<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Although still a marginalized practice, homeschooling is on the rise internationally and across socio-economic groups. Moreover, the current Covid-19 pandemic has shifted additional attention to homeschooling. However, much of the available research is primarily concerned with the current day-to-day practice of homeschooling and little attention is paid to adult homeschool graduates. This exploratory study, based on qualitative interviews with mothers and adult children from 12 families, examines young adults’ overall evaluation of their past homeschooling experience and aims to understand how parents and children view the pros and cons of homeschooling in hindsight. The data analysis revealed that homeschoolers approach education more broadly than focusing strictly on the academic side and it identified the common theme of “gifting,” which challenges the prevailing conceptualization that homeschooling is a “sacrifice.” Respondents viewed their homeschooling experience as a mutually beneficial process of giving and receiving rather than a unidirectional act of “sacrifice.”</p>
</abstract>

Although still a marginalized practice, homeschooling is on the rise internationally and across socio-economic groups. Moreover, the current Covid-19 pandemic has shifted additional attention to homeschooling. However, much of the available research is primarily concerned with the current day-to-day practice of homeschooling and little attention is paid to adult homeschool graduates. This exploratory study, based on qualitative interviews with mothers and adult children from 12 families, examines young adults’ overall evaluation of their past homeschooling experience and aims to understand how parents and children view the pros and cons of homeschooling in hindsight. The data analysis revealed that homeschoolers approach education more broadly than focusing strictly on the academic side and it identified the common theme of “gifting,” which challenges the prevailing conceptualization that homeschooling is a “sacrifice.” Respondents viewed their homeschooling experience as a mutually beneficial process of giving and receiving rather than a unidirectional act of “sacrifice.”

The gift of homeschooling: Adult homeschool graduates and their parents conceptualize homeschooling in North Carolina

Journal of Pedagogy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Although still a marginalized practice, homeschooling is on the rise internationally and across socio-economic groups. Moreover, the current Covid-19 pandemic...

The gift of homeschooling: Adult homeschool graduates and their parents conceptualize homeschooling in North Carolina

Published Online: Jul 27, 2021

Page range: 119 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jped-2021-0006

Keywords
homeschooling, home education, sacrifice, gift, North Carolina

© 2021 Marta McCabe et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The gift of homeschooling: Adult homeschool graduates and their parents conceptualize homeschooling in North Carolina

Published Online: Jul 27, 2021

Page range: 119 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jped-2021-0006

Keywordshomeschooling, home education, sacrifice, gift, North Carolina

© 2021 Marta McCabe et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
homeschooling, home education, sacrifice, gift, North Carolina