Homeschooling Education

Abstract

In a comprehensive study of two-hundred fifty homeschooling families in urban, rural and suburban areas of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the researcher examined all aspects of the instruction, materials and curricula employed by the families in a ten-year longitudinal study from 1998 through 2008. The researcher conducted interviews and gathered questionnaire data from: 1) all of the families in the sample in 1998, and 2) those families still residing within the same designated district in 2008. Significant changes occurred in the demographical data and the families’ instructional programs. Within the methods/materials/curriculum data, increases occurred in the: 1) use of prepared curricula (religious and non-religious), 2) the acquisition of more textbooks from local school districts, 3) use of the public library, 4) technology applications, 5) consultation with instructional specialists/teachers, and 6) greater networking with other homeschooling families. In their pooling of resources, sharing of expertise, and communicating with other homeschooling families, the homeschoolers had upgraded and diversified their choices of pedagogy and their modalities for delivering instruction.