Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives (Contemporary Studies in Social and Policy Issues in Education: The David C. Anchin Center Series)

This significant volume studies the growing body of research on home education, and offers a broad analysis of this movement. Introductory chapters present the most current information on the demographics of the movement and on the social and academic outcomes of home education. Beyond these data, the broader implications of the movement are considered in chapters discussing legal issues and policy analysis. Additional chapters provide historical and sociological analysis of the conflicts between parents and schools that often precipitate the decision to home school. The volume ends with an anthropological analysis of learning in the informal home setting and a philosophical critique of the movement as an abandonment of a belief in the efficacy of common schooling. Although their perspectives differ, this volume's contributors agree that the home schooling movement offers an intriguing critique of traditional education. While nationally publicized school improvement measures call for increased bureaucratization, professionalism, and standardization, a growing number of families are choosing to forego traditional schooling altogether. This volume places these families' experiences within the broader framework of current debates over pedagogy, the organization and control of schooling, and the feasibility of pluralism in the common school. The first section, which contains chapters 1-4, concentrates on the parents and children learning at home. The first chapter summarizes home schooling demographics, and the second chapter treats home-schooled children's academic and social development. The next chapter presents qualitative vignettes of different home schooling populations--the ideologues and the pedagogues. Chapter 4 analyzes day-to-day interactions of children and adults in home schools. Part II, which contains chapters 5-8, discusses the significance of the home schooling movement. Chapter 5 analyzes trends in state regulation against the backdrop of increased parental choice in education. Chapter 6 critiques the individualist philosophy underlying home education and decries the loss of social reform through public schooling. Chapter 7 attributes this loss of faith in the secular mission of public schooling to the changing relationships among family, state, and school. The final chapter offers a comprehensive analysis of home schooling litigation and of constitutional challenges to state compulsory attendance statutes. Recommendations for policymakers are provided, along with extensive chapter references and an index. (MLH) Contents 6 Introduction 8 Part I: The Phenomena of Home Schooling 14 1 Home Instruction: The Size and Growth of the Movement 16 2 The Academic Achievement and Affective Development of Home-schooled Children 50 3 Ideologues and Pedagogues: Parents Who Teach Their Children at Home 70 4 Culture Acquisition in an Intentional American Community: A Single Case 84 Part II: The Implications of The Home Schooling Movement 106 5 State Regulation of Home Schooling: A Policy Analysis 108 6 The Best and Wisest Parent: A Critique of John Holt’s Philosophy of Education 128 7 The Shifting Roles of Family and School as Educator: A Historical Perspective 144 8 Home Schooling Law 166 Appendix: Home Schooling Requirements in the United States 209 Author Index 218 A 218 B 218 C 218 D 218 E 218 F 218 G 218 H 219 I 219 J 219 K 219 L 219 M 219 N 219 O 219 P 219 Q 219 R 219 S 219 T 220 V 220 W 220 Z 220 Subject Index 221 A 221 B 221 C 221 D 221 E 222 F 222 H 222 I 222 L 222 M 223 N 223 O 223 P 223 R 223 S 224 T 224 V 224 W 224 9780893917067 Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 8 Part I: The Phenomena of Home Schooling......Page 14 1 Home Instruction: The Size and Growth of the Movement......Page 16 2 The Academic Achievement and Affective Development of Home-schooled Children......Page 50 3 Ideologues and Pedagogues: Parents Who Teach Their Children at Home......Page 70 4 Culture Acquisition in an Intentional American Community: A Single Case......Page 84 Part II: The Implications of The Home Schooling Movement......Page 106 5 State Regulation of Home Schooling: A Policy Analysis......Page 108 6 The Best and Wisest Parent: A Critique of John Holt’s Philosophy of Education......Page 128 7 The Shifting Roles of Family and School as Educator: A Historical Perspective......Page 144 8 Home Schooling Law......Page 166 Appendix: Home Schooling Requirements in the United States......Page 209 G......Page 218 S......Page 219 Z......Page 220 D......Page 221 L......Page 222 R......Page 223 W......Page 224 Home Instruction : The Size And Growth Of The Movement / Patricia Lines -- The Academic Achievement And Affective Development Of Home-schooled Children / Brian D. Ray And John Wartes -- Ideologues And Pedagogues : Parents Who Teach Their Children At Home / Jane A. Van Galen -- Culture Acquisition In An Intentional American Community : A Single Case / Mary Anne Pitman And M. Lynne Smith -- State Regulation Of Home Schooling : A Policy Analysis / James G. Cibulka -- The Best And Wisest Parent : A Critique Of John Holt's Philosophy Of Education / Susan Douglas Franzosa -- The Shifting Roles Of Family And School As Educator : A Historical Perspective / Joseph Kirschner -- Home Schooling Law / Sharon Nalbone Richardson And Perry A. Zirkel. Edited By Jane Van Galen, Mary Anne Pitman. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Home schooling, once a necessary mainstay of education on the American frontier, waned in the late 19th and early part of the 20th century, retreating before the drive for compulsory schooling and a public goal of seeing all children graduate from high school.