24;January-February;2014;•;The;Informed;Hom www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Context
Is;it;still;booming?;Flat?;Deflating? If;growing,;at;what;rate?;This;is what;a;lot;of;media;reporters,;pro- ponents;of;homeschooling,;and
antagonists of parent-led home-based
education;want;to;know;regarding;the
homeschooling population. Research-ers;with;the;federal;government;recently
took;another;look;at;this;question. 1 The
study;also;considered;demographics;of
the;homeschool;students;and;why;their
parents;homeschool;them.
Findings
Amber,;Stark,;and;Redford;(2013);ex-
plain that their data for the National
Household;Education;Surveys;Program
are;“.;.;.;nationally;representative;of;stu-dents;enrolled;in;kindergarten;through
grade 12, including children enrolled
in private schools, enrolled in public
schools, and homeschooled. The total
number;of;completed;questionnaires;was
17,563;[397;homeschooled;and;17,166
enrolled,;p.;23];children),;representing
a population of 53. 4 million students
enrolled;in;kindergarten;through;grade
12 in 2011–12” (i.e., January through
August;2012);(p.;1).
“Homeschool;calculations;follow;pre-
vious;homeschool;reports;by;including
children;ages;5;through;17,;in;a;grade
equivalent;to;at;least;kindergarten;and
not;higher;than;grade;12,;and;excludes
students;who;were;enrolled;in;public;or
private;school;more;than;25;hours;per
week, and students who were home-
schooled;only;because;of;temporary;ill-
ness”;(p.;21).
They concluded that 3.4%—or
1,770,000—of U.S. K- 12 students were
homeschooled;circa;spring;of;2012.;The
95%;confidence;interval;would;be;about
1. 54;million;to;2.00;million;(pp.;17,;46).
The;reasons;parents;gave;for;home-schooling;these;children,;in;decreasing
order of frequency chosen, were the
following (and parents could choose
more;than;one;reason):
1.;A;concern;about;environment;of
other;schools—91%
2.;A;desire;to;provide;moral;instruc-
tion—77%
3. A;dissatisfaction;with;academic
instruction;at;other;schools—74%
4.;A;desire;to;provide;religious;instruc-
tion—64%
5.;A;desire;to;provide;a;nontraditional
approach;to;child’s;education—44%
6.;Other;reasons—37%
7. Child;has;other;special;needs—17%
8.;Child;has;a;physical;or;mental;health
problem—15%
When;asked;what;the;most important
reason;was;for;homeschooling;their;chil-dren,;the;parents;answered;as;follows:
1.;A;concern;about;environment;of
other;schools—25%
2.;Other;reasons—21%
The
Informed
Homeschooler
Dr. Brian D. Ray Federal
Government;Says
Homeschooling;Still
Growing
The;study;considered;demographics;of;the;homeschool
students;and;why;their;parents;homeschool;them.
