Parents learn what they really need, how to find or create materials and opportunities for less money, and how to organize their household for economical, happy learning.
This practical, hands-on guide from the No. 1 homeschooling Web site gives readers everything they need to create a customized education plan that works with children's unique intelligence and learning style. Veteran homeschoolers and interested newcomers alike can benefit. (July)
A surprising portrait of homeschooling today Today, two million U.S. children are homeschooled, and their numbers have grown meteorically. Preeminent educational scholar Joseph Murphy draws on research spanning four decades to offer a revealing and balanced look at the growth of the homeschooling movement. Readers will find: A complete history of the homeschooling movement Demographic insights on today’s homeschooling families Discussion of motivations for homeschooling, and how those vary among different groups Comprehensive information on how homeschooled students fare academically, socially, and professionally An illuminating perspective on how the homeschooling movement is influencing public education and society overall
How can we create effective partnerships between home, school and the community? How can the relationships and communication between families and school be strengthened? How can families help schools to improve behaviour in their children, both at home and at school? Using a tried and tested framework that has been successfully implemented throughout a wide variety of very different schools and settings, ‘Family Values’ is a Scheme which engages and empowers families to work in close collaboration with schools and organisations, and which results in long-term improvements in behaviour, communication, pupil achievement and relationships. The ‘Family Values’ Scheme has been proven to: Help pupils to be more academically diligent Help schools to assume a calmer, more peaceful ambience Forge better pupil-teacher relationships Improve Pupil and teacher wellbeing Help parents to be more engaged with the school Improve children’s literacy, behaviour and attendance Provide head teachers and their staff with an effective whole-school strategy. The authors’ award-winning ‘Family Values’ Scheme is underpinned by sound theoretical principles, and they show here how it has been successfully put into practice through case studies in real school settings. The book explores how the Scheme promotes social, emotional and family system theories, and, in linking effectively to SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning), the Scheme compliments existing personal and social education programmes in all schools. Showing schools and organisations how to create effective partnerships with families and the community in a fun, exciting and sustainable way, Better Behaviour through Home-School Relations will be of huge benefit to all school staff, as well as local authorities, support groups, parents, charities and services.
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.
In this book, Brian Baugus examines home schooling as an education enterprise, arguing that successful home school families have the same characteristics and motivations as entrepreneurs. Baugus examines the history and economic theories behind home schooling to explain the rational decision-making that motivates home schooling endeavors, examining dissatisfaction with mainstream education, expectations of return on investment, and resistance from established providers.
Offers challenged homeschooling parents practical advice combined with spiritual insight about controlling the curriculum quest, defining basic educational objectives for different age groups, streamlining commitments, and developing realistic goals and schedules. Original.
This book provides a lively account of one of the most important and overlooked themes in American education. Beginning in the colonial period and working to the present, Gaither describes in rich detail how the home has been used as the base for education of all kinds. The last five chapters focus especially on the modern homeschooling movement and offer the most comprehensive and authoritative account of it ever written. Readers will learn how and why homeschooling emerged when it did, where it has been, and where it may be going. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to incorporate the most recent scholarship on the topic and to provide comprehensive coverage of recent trends.
Home schooling is an important and growing American phenomenon with only our first edition in the field. This new 2nd edition will appeal to the home school world, people interested in American education, and the private school community. Changes in the educational environment in the US over the last ten years have prompted growing numbers of parents to withdraw their children from public education. Currently, four percent of school-age children in the United States are home schooled. An array of educational researchers present various legal, philosophical, and personal perspectives to this new volume. Changes in schooling and home schooling in Great Britain bring an interesting international perspective to this collection of research-based information.
Estimates suggest there are around 1.5m Americans who have turned to homeschooling for their children (and this is probably a significant underestimate). Whether this is due to a perceived failing in the state education system, religious or political convictions or the need to accommodate some special need of the student or family, it is an issue that causes controversy and, undoubtedly raises very serious questions about the state of future generations of American citizens. Advocates of the system claim it improves the education of the child, shapes it more to their needs and aptitudes and leads to a more rounded individual experience. Critics claim it undermines the public school system, makes children more narrow and prejudiced in their outlook and doesn’t offer any significant advantages academically. So who is right? As with all such debates there is a high degree of subjectivity involved when assessing claims and counterclaims. It is difficult to substantiate or disprove a lot of these and not enough objective, scientific research has been conducted to come up with conclusive results either way. Many who have used the system are very happy with the results though they assert it is hard work and requires lots of commitment (and often cost). A few are honest enough to admit there are considerable drawbacks and that the concept is not suitable for everyone – adults or children. A lot of its critics are opposed to it on political grounds claiming it is a reactionary idea that breeds inequality and perpetuates right-wing principles. Others oppose the association with religious beliefs, though there is no strong evidence that this is a major factor in most decisions to homeschool. Homeschooling has had a long, hard road to acceptance. It has been equated with truancy and illegality and has been criticized and pilloried often by people who know little about it. Its practitioners have been branded as ‘kooks’, religious fanatics, right-wing pedagogues and many other things. Some of these accusations might be founded but the average homeschooler is probably none of these. In fact they are probably just that – average. Many will agree it is a parent’s right to give their children the best possible education and it is an issue of choice, freedom and independent thinking. Whether this is largely beneficial or detrimental will ultimately be down to the perspective of individuals as they consider the pros and cons.
