Too cool for school?

Abstract

Homeschooling can be a last resort for frustrated families where gifted children are not having their complex needs met through mainstream schooling. Unlike many other groups of homeschoolers, parents of highly able children take this option for pragmatic reasons rather than as a kind of moral stance. This article explores some of the ways that standard schools fail gifted children and presents the perspectives of families who have made the choice to remove their gifted children from the mainstream education system. The difficulties inherent in researching both homeschooling and gifted education are also highlighted.