Home Schooling

Home Schooling Definition

Home schooling refers to the practice of educating one’s own children outside of conventional institutional settings, a practice that has evolved from a specific American innovation into a global educational movement over the last three decades. While initially viewed as an individual choice, it functions as a collective social movement rooted in philosophical disagreements about education and the role of the family versus the state.

Historical Development and Demographics

The growth of home schooling has been significant, with estimates showing substantial increases in adherents globally. Although parent-directed education was largely superseded by compulsory schooling in the early twentieth century, the practice reemerged during the cultural ferment of the 1960s and 1970s as an “anti Establishment” response. Historically, home school families have been disproportionately middle-class, well-educated, and predominantly white. The majority of this practice is conducted by mothers, often enabling them to integrate professional status with traditional conceptions of motherhood.

Dual Philosophical Branches

The movement possesses a distinctive dual history stemming from differing ideological foundations. One branch emerged from the left liberal alternative school movement, advocating for radical decentralisation of teacher-student relationships and increased student autonomy. Key figures like John Holt promoted this approach, often using factory metaphors to critique conventional schooling. The other branch developed within the conservative Protestant tradition, exemplified by the work of Raymond and Dorothy Moore, who appealed to religious families skeptical of public education. Despite these cultural differences, both groups shared a fundamental belief that children possess an essential self and that standardised instruction is detrimental to their development.

Legality and Organisation

A primary early objective for home school advocates was securing legal recognition for the practice nationwide. Through organised lobbying efforts in the 1980s, activists successfully achieved legalisation across the United States by leveraging the state-level jurisdictional structure of American education. However, differences in cultural tradition led to divergent organisational structures: some groups favoured highly democratic and inclusive associations, while others preferred hierarchical, religiously defined organisations, resulting in a split between officially ‘diverse’ and officially ‘Christian’ organizational worlds within the movement.

Academic Outcomes and Sociological Lessons

Quantitative research on the academic outcomes of home-schooled children has been piecemeal; nevertheless, available evidence suggests that the average home-schooled child performs at least as well as their conventionally schooled peers on nationally normed tests, with no indication of academic disadvantage. The movement offers several important sociological lessons: it highlights the inherent tensions between the family and the school system, demonstrating conflicts arising from differing priorities and expectations regarding children’s education. Furthermore, home schooling underscores the contemporary value placed on individualism, promoting highly customised instruction over uniform curricula. Finally, it illustrates the growing trend of viewing education as a private good best managed through market mechanisms, contrasting with the earlier view that education was a universal public good for all citizens.