The Ins and Outs of Homeschooling

The Determinants of Parental Motivations and Student Achievement

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9728697
AutoresEd Collom (0000-0003-2931-6968, University of Southern Maine, autor correspondente)
Ano2005
Volume37
Fascículo3
Páginas307-335
Data de publicação2005-05-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEducation and Urban Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0013124504274190
OpenAlexW2138372293
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas32
Referências citadas27

This research investigates two major aspects of homeschooling. Factors determining parental motivations to homeschool and the determinants of the student achievement of home-educated children are identified. Original survey data from an organized group of homeschoolers is analyzed. Regression models are employed to predict parents’ motivations and their students’ standardized test achievement. Four sets of homeschooling motivations are identified. Academic and pedagogical concerns are most important, and it appears that the religious base of the movement is subsiding. Several major demographic variables have no impact upon parental motivations, indicating that this is a diverse group. Parents’ educational attainment and political identification are consistent predictors of their students’ achievement. Race and class—the two major divides in public education—are not significant determinants of standardized test achievement, suggesting that homeschooling is efficacious. It is concluded that homeschoolers are a heterogeneous population with varying and overlapping motivations

Academic achievement · Achievement test · Developmental psychology · Educational attainment · Ethnic group · Mathematics education · Political science · Population · Race (biology · Sociology · Standardized test · Test (biology · Demography · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · Gender Studies · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Parental Involvement in Education · Psychology · Social Psychology