Record: Mary Rice Hasson, “The Changing Conversations around Homeschooling: An Argument for More Data and Less Ideology” in The University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy (2012*): 1-23. [First Page]
Summary: Hasson is a fellow at the Catholic Studies Program of the Ethics & Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. As the title suggests, she argues that policymakers should focus on the data and research behind homeschooling rather than ideological rhetoric.
Much of the article deals with how homeschooling has changed in the past 30 years. Due to efforts by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), homeschooling is now legal in all states. Most states regulate homeschooling to some degree, but the form of this regulation can vary considerably from simple notice to parental certification. The majority of legal cases deal with the parents’ right to homeschool and the extent to which states may regulate homeschooling. Hasson quotes an “observer,” who says that states cannot regulate homeschooling to such a degree that the benefits of homeschooling would be endangered (pg. 2). However, Hasson does not say who this observer is or what qualifications s/he has to make such a judgement.
After the legal developments, Hasson talks about how technological developments have reshaped homeschooling because they expand the availability of resources/information, and they also offer access to support. Naturally, changes in the legal landscape and technology have resulted in more and more Americans embracing homeschooling. No longer a small division of the population, homeschoolers now account for approximately 4% of the overall school-age population, and the growth shows no signs of stopping. This incredible growth has spurred increased professionalism among homeschoolers as many new resources are made available such as seminars, conferences, and consultants.
While homeschoolers have many diverse motivations, the most consistent factor according to Hasson seems to be the conviction among homeschooling parents that they should have control over their children’s education. Homeschoolers from both sides of the political spectrum often say that they homeschool for multiple reasons. In particular, Hasson notes that motivations for homeschooling grow and change over time. Even conservative Christian homeschoolers are frequently motivated by more than religion.
At this point in the article, Hasson begins focusing on the current perceptions of homeschoolers and how the public conversation should be changed. Homeschoolers were originally viewed as a fringe movement, and people questioned the students’ academic achievement and socialization. However, research has found that homeschooling seems to deliver an adequate education, and homeschooled students tend to succeed more in college. They also compare favorably to traditional students in terms of social skills.
Therefore, as homeschooling has become a more acceptable form of education, the public conversation has shifted away from conversations about outcomes and towards conflicts over values, ideologies, and world views. Hasson criticizes three critics of homeschooling, (Reich, Yuracko, and Ross) whose arguments rest on the assumption that homeschooled children, “experience very little exposure to the real world, diverse populations, competing truth claims, or prevailing ‘civic messages'” (pg. 13). According to her, these views are ideological and unsupported by research. As counter-evidence, she points to one study about African American homeschoolers by Fields-Smith and Williams (article/review) that found homeschooling allowed parents to introduce their children to richer, more varied learning environments.
Some of the ways that homeschoolers gain worldly experience according to Hasson are through the library, the internet, involvement in the community, and through interacting with an institutionally-educated sibling. Overall, she says that progressives’ criticisms seem to boil down to the complaint that homeschooling families do not present opposing beliefs and values in a favorable light. However, she argues that America is a free society that shuns state-imposed viewpoints and that respects the freedom of religion.
In conclusion, Hasson reiterates that there is little, if any, data to suggest that homeschooling does damage. She instead proposes that the ‘problem’ that progressive theorists actually have is religion. Most parents share faith and values with their children, even if they not very religious. Therefore, when critics argue that homeschoolers should be exposed to diverse views, they actually mean that they should be exposed to their views. That is why Hasson asserts that the homeschooling conversation should center on research and results rather than policy based on progressive values and viewpoints.
Appraisal: It is ironic that Hasson calls for a conversation untainted by ideology and subjective judgements when she is writing for a faith-driven organization dedicated, “to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy” (EPPC). The article has a clear conservative-Christian bias, and rather than allowing the data and research behind homeschooling to speak for itself like she proposes, she instead defends homeschooling from liberal critics. In an attempt to validate her position, she only discusses evidence that corroborates it, and this type of discussion is not going to convince anyone who does not agree with homeschooling already.
*Although the article is said to have been published in 2012, it includes citations from 2013. When questioned about the inconsistency, the author replied with the following, “The Symposium on which the volume is based was held in the fall of 2012. The final drafts of the papers presented were not due until fairly well through spring semester of 2013 (April, if I recall)”
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