The World Is A Classroom

Research that supports the claim that
Sources for more research information
Magazines that report or print homeschooling research
Books that report homeschooling research
Books and articles related to, but not specifically about, homeschooling research

From: Sandy Keane <Sandy_Keane@wonder.wimsey.com>

To: home-ed@world.std.com

Subject: Fwd: HSers Research List

Date: 18 Oct 1995 05:18:13 GMT

from Paul LeBoutillier, on the OneNet Homeschool Idea/Exchange Conference: Thought some of us might find it useful...

- Sandy <skeane@direct.ca>

The World Is A Classroom

The Superiority of Home-Schooling as an Educational Environment

The homeschooling movement is in effect, though certainly not by design - a laboratory for the intensive and long-range study of children's learning and of the ways in which friendly and concerned adults can help them. It is a research project, done at no cost, of a kind for which neither the public schools nor the government could afford to pay.
- John Holt, "Schools and Home-schoolers: A Fruitful Partnership", Phi Delta Kappan, Feb. 1983.

What follows are listings from the growing body of research on homeschooling that address frequently voiced concerns. We chose these listings because they are either frequently cited in other works about homeschooling, or are more accessible to the general reader than other academic studies. Some universities and colleges will allow anyone to use their libraries, and they are more likely to have these journals and books than a public library. Some citations on this list appear in several categories because one study often covers many different questions about homeschooling.

Research that supports the claim that homeschoolers do as well as or better than their schooled peers academically

Greene, S. (1985) Home study in Alaska: A profile of K-12 students enrolled in the Alaska Centralized Correspondence Study. Resources in Education. (ERIC document Reproduction Service No. ED 255 494)
Rakestraw, J. (1987) An Analysis of Home Schooling for Elementary School-age Children in Alabama. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
Ray, B.D. & Wartes, J. (1991) Academic Task and Socializing. In J. Van Galen and M.A Pittman (Eds.) Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Richman, Howard. (1988) Homeschoolers Score Higher - A Replicable Result. (available from Pennsylvania Homeschoolers, RD 2, Box 117, Kittanning PA 16201)
Wartes, J. (1990). The Relationship of Selected Input Variables to Academic Achievement Among Washington's Homeschoolers, [16109 NE 169th Place,] Woodinville, WA: Washington Homeschool Research Project.

Research that supports the claim that homeschoolers are not deprived of social skills or experiences

Delahooke, M.M. (1986). Home educated children's social/emotional adjustment and academic achievement: a comparative study. Doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles. Dissertation Abstracts International, 47 475A.
Montgomery, L. (1989). The effect of home schooling on the leadership skills of home schooled students. Home School Researcher, Vol. 5 (1), 1-10.
Taylor, J.W. (1986) Self-concept in home-schooling children. Doctoral dissertation, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.

Research that supports the claim that homeschooling parents do not need to be certified teachers to help their children learn

Rakestraw, J. (1987). An Analysis of Home Schooling for Elementary School-age Children in Alabama. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
Ray, B. (1990) A Nationwide Study of Home Education: Family Characteristics, Legal Matters, and Student Achievement. The National Home Education Research Institute. P.O. Box 13939 Salem, Oregon 97309
Wartes, J. (1990). The Relationship of Selected Input Variables to Academic Achievement Among Washington's Homeschoolers, [16109 NE 169th Place,] Woodinville, WA: Washington Homeschool Research Project.

Research that supports the claim that the number of homeschoolers is increasing in the United States

Lines, P. (1987). An Overview of Home Instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, March 1987.
Lines, P. (1990). Home Instruction: Characteristics, Size and Growth. In Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.

Research that supports the claim that homeschoolers encounter no special difficulty in getting into college or finding employment

Barnaby, L.(1984) American university admission requirements for home schooled applicants, in 1984. Doctoral dissertation, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. Dissertation Abstracts International, 47(3), 798A.
Webb, J. (1989) The Outcomes of Home-based Education: Employment and Other Issues. Educational Review, 41(2).

Sources for more research information

The Moore Foundation, Box 1, Camas WA 98607 (Dr. Raymond Moore)
The National Home Education Research Institute, P.O. Box 13939 Salem, Oregon 97309
(Dr. Brian Ray) Articles in academic journals about homeschooling can be accessed using the ERIC database (available in many public and university libraries); when searching in ERIC be sure to look at all the forms of the word "homeschooling" (i.e. home school, home-school, home education, etc.) in order to get the largest number of references. You can also write to the National Home Education Research Institute (see above) for details on how to obtain their current bibliography of home- schooling articles. To obtain a copy of a dissertation, be sure to get correct reference numbers from the University Microfilms International (UMI) Dissertation Abstracts database or books (according to their literature they are "the only central source of accessing almost every doctoral dissertation accepted in North America since 1861"). Contact UMI at 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor MI 48106; 800-521-0600.

Magazines that report or print homeschooling research

Education and Urban Society. Special issue: Understanding Home Schools: Emerging Research and Reactions. J. Gary Knowles, Ed. Volume 21, No. 1, Nov. 1988
Growing Without Schooling, 2269 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02140
Home Education Magazine, PO Box 1083, Tonasket WA 98855 (Their Jan./Feb. 1991 issue contains a special section on research.)
Home School Researcher, The National Home Education Research Institute, P.O. Box 13939, Salem, Oregon 97309. (503) 364-1490. mail@nheri.org
The Teaching Home, PO Box 20219, Portland OR 97220

Books that report homeschooling research

Moore, Raymond and Dorothy (1988). Home School Burnout: What it is. What Causes It. And How To Overcome It. Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt.

The Moores have written many other books about homeschooling based on their research and studies; this is their most recent. Some of their other titles are (1979) School Can Wait, Provo, UT: Brigham Young Univ. Press; (1982), Homespun Schools, Waco, TX : Word Books; (1984) Homestyle Teaching, Waco, TX; Word Books.

Van Galen, J. & Pitman, M.A. eds. (1991). Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
Webb, Julie (1990). Children Learning at Home. London, UK: Falmer Press

Books and articles related to, but not specifically about, homeschooling research

Arons, S. (1983) Compelling Belief: The Culture of American Schooling, Amherst, MA: Univ. of MA Press. Studies the conflict between the individual and institutionalism in education, with a section on homeschooling.
Farenga, P. , ed. (1991) Homeschooling In The News, Cambridge, MA: Holt Associates. Collection of national print media articles about homeschooling that are not academically oriented. Useful for seeing how the mass media portrays homeschooling.
Holt, J. (1981) Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education. Bantam/Doubleday/Dell, NY.
McCarthy, Oppewal, Peterson, Spykman, (1981) Society, State, & Schools, Grand Rapids, MI: Eermans. This is a scholarly study that advocates multiple educational systems that tolerate pluralistic worldviews.
Resnick, L. (1987) Learning In School and Out, Educational Researcher, December 1987. 13 - 20. Shows that practically none of the skills learned in school are transferable to the world of work.
Seefeldt, C. ed. (1990). Continuing Issues in Early Childhood Education. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. Chapters by Dr. Raymond Moore about delaying school entrance and by Susannah Sheffer, editor of Growing Without Schooling, about homeschooling.
Tizard, B. and Hughes, M. (1984). Young Children Learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press. Ample evidence that children of working class parents learn more effectively at home than in nursery schools.