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Student Achievement and Educator Perceptions

It is very difficult in Australia to set up strong statistically based studies about home education in any area.  This is due primarily to the problem of a difficult to identify population of home educators in Australia and the difficulty of random access to representative population samples.  As a result, our ability to analyse the characteristics of home educated students and their outcomes can be difficult.  At times like this, it can be helpful to consider research from overseas.

We analyse home education research from overseas as it is difficult to identify population of home educators in Australia.

Students in Higher Education and Tertiary Admissions Officers.

Over the last few years, researchers in the US have been able to identify some persistent findings about home educator outcomes with a little more clarity than we have here.  One recent project re-examined home educated students access to institutions of higher learning and the attitudes of admission officers of those institutions and compared findings with an earlier and similar study reported in 2004 (Gloeckner & Jones 2013).  It was found that all the recent studies showed that home educated students were achieving well in institutions of higher learning.  Their survey of admissions officers also revealed that the majority of admissions officers thought home educated students were likely to do well, and that they expected retention rates to be high.  About 1/3 of admissions officers thought socialisation, was the one area of concern, that it might be an issue, did not know the answer to that question or just bypassed this question.

SAT Results and State Regulation

A second study indicating home educated students have done well academically in SAT tests was conducted by Brian Ray, a leading advocate of home education in the US and Bruce Eagleson.  On request to the organisers of the SAT, they were provided with some average scores of students who had identified themselves as home educated students.  They had no way of knowing for how long had been engaged in home education and what type of home education these students had followed.  Of particular interest were their findings comparing the results of these students to the degree of regulation found in the states they came from.  Interestingly there was no significant statistical difference between home educated student performance and state regulation.  To emphasise their findings, they identified that in every instance, students achieved lower SAT test scores when they came from those states where there was the highest regulation.

Conclusion

It would be great to have this kind of data in Australia.  When the findings of the Australian research is synthesised, we know that home educated students are entering tertiary institutions and are achieving great results.  As yet there has been no comparison of the type of regulation expected by the various states and student achievements, but we could expect that results would probably be fairly similar. The reason we could expect such a finding is that students who are learning through their passion for particular topics are more likely to have the time and interest to pursue those interests with a great degree of application.

Working Towards Better Outcomes

When our state regulators and those responsible for overseeing home education practices in official capacities are more informed of current research findings here in Australia and overseas, they should be able to better work with and compliment the successful outcomes known to be achieved by home educated students.

  References:

Gaither, M., (2013).  Review of 'Reflections on a Decade of Changes:  Higher Education and Home schooling', ICHER blog.  

Gaither, M., (2013).  Review of 'State Regulation of Homeschooling and SAT Scores:  Is There a Relationship?  ICHER blog.

Summary of Australian Home Education Research

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What is the research in 2013 revealing about home education?

This year, a meta analysis of home education research as been published by two US academics – Robert Kunzman and Milton Gaither.  Most of the research conducted and reviewed is from the US, but some work from other countries has been included. They found that most research around the world was qualitative in nature and while they saw a need for more quantitative research, recognised that the often hidden nature of the home education population made this type of research difficult.

  Topics overviewed included: 

Home educator demographics:

numbers

characteristics

parent educational levels

parent motivations

special needs as a concern for more than 1/5th of families.

POINT OF INTEREST It is acknowledged that many parents are concerned for their own children’s particular needs.

Curricula and practice

idealogues vs/and pedagogues

school like to unschooling

curriculum packages

importance of networks and age of children in home education.

POINT OF INTEREST Of particular interest is the typical trend by parents to move to less formal programs over time.

Academic achievement

on pro home education surveys and their limitations

POINT OF INTEREST The general findings indicate that home educated students generally do well in language and the humanities but often under achieve in mathematics – particularly those using an unstructured/unschooling approach.

Research was also done on socialisation, which two main components – social interaction and values formation:

Social Interaction

POINTS OF INTEREST Home education in general does not disadvantage children socially. Greater acceptance of home education as a legitimate option

There is a growing recognition that home education generally does not disadvantage children socially and that it may encourage ‘a strong sense of independence and self-determination’ (p20) and less dependence on peer relationships, although a few can experience greater isolation.  There is also a great acceptance by professional medical literature to see home education as ‘a legitimate educational option’ (p21).

Socialisation as Values Formation

Where the focus of theorists has been on children’s ‘autonomy, religious inculcation, and preparation for democratic citizenship’ (p21). 

POINTS OF INTEREST Empirical studies show no statistical difference in children’s religious behaviour and commitments whether home educated or not. 

This research shows that home educated students in the US are more likely to vote and be engaged voluntarily in civic activities.

Laws and homeschooling in the US vary between states,

Relationships between home educators and public school vary between states in the US and even between districts.  The rise of the internet as an educational tool has encouraged some collaboration between schools and home educators. Scholars may see these changes as threatening to the ‘civic mission of common schooling’ (p29) or as a healthy move to reconnect private and public spaces.

Transition of home educated students into tertiary institutions and adulthood

POINTS OF INTEREST Possible struggle with writing research papers but catch up quickly. Adult home educated students could have lower SAT scores - an area for further research

Most studies show little difference between home educated students and others in their ease of transition into tertiary institutions.  There is some evidence that home educated students could struggle with writing research papers once in tertiary but often catch up quite quickly.  Home educated students also tend to be more stable in their religious and political positions than others. 

One area for further research is of adult home educated students’ outcomes. One study found that adult home educated students could have lower SAT scores and more regularly enter less academically prestigious institutions than peers. These students also ‘reported at a higher rates feelings of helplessness about life and lack of goals and direction’ (p31).

Internationally, home education is recognised as a growing phenomenon around the world

The conclusion recommended that government policy be informed by meaningful and careful research, and not be directed by advocacy groups or developed as knee jerk reactions to isolated anecdotes.  As yet, we still do not really know what an ‘average’ home educated student is.  Research on home education will continue to grow and home education will continue to challenge perceptions of conventional schooling, education and family.

For the Home Educating Parent

Parents home educating or considering home education can be assured that home education is a legal and worthwhile alternative educational pathway that can support healthy personal and social outcomes. 

TIP FOR SUCCESS To ensure children are able to have access to the best educational and life pathways, it appears to be important to ensure students are provided with strong mathematical programs, and connection with healthy social alternatives.

  Reference

Kunzman, R. and M. Gaither (2013). "Homeschooling:  A Comprehensive Survey of the Research." Other Education:  The Journal of Educational Alternatives 2 (2013)(1): 4-59.

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Students' Perspectives of Home Education

What are the benefits of home schooling your children according to their perscpective? The following blog explores a doctoral thesis by Carson to help you make an informed decision on homeschooling.

Locating easily accessible research on home education is not always easy and any research in Australia on home education is still quite limited.  Translating research from other countries to Australia can also be problematic.  We do know that parent reasons for home educating in Australia are more likely to be about what parents see as the needs of their particular child rather than the ideology (religious) or pedagogical reasons so often cited in much of the research literature coming out of the USA, for example.  This focus also translates into interpretations of other home educating factors.

  Homeschool Research Report from USA

A doctoral thesis report, ‘Homeschoolers Perspectives on Homeschooling’, completed in 2009 and published in 2011 provides a quantitative and qualitative look at how three groups of students, public school (81), private school (38) and home educated (12), viewed their social experiences.  Students were from middle to secondary school age.  Carson, acknowledged important limitations of her study.  It was based on self-reporting and the sample sizes and ideology background were limiting factors to how this information could be generalised to other situations.  For example, the home educated and private school students appeared to all be from Christian backgrounds.  With this in mind, here is the feedback from homeschooled children:

Her home educating students gave similar reasons to being home educated as parents had previously reported in earlier research.  She thought the most likely reason for this was that the students had heard their parents and internalised their ideas.

Home educated students had a more positive view of their learning environment than their public schooled peers.  The suggested explanation for this was that both home educated and private school students knew they could access an alternative educational option if necessary, unlike their public school peers.  This positive view of one’s learning environment was important because a student’s view of their learning enviroment also contributed to their social competence and behaviour in the learning environment.

Home educated students indicated they were as socially competent as their public and private schooled peers.  Connection was made to other research linking social competence to achievement levels, competence at work, engagement in extracurricular activities, self-worth, and mental health.

Home educated students also saw themselves as more self-sufficient than their public and private school peers.   This meant they were more likely to engage in problem solving than their peers.

Research sheds a positive light on home schooling

These findings are encouraging for those considering the home education option. The quantitative aspect of this study has not been conducted in Australia, so we do not know how home educated students would fare in a similar study here.  The more qualitative studies on student attitudes and experiences conducted in Australia do indicate that these findings would be generally transferrable to Australian home educated students.  We know that those students who have been involved in home education research would report the following perspectives:

student reasons for valuing home education may overlap with those of their parents, but may include other factors, not always recognised by parents.

appreciation for their one-on-one learning experience

ability to organise their own timetable and even curriculum topics

the opportunity to pursue particular interests meaningfully

opportunity to connect learning experiences to real life situations and contexts

recognition that they can choose to change their learning environment and attend mainstream institutions.

value learning in ways they felt most comfortable

appreciation of their social connections with same aged peers and others from older and younger ages groups - something they noted their mainstreamed peers were less likely to recognise or appreciate.

How to broaden your child's opportunities in homeschool

It is a good idea for parents to recognise that some students, particularly older ones, may feel they need access to experts in particular subject areas, connection with similar aged peers for social reasons especially if living in isolated places or who have moved into new localities where they know few people.  Secondary students also appreciate opportunities to engage in discussions and interactive learning opportunities with peers and teachers.  Thoughtful home educating parents can find ways to ensure these types of opportunities exist within their programs.  Interactions with mainstream institutions can also be another option to consider.

To find out how you can create the best homeschool for your children visit www.aheas.com.au

FREE OFFER FOR MARCH 2012:

Receive a 30 minute personal consultation with Dr Glenda Jackson to discuss how you can broaden the opportunities for your children in a homeschooling environment. Visit www.aheas.com.au *This offer is available to people in Australia.

  References:

Carson, O. (2009). Homeschoolers Perspectives on Homeschooling. Newberg, Oregon, George Fox University. Doctor of Psychology:54.

Summary of Australian Research on Home Education

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What is Unschooling

Media gain interest in unschooling Recently a representative of one of the Australian media outlets asked a number of Australian home education leaders about ‘unschooling’ and how ‘natural learning’ worked. 

Research shows that ‘unlearning’ philosophy has been part of the Australian home education culture from as early as the 1980s.  A visit to Australia by John Holt in 1981 encouraged this movement.  While there are purists who believe that children should totally direct their own learning, there are other interpretations as to what unlearning also means.  It is possible to use an unlearning philosophy while using a more eclectic approach, and it can also be evident in student attitudes when in mainstream institutions. Most Australian research has consistently shown that home educating families regularly move to less formal approaches in the programs over time. The reasons given for this shift to less formal curriculum focus on the ability of home education to adjust to and make the most of student interests and motivation. Carlo Ricci uncovers the benefits of unschooling

Recently, Carlo Ricci, a Canadian academic with a keen interest in encouraging democratic involvement and editor of the ‘Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning’ published a book titled: ‘The Willed Curriculum, Unschooling, and Self-Direction.’  He interviewed a number of well known unlearning and alternative educational speakers about their views of unlearning.  His intentions was to explore their interpretations and observations about what an ‘unlearning’ philosophy of education might look like. His interviewees included John Gatto, Pat Farenga, Kellie Rolstad, Jerry Mintz, Ron Miller and Mathew Davis.  His findings should encourage people wanting to know more about unlearning or natural learning to think about how they might use an unlearning philosophy of education, even if children are in formal education. What Is unschooling?

Foremost in an unlearning philosophy of education, is the idea that learning is ‘autonomous, self-directed’ and engaging.  ‘Care, compassion, love, trust and respect’ are also central this approach.  Carlo Ricci discovered that his interviewees described unlearning from more than one perspective, but most of all the consensus was that this approach encouraged the learner to be in control of their own learning and life experiences.  Although unlearning is a critique of mainstream culture, the act of learning is a natural part of human activity, and as such does not require management or control.

UNLEARNING IS about freedom to learn in keeping with one’s interests, and this will include seeking assistance and resources from others.

When learning about the world the learner is encouraged to see and practice a ‘give and take’ attitude in the learning experience, especially with their carers.  Most of all, unlearning encourages the learner to become intrinsically motivated, to exercise initiative, pursue passions and be self-determining (p7,27). The many strengths of unlearning The strengths of unlearning become more evident when contrasted with typical mainstream education practices and experiences.  Because Ricci’s interviewees highlighted a number of different qualities, it became apparent that unlearning philosophy is not just a specific concept, but one that allows a variety of interpretations and approaches. Benefits of unlearning:

promotes learner directed investigation - of oneself, neighbourhood, and community, including history - in keeping with one’s interest

allows learners to learn differently and uniquely, according to one’s abilities and interests

supports connectedness with family and community

involves others, especially parents who are able to support and provide resources as needed

encourages interests to grow in any direction within a flexible curriculum

is naturally customised around student interests

Limitations of unlearning Concerns about the potential limitations of unlearning practices include:

the potential to only be directed by the self in an unbalanced way while ignoring the history and experience of more informed others, and the broader community and world

a possible balance problem between freedom and structure

pursuing the individual and unique to the exclusion of the broader community, society and the world

possibly missing out on the social benefits of connecting with others, not necessarily just same aged peers

too much adult focus on the child encouraging ‘me’ attitudes to the exclusion of ‘other’, particularly family and community

so much independence, dynamic engagement in community and willingness to challenge and question that main streamers might find confronting

 the need for the development of personal balance shifting from parent to child

unlearning is not for everyone, for a variety of reasons

some minority children and economically challenged people sometimes need to learn the language of power most easily learnt in institutions - again it is about balance

need to ensure that parental and adult attitudes and values of trust and respect are modeled to children so they learn about ‘honour, respect, and dignity’ (p43-55)

This is a very brief overview of unlearning philosophy of education Whatever approach a home educator takes when planning their homeschool program, be aware of opportunities to work with student interests.

Encourage students to be involved when designing learning programs. This will encourage their:

engagement

motivation

autonomy

self-direction

FREE HOMESCHOOL OFFER FOR FEBRUARY: Receive a 30 minute consultation with Dr Glenda Jackson on how to incorporate the beneficial principles of 'unlearning' in your home school. Claim free homeschool offer now >>

For more information on homeschooling, visit www.aheas.com.au

References and Connections: A copy of one of John Holt’s Australian lectures is available for purchase through the Victorian Home Education Network. Ricci, C. (2012). The Willed Curriculum, Unschooling, and Self-Direction. Toronto, Ricci Publishing. Summary of Australian Home Education Research Unschooling philosophy is supported by most Australian networks.  The best known long term supporter of the unlearning approach is Bev Paine.

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How Do We Learn?

Although there are any number of reasons one might choose to educate children at home, the process of homeschooling is essentially about ‘learning’.

Learning Styles

In my own research into the experiences of parents educating children at home, it became very apparent most parents had considered views about how they and their children learnt. In particular, these parents were conscious we all learnt in unique ways and they often explained these learning differences in terms of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences (Gardner’s multiple intelligences for example). Teacher training programs in tertiary institutions, for example, generally include units on theories explaining or categorising the ways individuals learn. These can be very useful for helping teachers, and home educating parents in this instance, to prepare learning materials suitable for individual learners. It is, however, also important to recognise these models, while useful, need to be used with care.

Australian Research on Learning and Home Education

At AHEAS our understanding of learning is based on understanding developmental theories. General theories of learning are a useful place to start when trying to understand principles of learning. However, most research on learning is conducted on students within schools or other educational institutions. There is not a lot of research on learning in the home. One researcher, Dr Alan Thomas, has had a long fascination with learning occurring in the homes of homeschooling families. Initially, his research included subjects in Tasmania as well as in London, giving Australian home educators a unique position in his research findings. (For those interested in his findings, you might like to locate his co-authored book: Lowe, J, & Thomas, A. (2002). ‘Educating your Child at Home’. London, Continuum (Available on line from http://www.home-ed.vic.edu.au/).

Our ongoing discussions on learning will explore a combination of general learning theories framed through what we know from research based on the learning experiences of home educated students.

Visit our website at:  http://australianhomeeducation.com.au

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Working Out a Philosophy of Education for Learning Programs

Those State Education Departments which require parents to present learning programs usually ask for some kind of ‘rationale’, overarching reason, or philosophy of education.  To assist with the development of these statements it is helpful to understand something about general philosophy of education.

In general educational circles three overarching philosophical approaches to education have been identified.

Learning from ideas and means that we learn theory before practice (Ideology)

Learning through experience means that we learn from experience and generalise concepts form these experiences (Empiricism and Romanticism)

Learning according to developmental processes means that we learn in keeping with  general developmental processes and patterns (Teleology)

How does this impact the learner and their learning?

Each of these philosophical positions influences the way we think we learn in particular ways, and this flows through to the way we develop our learning programs.  Working out how we believe we learn allows us the opportunity to more clearly explain and justify our own position while encouraging us to be more open-minded to the differing positions of others.  Understanding how we ‘know’ and ‘learn’ should enable us to better understand how we expect our children to learn.  When we understand the language used by these different philosophical perspectives we are also able to understand differences in educational debates and discussions.  We, as home educating parents, may even be able to help others in the community to be more open minded about our home educator positions.

One of the aims of AHEA is to enable parents to more clearly articulate their educational philosophy and intentions in their learning programs as this will flow through to better learning outcomes of our children.

Visit our website at http://australianhomeeducation.com.au

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Learning, Decision Making and Identity

Parent Concerns for Children's Life Outcomes

In one recent Australian research project, home educating parents expressed concerns for their children in the following areas:  the ability for children to learn in keeping with their needs, the development of independence and autonomy in preparation for adulthood, and the development of healthy self-concepts.  The overall findings of the study found parents, students and educational professionals agreed that home education catered very well for each of these areas in ways that were effective and different to opportunities provided in schools.  The reasons for the success of home education to provide for these concerns are still being explored, however some of the key reasons for its success are:

 Some Reasons for Success in Home Education

     Parent awareness of their children’s learning needs and styles.

     Opportunities for students to influence the types of learning material and methods of learning.

     Student ability to regularly exercise effective decision making skills.

     Learning experiences connected to the real world.

     The opportunity to form an identity built through life experiences without pressure to constantly and comparatively evaluate one’s self against others, particularly same aged peers.

 AHEA Supports

Because AHEA is aware of these concerns and how these outcomes are achieved through home education practices, we are able to assist new parents make meaningful decisions to achieve these types of results effectively.

Visit our website at http://australianhomeeducation.com.au

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AHEAS is here to help you run the best home school

Hi and welcome to the AHEAS blog!

AHEAS was begun in response to media comments that there needed to be greater support and community connection with home education.  It was also begun in response to the needs expressed by parents and students during interviews in a research project and from those who have heard of this research and not known where to turn for guidance. AHEAS hopes to provide resources to new home educators looking for support and assistance when setting up suitable learning programs for their children.  It also aims to support the learning of students who have been home educating for awhile – giving them the opportunity to have work assessed by experienced educational professionals as this was an area some students thought would have been beneficial. The goals for AHEAS in the future focus on a number of areas.  Because learning through peers is known to be important to learning, there are plans to establish interactive learning sites where students can display and discuss their work with other interested peers.  As AHEAS grows, there are plans to also establish on-line learning centres where interested students can discuss their questions with subject experts and in turn be challenged by those experts.  Already there are subject experts in the areas of Mathematics and Art who are keen to be involved in these programs. AHEAS aims to support parents who have students with various types of learning challenges, AHEAS has already begun approaching various support professionals to work with these families.  The priority request of these professionals is that they respect the rights of home educators to educate their children at home without fear of pressure to return children to school.  So far the response from these professionals has been very positive – some of them have even engaged in home education personally.  It is expected that this service will be an important part of AHEAS. And finally, because I, as the director of this program, enjoy doing research work with home educating families in Australia, ongoing research into the practice and outcomes of home education will continue to be a top priority of AHEAS. These are just a few of the future plans for AHEAS in its service to home educating families in Australia.

Visit our website at http://australianhomeeducation.com.au