Holt Associates/Growing Without Schooling, 2269 Massachuaeus Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 864 - 3100
A LIST OF SELECTED RESEARCH ON HOMESCHOOLING "(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 1n 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 Homeschoolers: A Fruitful Partnership," Phi Delta Kappan. Feb. 1983. What follows are listings from the growing body of research on homeschoollng that address frequently voiced concerns. We chose these listings because they are either frequently cited 1n other works about homeschooltng. 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 publlc Ubrary. Some citations on this list appear 1n several categories because one study often covers many different questions about homeschooling.
Reaearch that supports the claim that homeachoolen do u well u or better than their schooled peen academically : Greene, S. (1985) Home study In Alaska: A profile ofK-12 students enrolled 1n the Alaska Centralized Correspondence Study. Resources in Education. (ERIC document Reproduction Service No. ED 255 494) Rakestraw, J. (1987) An Analysts ofHome Sclwoltngfor Elementary Sclwol-age Children tn Alabama. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. Ray, B.D. & Wartes, J. (1991) Academic Task and Socialtztng. InJ. Van Galen and M.A Pittman (Eds.) Home Schooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives. N01wood, 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.
Reaearch that supports the claim that homeschoolera are not deprived of social skl118 or ezperiences: 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 Intem.atiDnal, 47 475A. Montgomery, L. (1989). The effect of home schooling on the leadership skills of home schooled students. Home Sclwol.Researcher, VoL 5 (1) , 1-10.
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Holt Associates/Growing Without Schooling, 2269 Massachusetts Ave., Camtridge, MA 02140 (617) 864 - 3100
Taylor, J .W. (1986) Self-concept tn home-schooling children. Doctoral dissertation, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.
Research that aupporta the claim that homeachoonn, parenta do not need to be certlfled teachen to help their chlldren learn: Rakestraw, J. (1987). An Analysts of Home Schoolingfor Elementary School-age Children tn 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. 25 W. Cremona St. Seattle, WA 98119 Wartes, J . (1990). The RelatiDnship of Selected Input Variables to Academic Achievement Among Washington's Homeschoolers, (16109 NE 169th Place,) Woodinv1lle, WA:. Washington Homeschool Research Project.
Reaearch that aupporta the claim that the number of homeachoolen Ia lncreulnt In the UDlted Statea: Lines, P. (1987). An OveiView of Home Instruction. Ph1 Delta Kappan. March 1987. Lines, P. (1990). Home Instruction: Characteristics, Size and Growth. In Home Schooling: PoUttcal. Htstortcal, and Pedagogtcal Perspectives. Notwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
Research that aupporta the claim that homeachoolen encounter no apeclal dlfftculty In aettlnt Into coneae or flnclJ.DC employment: Barnaby, L. (1984) American University Admission Requirements for Home Schooled AppUcants, in 1984. Doctoral dissertation, Brigham Young University. Provo, ur. Dissertation Abstracts Intema.tlonal. 47 (3). 798A.
Webb, J . (1989) The Outcomes of Home-based Education: Employment and Other Issues. Educational Review, 41 (2).
Sourcea for more reaearch Information: The Moore Foundation. Box 1, Camas WA 98607 (Dr. Raymond Moore) The National Home Education Research Institute. 25 W. Cremona St. Seattle, WA 98119 (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 fonns of the word 路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 homeschooling articles.
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Holt A.uociales/Growing Without Schoolin&. 2269 Masuchulettl Ave., C~mbrid&e. MA 02140 (617) 864 - 3100
To obtain a copy of a cUssertation, be sure to get correct reference numbers from the University Microfihns 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 UMIat 300 N. Zeeb Rd., AnnArborMI 48106: 800-521-0600. MaCulne. that report or prlnt homeaehoollnt reaeareh:
Education and Urban Society. Special issue: Understanding Home Schools: Emerging Research and Reactions. J. Gary Knowles, Ed. Volume 21, No. 17Nov. 1988
Growing Without Schooli.ng, 2269 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02140 Home Education Magazine. PO Box 1083, Tonasket WA 98855 ('Ibetr Jan./Feb. 19911ssue contains a special section on research.) Home Education Researcher, The National Home Education Research Institute, 25 W. Cremona St. Seattle, WA 98110 The Teaching Home. PO Box 20219, Portland OR 97220 Boob that report homeaehoollnt reaeareh: 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 homeschooli.ng based on their research and studies: this is their most recent. Some of their other titles are (1979) School Can Watt. Provo, ur: Brigham Young Untv. Press: (1982) Homespwt Schools. Waco, TX :Word Books: (1984) Homestyle Teaching. Waco. TX :Word Books. Van Galen, J. & Pitman, MA eds. (1991). Home Schooling: Political.. Historical. and Pedagogical Perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing. Webb. Julie (1990).Chi1drenl.eamtngAtHome. London, UK: Falmer Press Boob and artlelea related to, but not 1peelfleally about, hometehoollq reteareh: Arons, S. (1983) CompeUtng 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) Homeschool.tng 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 Hopeftd Pathfor 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 plural.istlc worldvtews. Resnick. L. (1987) Learning In School and Out, Educat:IDnalResearcher, December 1987. Pp. 13 - 20. Shows that practically none of the sk111s learned 1n school are transferable to the world of work. (Continued on page 4)
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Seefeldt, C. ed. (1990). Conttnutng Issues in Early C~ Eduootton. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. Chapters by Raymond Moore about delaying school entrance and by Susannah Sheffer about homeschooling. Ttzard, B. and Hughes, M. (1984). Young Children Learning. Cambridge. MA: Harvard Untv. Press. Ample evidence that children of working class parents learn more effectively at home than in nursery schools.
"[Homeschoolers] can afford to be patient, to watt a long time for results: they are in complete control of their work, and can change their methods as they wtsh: they can obseiVe closely: they are free from all the routine distractions of large schools: and they are interested only in results rather than excuses. From these people and their work. all serious schools and teachers, many of them now severly UmJted and handicapped by the conditions under which they have to work. stand to learn a great deal. First, let 1t be clear what they will not learn. They will not learn that this or that Is the best way to teach reading, or addition or multiplication, etc.: or that certain books are the best books for children: or that such-and-such 1s the best curriculum for this or that grade: or that you should always teach this particular subject in this particular order. Home schoolers will not teach the schools what they so yearn to know, the one best way to do anything. What they will teach 1s there ts no one best way, and that it Is a waste of time and energy to look for it: that children (like adults) learn in a great many different ways: that each child learns best in the ways that most interest, excite, and satisfy him or her. and that the business of school should be to offer to learners the widest possible range of choices, both in what to learn and ways to learn it." -John Holt. (1981). Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Pathjor Education. NY: Bantam/Doubleday/Dell. Pp. 330 - 331.
Š 1991 Holt Associates Inc. Compiled by Patrick Farenga, 5/91
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