Home Schooling: An Alternative School Choice

The Social and Educational Outcomes of Homeschooling

“…Blok (2004) also reminds us that the body of empirical work on the impacts of homeschooling is rather thin. Analysts also have pointed out that most of the research that has been undertaken has been conducted by investigators with a good deal of interest in shaping results into positive stories, i.e., by advocacy groups whose defined mission is to promote the cause of homeschooling 246 J. MURPHY (Houston and Toma 2003;Kunzman 2005;Reich 2005). The conclusion at present is that research on the impacts of homeschooling leaves a good deal to be desired.…”

“…Critics of homeschooling maintain that involved parents one often sees in the homeschooling movement, pull away from public schools social capital is diminished (Wilhelm and Firman 2009). Relatedly, a reduced commitment to public education (Dahlquist et al 2006;Riegel 2001) and a reduced willingness to support taxes for schools (Apple 2005;Hill 2000) suggests that homeschooling leads to less financial support for public education (Apple 2000a;Houston and Toma 2003). In short, critics hold that withdrawal to the home is accompanied by a reduction of political capital and material resources for public schools (Riegel 2001).…”

What Have We Learned About Homeschooling?

“…The NHES data are unbiased estimates, assuming that homeschoolers were equally likely to participate in the telephone surveys. In 1996In , 1999In , and 2003, the years in which the PFI was conducted, the estimate covers all age groups. For 2001 and 2005, the ASPA provides estimates for grades K-8.…”

“…With these caveats in mind, self-reports from three rounds of NHES data on 814 students provide a basis on which to begin to examine the preferences of homeschooling parents. The 1996The , 1999The , and 2003 NHES include a question on reasons for homeschooling the focal child. In 1996 and 1999, the question was openended, with responses coded into one of 17 categories, including a category for miscellaneous responses.…”

“…Houston and Toma (2003) is the first article to use state administrative data to study homeschooling choice, but the authors do not acknowledge this limitation. Their interpretations implicitly make the strong assumption that the indirect (peer) effect of household characteristics is zero.…”