public health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has identified that creative arts education in homeschooling contexts presents unique challenges. A range of factors contribute to this, including a dearth of home‐education‐specific support. As such, the development of supporting resources that target the unique needs and approaches of homeschooling parents has previously been recommended. This paper reports on part of a larger Design‐Based Research project that consulted with up to 193 homeschooling families with the aim of developing such a support resource, one flexible enough to reflect the diversity of approaches across homeschooling contexts. The phase of the research reported here sought detailed insights into the processes that five families employed when planning and facilitating their childrenʼs arts learning. Through a series of three semi‐structured interviews with each family, observations of arts learning episodes in action and arts artefact analysis, each familyʼs approach to arts learning was mapped and analysed for insights into the processes that families employed when planning and actioning arts learning. The outcome of this phase of the project is a suggested framework to support homeschoolers in facilitating arts learning, aiming to be suitable across a variety of pedagogical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By selecting as object of research the National Learning Standards in Brazil (BNCC) and the movement for the regulation of homeschooling, this study proposes to identify the beliefs underlying the actions of those involved in the advocacy of each cause. Documentary research was conducted by focusing on the Movimento pela Base (MPB), an actor supporting the BNCC, and the Campanha EducAÇÃO Domiciliar - Direito Já!, a campaign which brings together actors from the coalition in favor of homeschooling. For the analyses, the paper used categories from the Advocacy Coalition Framework, created by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith in the 1980s. Although both policies refer to the right to education - either by linking this right to the homogenization of the curriculum or by questioning who is responsible for providing it - our findings indicate that these actors have different beliefs and forms of organization, which explains their different interests and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, historians – along with archivists and other stakeholders – began to initiate digital memory banks, inviting members of the public to upload personal stories, pictures, videos, or other material connected to the pandemic and its impact on everyday life. This article describes how platforms from Western and Central Europe differ with regard to contributions by children and adolescents, taking the German coronarchiv.de and covidmemory.lu from Luxembourg as the main case studies. Submissions come in various forms, but photographs are the most frequent, echoing the visual bias of social media. By means of selected contributions, the article illustrates the range of topics that can be of interest to future historians of education. The platforms show how COVID-19 influenced not only practices of education, with the introduction of homeschooling, but also the content of teaching, as seen in the many pandemic-related assignments uploaded. In this respect, it is crucial to acknowledge that there are significant gaps in the collections. Most notably, the first wave of infections in Europe is overrepresented, and people that were most existentially affected by the pandemic are underrepresented. Performing a thorough source critique on a selection of contributions, we argue that, despite these gaps, digital memory banks on the pandemic are of significant value for a future historiography of education, as long as the available metadata of the individual submissions are as complete and transparent as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online communication remains today predominant in influencing members of society through the use of new technical ways of communication. Traditional communication is thus being replaced by new ways. The media plays a huge role in disseminating information. According to Trappel, online media is a stand-alone genre. They meet first of all the defining characteristics of the media: they are public (they can be accessed by anyone), they are technically transmitted, they are addressed to a wide audience, they are characterized by periodicity and they relate to reality. On top of that, online media also have their own characteristics: they are multimedia (exceeding the limits imposed on print or classic media), they are digital (and therefore can be processed and dispersed) and they are interactive (they allow direct feedback). Especially the hypermedia possibilities of the internet bring an enormous flexibility in the creation and transmission of information. The period marked by the pandemic brought online communication to its peak. However the online press must maintain a vital role in raising awareness of the masses in order to counteract the harmful effects of communication manipulation. The benefits of online communication must lead to an increase in the level of training of users, both in terms of media education and in terms of online education. Certainly, the online school will remain in the future, not only as an alternative, but also as an independent component of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The closure of schools across the country as COVID reached pandemic status, laid bare the long existing inequities experienced by Black children in the K-12 system. Ironically, the chaos in educational spaces at the advent of the pandemic, offered a reprieve from physical school attendance and provided a natural experiment in educational possibilities beyond the classroom. This autoethnographic narrative utilizes the frameworks of BlackCrit and Motherwork in concert with the concept of marronage to interrogate the opportunities and limitations of one such possibility--educational evacuation as marronage through homeschooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeschooling is a form of education in which parents do not send their children to school. This phenomenon has been researched extensively from the perspective of parents. The studies that have examined homeschooling from the viewpoint of children have not, for the most part, included consideration of their future orientation. The purpose of the present research was to examine the future orientation of adolescents who were homeschooled in Israel. For this purpose, 15 homeschooled adolescents, aged 16–21, were interviewed. The interviews included questions regarding the future orientation of the respondents. The research findings indicate that most of the participants had a well-developed future orientation regarding three main spheres of what they expected their life to be: higher education, work and career, and family (future family and contact with family of origin). In addition, most of them were able to define future success from their point of view and the majority were also currently taking action to promote the future they desired. Highlights: Parents' perspective of homeschooling has been extensively researched. The purpose of the present research was to examine the future orientation of adolescents who were homeschooled in Israel. Most of the participants had a well-developed future orientation regarding three main spheres of their life in the future: higher education, work and career, and family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of homeschooling focus primarily on two areas: the demographic characteristics and socio-economic status of homeschoolers and the achievements of homeschooled children. Recently, however, the angle of research has shifted to the emotional and social results and emerging problems of homeschooling. Our paper presents the first attempt to investigate the reasons families in Russia choose homeschooling in the context of the historical changes that took place in the Russian education system in regard to the reasons families in Europe and the US choose homeschooling. In addition, this paper identifies the barriers homeschool families in Russia face and ways to overcome them. The study is based on survey data (N = 151) and interviews (N = 33) of parents in Russia. Our results indicate that parents struggle to define their role(s) in their relationships with their children during homeschooling while also encountering a lack of support and the misunderstanding of other family members. In addition to these difficulties, we identified organizational problems, including the transition to homeschooling, the lack of parental pedagogical competence, and the lack of special methods of individual education. A distinctive feature of Russian homeschooling, moreover, is that it remains parent-friendly, allowing the family to choose and organize the form of education for their children, and is developing rapidly while existing being in an institutional environment controlled by the state, with the legacy of the Soviet educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A longstanding critique of homeschooling is that it isolates children from mainstream society, depriving them of social experiences needed to thrive as adults. Although a small number of empirical studies challenge this criticism, this research tends to be derived from self-reports of homeschooling parents about their children. In this study, analyses of qualitative interviews (n = 31) and survey data (n = 140) of adults who were homeschooled as children are performed. Most interview participants described conventional and unconventional social experiences that they felt had satisfied their social needs while being homeschooled. Participants who were homeschooled for all or most of their K-12 education had less exposure to mainstream school-based social opportunities but reflected that homeschooling had not hindered their ability to navigate society effectively. Analyses of survey data seemed to echo this finding. Across four social and life outcomes (i.e. college attendance, household income, marital status, and subjective wellbeing), no statistical differences were observed between short-term homeschoolers (1–2 years) who spent nearly all of their K-12 education in brick-and-mortar schools and long-term (10–12 years) and substantial (3–9 years) homeschoolers who had less exposure to mainstream social opportunities available in brick-and mortar schools. This study advances the literature by drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from formerly homeschooled adults and by differentiating homeschoolers based on how many years they were homeschooled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Quebec (Canada), a new normative framework and the COVID-19 pandemic have precipitated the hiring, by the ministry of education, of at least a hundred new resource persons to monitor home education. According to international writings, these professionals are at the crossroads of normative, political, and educational conflicts. Our literature review reveals that these resource persons might solve such conflicts by adopting some of ten typical intervention strategies: mutual understanding, tolerance of disagreement, search for the child's interest, creativity, competency development, negligence, abuse of power, protection of their professionality, incontestability, and distrust. A questionnaire was constructed on the basis of this typology, aimed at supporting the study of their interactions with families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we identify approaches for understanding more thoroughly the academic and social experiences of homeschooled students. The growth of the homeschooling movement in the United States, questions about the need for additional regulation, and the importance of high‐quality education for children motivate this scholarly effort. We begin by defining homeschooling and outlining why it is a topic worthy of study. Next, we describe who is homeschooled, motivations for homeschooling, and ways parents engage in homeschooling. Preliminary evidence suggests that homeschoolers perform equal to or better than their conventionally schooled peers on measures of achievement and socioemotional functioning, but methodological limitations, especially selection effects, make it premature to draw definitive conclusions. Throughout the article, we offer suggestions for advancing knowledge on homeschooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study in question aims to describe aspects of domestic education in Brazil and Portugal, signaling the origin of this practice and its main distinctions in both countries, especially about regulation, considering that in Brazil it is prohibited and in Portugal it is regulated by law. On a more specific level, it is intended to show how the practice of homeschooling is an American influence that has gained adepts all over the world and becomes, more and more, a contemporary challenge for education. The study carried out refers to a qualitative and documentary research, which started from the analysis of the legislation on the subject in both countries. To do so, an exploratory investigation was carried out, in which we sought to map the legal diplomas drawn up on this type of education, taking the 2000s as a time frame, since the demand for this modality intensifies in this period. As a result, it is concluded that home education has never ceased to be allowed in Portugal, unlike Brazil, and, although it is a challenge today due to the growth of its demand, the relationship between schooling and this practice does not involve such antagonistic conflicts. in the Portuguese scenario as in the Brazilian one, since it is based on the constitutional principle of parental freedom of choice in education. Another important point to highlight is that the Portuguese state was concerned with detailing and publishing complementary rules to the existing laws on the subject, in 2019 and 2021, when this demand became more visible in society. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Portugal has already solved basic problems in its schooling, such as the lack of places and the universalization of public education, which accounts for about 80% of school enrollments. In the Brazilian case, the universalization of quality school education still has a long way to go. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread the world and our country, has negatively affected the field of education as well as affecting many areas of life. Due to the epidemic, schools were closed and distance education was started. One of the most important learning ways we will use to develop the attitude towards active learning in order to make the science lesson more effective and permanent during the pandemic is science activities. That’s why it is important to investigate the applicability of science activities in the home environment during the distance education period. The purpose of this research is to design and implement science activities that can be done at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants of the research consist of 30 middle school students in the 7th-grade class who take science courses in Afyonkarahisar. In this process, experiments related to the subject were determined and students were asked to do these experiments at home with the available facilities. A 7-item interview form was prepared as a data collection tool. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the students. According to obtained the results; It has been reached that the students easily adapt the materials used in the laboratory at home. During the applying experiments of the relevant subject at home, they carried out the experiments with the help of their families, the experiments contributed them a better understanding of the subject, and they experienced more easily due to performing by themselves. However, it has also been observed that there are students who have difficulties in doing the experiments at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeschooling is on the rise in many Western countries, reflecting families' growing preference for teaching their children at home, in a family environment. This increasing trend has a social derivative, as learning at home may develop alternative competencies. The objective of this research is to examine the effectiveness of homeschooling by analyzing the levels of creative thinking and social competencies among homeschoolers and by comparing these abilities to those of traditional learners. Participants included 549 schoolchildren between the ages of 8 and 12 (280 homeschoolers and 269 public school students). The participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires: 1) the Creative Thinking Drawing Production (TCT-DP) questionnaire to evaluate their creative thinking, and 2) the Social Competencies Rating System (SSRS) questionnaire to evaluate their social competences. The findings of the multiple regression analyses indicate that homeschoolers exhibit higher level of creative thinking and higher social competencies than traditional learners. Policy implications highlight the need to develop creative thinking and social competencies among traditional learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. There is more and more literature dealing with home education, but this area still seems to be insufficiently explored. The aim of the article is to describe the processes and contexts of home education from the management perspective. Design/methodology/approach. Initial recognition of the research subject through a literature review. A synthesising research approach was adopted, integrating the results of literature research and on this basis determining the directions of development of home education in Poland from specific perspectives. Findings. One of the more interesting conclusions is the direction of changes in the law on home education: clear though slow changes towards liberalisation. Management of the educational process by parents is characterised by freedom, which translates into a variety of management styles, but two tendencies can be distinguished: conservative and liberal. Taking into account the historical aspect, the characteristic feature of home education today is its egalitarianism, not elitism. Originality/value. The history of Polish education is quite complicated. Poland's enslavement by foreign countries resulted in many years of limiting education, including its various forms. Home education as an alternative to elementary schools was reactivated after 1989 and is still in statu nascendi. The article presents in a synthetic way the evolution of home education in Poland, thus outlining the trends in the development of home education from the perspective of management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades there has been a considerable increase in the scope of homeschooling in many Western countries. However, it has not been consistent among all sectors of society, but rather concentrated in certain groups. It is a growing trend among Jewish Israeli society, but has not taken hold among Israeli Druze. This article examines the reasons that Druze society in Israel has not been part of the considerable increase in the practice of teaching children at home. Several theoretical perspectives for understanding these differences are suggested and investigated, focusing on the unique characteristics of Druze society in Israel and of the secret Druze religion, as well as on feminist perspectives and the developments in Druze women's status in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to create a proposed strategy for homeschooling in Egypt, and to achieve this goal, the study used the descriptive method that is based on describing, analyzing and interpreting data. Homeschooling was defined, the reasons for joining it, then the American, South African and Australian experiences in homeschooling were examined, along with observing the current status of pre-university education in Egypt and the most important homeschooling efforts that took place in Egypt. All the previous steps were done using the descriptive method and with reference to the literature in the field and the related documents. The study also relied on the SWOT Analysis method to determine the strengths, weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that exist in the internal and external environments. So that the strategy can be reached based on a good definition of reality. The study ended with the development of the proposed strategy for homeschooling in Egypt in the light of foreign experiences and in line with the reality of the Egyptian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]