|
Abstract:
|
Home-schooling has become an acceptable and more widespread educational
choice among parents. While home-schooling has a long history in America, the
societal and individual reasons for making the choice to home-school have changed
over time. The choice to home-school can shed light on current perceptions of the
educational system and on our educational values and standards.
In order to understand these current choices, research needs to be conducted to
examine the choices and motivational factors that influence parents to make the choice
to home-school. This research categorizes the motivational factors and researches
parental motivation to validate or invalidate them. Data for this thesis was first collected through a review of the current literature
on the issue. Milton Gaither (2008), in "Why Homeschooling Happened," examines the history of home-schooling. Michael Romanowski (2006), in "Revisiting The
Common Myths About Homeschooling," explored four specific myths of
homeschooling and the reality of each one. Eric J. Isenberg (2007), in "What Have We
Learned About Home-Schooling?" discusses home-schooling data and the
accountability factor.
A survey was also conducted of home-school families in Sacramento to
explore their motivational factors for choosing to home-school. Over 150 surveys
were collected and analyzed. The survey results validated much of the existing research on the motivational
factors behind the parental decision to home-school. Identified factors such as
ideological and pedagogical factors were clearly identified by survey participants as
strong motivational factors for them to home-school their children. Religious reasons,
academic challenges, and protection of their children from negative influences
emerged as leading reasons.
The survey also validated advantages and disadvantages of home-schooling
identified by the research. Advantages included: individualization of curriculum,
challenging students academically, ability to teach religious or moral values, and ability to spend more time with their children. Disadvantages included: extra work for
parents, and lack of access to specialized school equipment and activities. |
