WRITING HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS INTO THE ACADEMY–Christian Homeschoolers in Freshman Composition

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Philip Marzluf, “Writing Home-Schooled Students into the Academy” in Composition Studies 37, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 49-66

Summary:  Marzluf, professor and director of the writing program at Kansas State University, here pens a thoughtful reflection on the challenges that arise in composition courses when conservative Christian homeschoolers enroll in them.  The attraction of this paper is not so much its empirical base as in its grounding in a more theoretical literature that seeks to understand what professors should do with ideologically narrow-minded students in classes that require exposure to and conversation with multiple perspectives. Continue reading →

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BLACK PARENTS’ DECISIONS TO HOME SCHOOL: Four Key Themes

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Cheryl Fields-Smith and Meca Williams, “Motivations, Sacrifices, and Challenges: Black Parents’ Decisions to Home School” in Urban Review 41 (2009): 369-389    

Summary:  Fields-Smith, a professor at the University of Georgia, and Williams, at Georgia Southern, here offer an important contribution to the literature on parental motivation for homeschooling.  This article is the first to look carefully at African American homeschooling parents to determine their motivations.  Continue reading →

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CONSTITUTIONALITY OF HOME EDUCATION: California Law and Legal Precedent

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Chad Olsen, “Constitutionality of Home Education: How the Supreme Court and American History Endorse Parental Choice” in Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal 2 (2009): 399-423 

Summary:  Olsen, an attorney in the Las Vegas area and former law student at Brigham Young University, here provides a fascinatingly detailed analysis of the famous In re Rachel L. case, the 2008 California Court of Appeals decision that unleashed a national outcry by finding that California law did not permit homeschooling.    Continue reading →

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PREVIOUSLY HOMESCHOOLED COLLEGE FRESHMEN: How Do They Compare?

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Mary K. Saunders, “Previously Homeschooled College Freshmen: Their First Year Experiences and Persistence Rates” in Journal of College Student Retention 11, no. 1 (2009-2010): 77-100.

Summary:  Saunders here uses results from a survey of 261 college freshmen at Wheaton College to argue that first year students who previously homeschooled tend to report positive social experiences and commitment to the college.  Such students are just as likely as are  students who went to institutional schools to stay at the college. Continue reading →

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VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOLS: Why Families Choose Them

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Carol Klein and Mary Poplin, “Families Home Schooling in a Virtual Charter School System” in Marriage and Family Review 43, nos. 3&4 (2008): 369-395.

Summary:  Klein and Poplin, Professor of Education at Claremont Graduate University, here offer the results of a survey Klein conducted of parents whose children are enrolled in the California Virtual Academies (CAVA). Continue reading →

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EMOTIONALLY LAYERED ACCOUNTS: How Homeschooling Mothers Justify Their Actions

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:   Jennifer Lois, “Emotionally Layered Accounts: Homeschoolers’ Justifications for Maternal Deviance” in Deviant Behavior 30, no. 2 (February 2009): 201-234

Summary:  Lois, a sociology professor at Western Washington University, here investigates how homeschooling mothers deal with criticisms of their actions. Continue reading →

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SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE: A Social Theory of Homeschooling

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Patricia M. Greenfield, “Linking Social Change and Developmental Change: Shifting Pathways of Human Development” in Developmental Psychology 45, no. 2 (March 2009): 401-418

Summary:  Greenfield is a luminary in the field of psychocultural research, the comparative study of psychology across geographic and ethnic boundaries.  She is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UCLA and Associate Director of the Children’s Digital Media Center, Los Angeles (CDMCLA).

In this fascinating article Greenfield constructs a broad theory to explain how changes in society interface with changes in child development.  In this review I will briefly summarize her theory and then explain how it connects to homeschooling. Continue reading →

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IDEA AND ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION CHOICES: Special Education Rights of Homeschoolers

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:   Allan G. Osborne, Jr., “IDEA and Alternative Education Choices: Legal Issues” in School Business Affairs 74, no. 10 (November 2008): 24-26.

Summary:  Osborne, Jr., an authority on special education law, here explains the rights accorded homeschooled children by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Continue reading →

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THE RELIGIOUS LIVES OF AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS: Comparing The Impact of Public, Private, and Homeschools

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Jeremy E. Uecker, “Alternative Schooling Strategies and the Religious Lives of American Adolescents” in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 47, no. 4 (December 2008): 563-584 [Abstract available here].

Summary:  Uecker, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Baylor University and author of many interesting articles on young adult religion and sexuality, here examines data from the National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR) to determine whether Catholic schooling, Protestant schooling, or homeschooling have any impact on the religious lives of American teens. Continue reading →

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HOMESCHOOLERS ENTERING COMMUNITY COLLEGES: What Admissions Officers Think

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Milton Gaither

Record:  Kellie Sorey and Molly H. Duggan, “Homeschoolers Entering Community Colleges: Perceptions of Admission Officers” in Journal of College Admission (Summer 2008): 22-28

Summary:  Sorey, Registrar at Tidewater Community College in Virginia, and Duggan, Assistant Professor of Community College Leadership at Old Dominion, here report the results of a survey of admissions officers in one state that seeks to determine their attitudes toward homeschooled applicants as well as any special admissions requirements or programs for homeschoolers their institutions might have. Continue reading →

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