According to statistics that were gathered by the Christian Home Educators Association of California, there were about two million home-schooled students in America in 2006, and innovative trends in homeschooling help to ensure the group’s continued growth.
Home school education is unofficially defined as primary and secondary school education that takes place outside of public and private schools. Since the requirements for registration of home-schooled students vary by state, it is often difficult to assess the exact number of home-schoolers from year to year.
However, the group has strong community and grassroots support that give it an adequate voice with state legislators. Here are five trends within the home-school community.
#1 Incorporation of Community Sponsored Programs
The disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are deemed so important by education advocates that they have built bridges within academia, industry and government agencies to encourage students to excel in these subjects. Government-sponsored STEM programs that take place within local communities are available to all school children. Also, home-schoolers are taking advantage of industry-led initiatives to level the playing field for all children to learn STEM subjects and get credit for their academic achievements. For example, the Mozilla Foundation and the Microsoft Foundation offer students digital badges for learning STEM concepts. The badges provide verification of learning that is not tied to particular schools, and this is ideal for home-schooled students who want to build their college admissions portfolios.
#2 Increased Experiential Learning Opportunities
Many parents teach their children at home because of the flexibility that it provides. Home educators can modify curricula to fit their children’s unique learning styles. This agility allows home-schoolers to easily incorporate experiential learning projects into their studies. Hands-on projects are often led by local community experts in the performing arts, culinary arts, technology and business. Students who participate in these types of educational initiatives gain real-world experience and exposure to influential mentors who can help them throughout their professional lives.
#3 Broadened Demographics of Homeschool Participants
Years ago, home-schooling was primarily done by parents who were religiously or politically inspired to separate their children from the government-influenced educational system. Many of today’s home educators still hold these beliefs, but the demographics of this group has changed. Mainstream society and the home school community has become more ethnically diverse. Black families represent the fastest growing ethnic group within home-schooling. Other ethnic minorities like Latinos and Asians are not far behind them. Regrettably, many of these students are being home-schooled as a result of their local public schools’ inability to curtail racially-based bullying. Their parents want to create an educational environment where children can actually learn academic concepts, critical thinking abilities and problem solving skills without fear of harassment. Other parents who have chosen to home school their children do so because they recognize deficiencies in their public school systems’ curricula, and they believe that they can improve upon the offerings of public schools. These parents include people from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds and professions like doctors, former teachers, lawyers and entrepreneurs.
#4 Cooperative Blended Learning Environments
Home-schoolers are constantly reminded that they are not on their own when it comes to gaining quality educational experiences. A growing trend within home-schooling is partnering with other home-school groups to participate in cooperative education. The internet and collaborative web tools have made it even easier for groups of home-schoolers to come together to learn and discuss various academic subjects. Most home-school curricula now incorporate a mix of classroom and online learning platforms; public schools are just now introducing cyber classrooms to their students.
#5 Use of Digital Tools Within the Classroom
Modern home educators use adaptive learning software to test and reinforce the knowledge that their students acquire through their home school classes. Learning software in subjects such as reading comprehension and mathematics assess students’ knowledge and present them with progressively challenging problems after they have mastered certain basic concepts.
Conclusion
People from all walks of life are now considering the option of home-schooling their children for a variety of reasons. The trends in homeschooling are based in technological advancements as well as increased knowledge of educational techniques.
Recommended Resource: Top 10 Best Online Masters in Teaching Degree Programs
