Is Homeschooling an Option for a Child’s Education and Achievement?
Literature Review Preface
The education process and development rate of students is significantly determined by the type of educational strategies employed to build the knowledge and understanding of the child. According to Cheng & Donnelly (2019), homeschooling is a phenomenon that is increasingly gaining popularity worldwide. The process is often overseen by a parent or tutor, seeks to extend the scope of learning for the children beyond the conventional classroom setting. Despite the increased popularity of the process, the efficiency of homeschooling in contributing to the educational development and achievement of the children is still an unclear topic (Chang et al., 2011). The current section seeks to analyze existing literature to establish that homeschooling can be considered as a viable option for promoting the educational development and achievement of children in the current education system.
History and Prevalence of Homeschooling
Homeschooling has been in existence for centuries. However, Ray (2017) illustrates that in the 19 and 20th centuries, the use of homeschooling decreased in most nations such as the US. The change in the course of operations in the nations occurred due to the emergence of government schools, where most parents enrolled their children. The parents aimed to maximize the opportunities provided by the government to provide their children with education more efficiently. Ray (2013) extends the argument by pointing out that in recent years, homeschooling re-emerged, with most parents assuming a direct role in promoting the educational development of their children. The shift in preferences can be attributed to the increase in the number of parents who establish the need to enact additional measures to improve the performance of their children in their education.
Pros of Homeschooling
Homeschooling can be attributed to pose significant benefits to the educational development of children. For instance, Baig (2018) illustrates that homeschooling develops a platform for improving the flexibility of the education system for the children. The process entails an informal program where the parents use their acquired knowledge through literacy to facilitate the educational development of the students. The process is highly flexible since the parent has the capacity to tailor the teaching strategies to focus more on the weaknesses of their children. For instance, if the child is experiencing difficulties in a specific subject, the parent has more autonomy to take as much time as possible on the area to ensure the student is comfortable before moving to another concept. In a formal classroom setting, teachers often proceed with the majority, exposing the children with difficulties to higher chances of poor educational outcomes. Blok (2004) seconds the argument by establishing that homeschooling provides a one-on-one learning environment that is most effective in enhancing the efficiency of the learning process. Based on the established perspective, homeschooling is presented as a viable option that accounts for the shortcomings of the conventional classroom setting. The current educational environment also consists of technological innovations that improve the efficiency of the learning process. Neil et al. (2014) concur with Blok (2004) by stating that technological innovations can be used to enhance the capacity of the parents to deliver accurate educational content to their children.
Cons of Homeschooling
Despite the highlighted advantages of homeschooling, significant concerns have been raised that indicate the inefficiency of the process in facilitating the educational development and achievement of children. For instance, Romanowski (2001) states that homeschooling poses the threat of negative socialization for the students. Children engaged in homeschooling will have less time interacting with their peers. The one-on-one learning environment limits the social-educational circle of the children to their parents only, threatening the wellbeing of their social and educational development. Hurst et al. (2013) further explain that the efficiency of student learning is highly dependent on social interactions among students. Parcel & Dufur (2001) add that financial capital is a crucial factor that determines the efficiency of homeschooling. Children from low-income families may face significant challenges in accessing necessary resources for promoting their educational development. The challenge poses a direct challenge on the capacity of the affected children to record positive educational outcomes. Based on the analysis, homeschooling contains diverse issues that may affect the efficiency of the performance and rate of educational development of the children. The highlighted limitations threaten to render homeschooling as an inefficient alternative for facilitating the educational development and achievement of children.
Conclusion
The analysis identifies that homeschooling is significantly becoming a common practice worldwide. Parents are taking the responsibility of directly attending to the educational needs of their children. The analysis points out that homeschooling the re-emergence of homeschooling in recent years can be attributed to significant advantages of the process that compensate for the shortcomings of the conventional classroom learning methods. The method also possesses various limitations that pose a direct threat to the efficiency of the learning process for the children. Despite the highlighted challenges that emerge through homeschooling, the method can efficiently be used to improve the educational outcomes of children in the contemporary education system. The analysis validates that the advantages of homeschooling are more than the limitations of the challenge, establishing its viability in being used and an option for enhancing the educational development ad achievement of children.
References
Baig, A. M. (2019). To study the impact of homeschooling on students achievements -a simple literature review. International Journal of Science & Research, 8(5) p. 1761-1763.
Blok, H. (2004). Performance in home schooling: An argument against compulsory schooling in the Netherlands. International Review of Education, 50(1), p. 39-52.
Chang, L. S., Gould, O. N. & Meuse, R. (2011). The impact of schooling on academic achievement: evidence from homeschooled and traditionally schooled students. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 43(3) p. 195-202.
Cheng, A. & Donnelly, M. (2019). New frontiers in research and practice on homeschooling. Peabody Journal of Education, 94(3), p. 256-262.
Hurst, B., Wallace, R., & Nixon, S. B. (2013). The impact of social interaction on student learning reading horizons. A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 52 (4) p. 375-398.
Neil, T., Bonner, N. & Bonner, D. (2014). An investigation of factors impacting the use of technology in a home school environment. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 7(2) p. 107-120.
Parcel, T. L. & Dufur, M. J. (2001). Capital at home and at school: Effects on student achievement. Social Forces, 79(3), p. 881-911.
Ray, B. (2017). A review of research on homeschooling and what might educators learn? Pro-Posicoes, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-6248-2016-0009
Ray, B. D. (2013). Homeschooling rising into the twenty-first century: editor’s introduction. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(3) p. 261-264.
Romanowski, H. M. (2001). Common Arguments about the Strengths and Limitations of Home Schooling. The Clearing House, 75(2) p. 78-83.
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