Homeschooling and Educational Freedom: Why School Choice Is Good for Homeschoolers. Briefing Paper Number 124

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    • Availability:
      Cato Institute. 1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001-5403. Tel: 202-842-0200; Fax: 202-842-3490; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.cato.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      N
    • Source:
      8
    • Education Level:
      Elementary Secondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Home Schooling; School Choice; Geographic Location; Racial Differences; Ethnicity; Educational Trends; Elementary Secondary Education; Tax Credits; Scholarships; Money Management
    • Abstract:
      Over the past 50 years, homeschooling has grown from a fringe act to a widely accepted education model reflective of a diverse American population. Many parents choose homeschooling to avoid the constraints of the conventional classroom and to embrace education in a broader, often more pluralistic way. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. homeschooling population more than doubled between 1999 and 2012, from 850,000 to 1.8 million children, or 3.4 percent of the K-12 student population. Federal data show that the homeschooling population dipped slightly between 2012 and 2016, but state-level data reveal that some states with robust education choice programs saw rising numbers of homeschoolers during that time. This paper offers an overview of homeschooling trends and a glimpse at the current homeschooling population while arguing that educational freedom creates momentum for families to seek alternatives to conventional mass schooling.
    • Abstract:
      ERIC
    • Publication Date:
      2020
    • Accession Number:
      ED602797