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Homeschooling parents are at times seen as isolated, self-centered, and reclusive. They keep their children away from the markedly valuable commonplace school, the environment where children acquire the essential knowledge and experiences that equip them with the required skills to successfully deal with civic and societal demands. Levin and Belfield (2003) report findings that “private schools produce more community service, civic skills, civic confidence, political knowledge, and political tolerance than public schools” (Ladd & Goertz, 2014, 222). However, it is incorrect to portray homeschooling as dispossession or removal of schools of their valuable purposes. It is widely known that homeschoolers are active partakers in the public domain (Hurlbutt, 2011). This paper tries to highlight the advantages of homeschooling and how school administrators and educators can take advantage of these benefits.
Numerous individuals known as homeschoolers are officially attending private or public schools while being educated or learning a great deal, methodically, somewhere else; and, as confirmed in a number of reports, these homeschoolers' parents communicate effectively and beneficially with professionals and experts in these schools (Hanna, 2012). Some homeschoolers learn almost entirely or completely at home, yet their parents still take part in activities that benefit the greater good. Homeschooling offers teaching and learning distinction that is frowned on in numerous public schools, and that is usually unlikely within the actual parameters of all kinds of schools.
Numerous studies (e.g. Ice & Hoover-Dempsey, 2011; Kraftl, 2013; Vigilant et al., 2014) have demonstrated how beneficial homeschooling is. Favorable findings to substantiate homeschooling were clearly shown in numerous studies. The involvement of parents in the learning of their children has been reported to be a motivating factor toward successful outcomes (Ladd & Goertz, 2014). One reason for homeschooling is the failure of conventional schooling to meet the specific needs of learners. Homeschooling operates in three ways: providing sufficient and suitable learning supports for the specific learning needs of children; building a secure and vigorous learning environment; and providing one-to-one learning support (Dennis, 2004). Basically, scholars hold the same opinion that learning experiences and practices at home have brought about positive learning outcomes. Kraftl (2013), for example, discovered that homeschooling is not limited to regulated or uniform curriculum and textbook instruction.
Learning occurs outside and inside the home, and hence the depth and breadth of learning in homeschooling encompasses actual, pragmatic and theoretical knowledge. Several researchers have also found out that homeschooling parents have greater competence in developing and practicing positive learning (Korkmaz & Duman, 2014). This could explain the high academic performance of homeschoolers. Moreover, a secure and encouraging learning environment appears to be taken for granted in public schooling. For instance, the problem of racial discrimination and biases in public schools have adversely impacted children from minority groups (Hurlbutt, 2011; Korkmaz & Duman, 2014). Therefore, homeschooling is another option for creating a more secure and encouraging learning environment for at-risk or vulnerable learners.
Finally, the inability of traditional schooling to meet the learning needs of special and gifted learners has also transferred the learning process to the house. The parents claim that a sense of control and harmony in choosing the learning experiences and practices of their children has encouraged them to decide to remove their children from traditional schooling and endow them with more positive learning outcomes (Kraftl, 2013). Academic achievement is one of the most encouraging benefits of homeschooling. The parents can thoroughly and regularly track the progress of their children. Parents can empower their children toward academic success and make sure that they learn the skills needed to succeed in life. Studies have shown that parents irregularly monitor the progress of their children in conventional schools as thoroughly and diligently as they do in homeschooling (Hanna, 2012), clearly due to the fact that homeschool teachers regularly have direct interaction with their learners and are largely accountable for the outcomes.
Because homeschooling is a tutorial form of teaching and learning, the learners get regular feedback or evaluation and closer attention. These aspects often lead to greater academic performance. As asserted by a Harding University professor, “Our homeschooled applicants are extremely well prepared academically. Their academic preparation typically is self-directed and initiated, which builds strong research skills. Since many of them work at their own pace, many will go far beyond a traditional curriculum” (Dennis, 2004, 14). Generally, homeschooled learners are self-taught and self-driven. In other words, homeschooling has provided an adaptive, flexible, and accommodating learning environment for young learners who might confront problems in formal schooling.
Problems like failures of traditional schooling, special learning needs, and racial prejudice were successfully mitigated through practicing homeschooling. Nevertheless, there are still aspects that must be focused on and enhanced like making the most of the educational materials and assistance from the government (Blok & Karsten, 2011). In addition, new technologies have a greater capability to further build an encouraging and safe learning environment and improve access to resources needed for a successful homeschooling.
Recommendations for Decision-Makers
Primarily, homeschooling practice must take into consideration a greater focus on learning processes, needs, and objectives of both parents and children. Numerous studies (e.g. Ice & Hoover-Dempsey, 2011; Hurlbutt, 2011) have emphasized the value of creating an instructional model to meet the learning needs of children. Although the homeschooling practice aims at surpassing and resolving the inadequacies and failures of traditional schooling, there are several instances that demonstrated the failures of parents in implementing the practice of homeschooling. In the study of Korkmaz and Duman (2014), the parents reported that insufficient knowledge on or inadequate familiarity with practical and theoretical knowledge and the curriculum were among the barriers in succeeding at homeschooling. In addressing these problems, several parents used diverse resources, like curriculum materials, in homeschooling their children. The research outcomes of Hanna (2012) also showed that the integration of new technologies, especially information and communication technologies (ICTs), could contribute to the success of homeschooling.
Furthermore, government intervention is discovered to be valuable for homeschooling. Parents who want their children to learn through homeschooling, as explained by Korkmaz and Duman (2014), need assistance from the government with regard to finances, educational resources, and opportunities to go to public schools. Moreover, several scholars (e.g. Blok & Karsten, 2011; Vigilant et al., 2014) explain that homeschooling monitoring and feedback are required to effectively track children's progress and continuously meet their learning needs. Hence, government intervention is important in capitalizing on the success of homeschooling and in ensuring the children's chances to attend public schools.
Conclusions
The benefits of homeschooling have been fiercely debated all over the world in the past decades. Many people believe that homeschooling robs children the chance to socialize or interact with other learners and to take part in academic and non-academic activities that would enhance their civic awareness. However, there are researchers who support the effectiveness of homeschooling in preparing children to formal schooling; some have reported how self-motivated and independent homeschooled students are. These benefits should be taken into consideration by school administrators, as well as the government. Homeschooling is not that valuable single-handedly, but it becomes a powerful tool once combined with traditional schooling.
References
Blok, H. & Karsten, S. (2011). Inspection of home education in European countries. European Journal of Education, 40(1), 138-152.
Dennis, J. (2004). Homeschooling in high school: planning ahead for college. Lynwood, WA: YWAM Publishing.
Hanna, L. (2012). Homeschooling education: longitudinal study of methods, materials, and curricula. Education and Urban Society, 44(5), 609-631.
Hurlbutt, K. (2011). Experiences of parents who homeschool their children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 26(4), 239- 249.
Ice, C.L. & Hoover-Dempsey, K.V. (2011). Linking parental motivations for involvement and student proximal achievement outcomes in homeschooling and public schooling settings. Education and Urban Society, 43(3), 339-369.
Korkmaz, H. & Duman, G. (2014). Public understanding about homeschooling: a preliminary study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 3891-3897.
Kraftl, P. (2013) Towards geographies of 'alternative' education: a case study of UK homeschooling families. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38, 436- 450.
Ladd, H. & Goertz, M. (2014). Handbook of research in education finance and policy. London: Routledge.
Vigilant, L.G., Anderson, T.C., & Trefethren, L. (2014). “I'm sorry you had a bad day, but tomorrow will be better”: stratagems of interpersonal emotional management in narratives of Fathers in Christian homeschooling households. Sociological Spectrum, 34, 293-313.
