Home Schooling Research Survey

In this survey of about 30 questions about home schooling families in the United States, I am looking to learn more about your experiences with homeschooling your child. I am also interested in your thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about education more generally.

The lead investigator, Jessica Smock, is a doctoral candidate in educational policy at Boston University. However, this research is not sponsored or funded by the university. Your name and any identifying information about you, your family, and your children will be kept confidential, unless we are given permission by you to share them in a publication.

During my first years as a doctoral student, I became interested in homeschooling after tutoring a delightful homeschooled child who contradicted all of my preconceptions as an educator -- a former teacher and curriculum coordinator in public and private schools for more than a decade -- about home-based education. Throughout my doctoral program, I wanted to know more about homeschooling, but the only faculty members that I met who knew anything about it were only interested in the religious arguments for homeschooling. Throughout my studies, my research interests have continued to be about how nontraditional approaches to education can help kids thrive.

Now that I'm nearly finished with the program and will be defending my dissertation in the spring, I want to pursue other projects and use my research skills to find out more about families' experiences with homeschooling. I am primarily a qualitative researcher and normally use interviewing to capture participants' stories in their own words. But I am starting this study with a survey because the complexity of this subject would otherwise make analysis of participants' responses very difficult. But I hope that I have captured enough of your experiences to allow your voice to be heard. And I plan to ask many of you, if you're willing, to describe your experiences in words or in person after the initial survey is complete.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at my website School of Smock (http://www.schoolofsmock.com). You can also see an article about my blog and homeschooling posts in Home Education Magazine: http://homeedmag.com/newscomm/reasons-to-homeschool/education_policy/

In this first section, I'd like to learn more about your family's home schooling experience. Thank you so much for your time!

Question Title

* 1. How many children age 17 or younger live in your household?

one child

two children

three children

four children

five or more children

All children are 18 or over

Question Title

* 2. In your household, how many children age 17 or younger are currently being homeschooled?

None -- homeschooled child is 18 or over.

one child

two children

three children

four children

five or more children

Question Title

* 3. What is your relationship to the homeschooled children in your household?

Mother

Father

Step-mother

Step-father

Grandmother

Grandfather

Aunt

Uncle

Guardian

Other

Question Title

* 4. Who has primary responsibility for managing your child's or children's homeschooling?

Mother is primarily responsible.

Father is primarily responsible.

Both mother and father equally have equal or near equal responsibility.

Another adult (tutor, teacher) is primarily responsible.

My child(ren) primarily manage their own learning.

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. What age(s) are your homeschooled children? (Check all that apply.)

2-4 Years Old

5-7 Years Old

8-10 Years Old

11-13 Years Old

14-16 Years Old

17-18 Years Old

Over 18

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. How long ago did you begin homeschooling your child(ren)?

Less than a year ago

Between 1-2 years ago

Between 3-4 years ago

Between 5-10 years ago

More than 10 years ago

Question Title

* 7. Before your family began to homeschool, did any of your children attend a private, public, charter, or parochial school?

Yes. He or she attended a school before we started homeschooling.

No. My child(ren) never attended school.

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 8. If you answered "yes" to the previous question, how would you describe your child's (children's) former school?

neighborhood public school

charter school

magnet/pilot school

independent (nonsectarian) school

parochial school

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 9. What were the primary reasons that your family began homeschooling? (Check all that apply.)

Religious or moral concerns

Dissatisfaction with the quality of the academic instruction of school

Feelings of frustration and stress over family's dealings with school

Physical health issue

Concerns or dissatisfaction with special education

Need for gifted/accelerated learning program

Allergies or dietary concerns

Mental health or neurological challenges

Learning disability

Family's interest in nontraditional educational approaches

Concern about standardized testing

Child safety/Bullying

Drugs

Overcrowding

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 10. What was the MOST important reason that your family decided to homeschool? (Please check ONE.)

Religious or moral concerns

Dissatisfaction with the quality of the academic instruction of school

Stress and frustration with the school

Physical health issue

Mental health or neurological challenges

Allergies or dietary concerns

Learning disability

Need or gifted or accelerated learning program

Family's interest in nontraditional educational approaches

Concern about standardized testing

Child safety/Bullying

Drugs

Overcrowding

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. Which approach does your family use as homeschoolers? We know that there are many terms that homeschooling families use -- and even some debate about those terms. Please check as many (or as few) as apply to your family.

structured approach

eclectic/hybrid approach (components of both structured and unstructured approaches)

unstructured

unschooling

radical unschooling

classical

online/cyber-learning curriculum

virtual charter school

accredited distance learning curriculum

Montessori home schooling

Waldorf home schooling

unit studies

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 12. Does your child or children use a specific curriculum or curriculum package?

Yes

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 13. If yes, what is/are the name(s) of the curriculum or curricula?

Question Title

* 14. Which best describes how often your child or children participates in any formal group activities or classes outside of the home?

Daily

More than once a week

Weekly

Monthly

Never

Question Title

* 15. How much have the following challenges related to homeschooling affected you or your family?

	Very significantly	Somewhat significantly	A little	Not at all
Negative judgments from extended family	Negative judgments from extended family Very significantly	Negative judgments from extended family Somewhat significantly	Negative judgments from extended family A little	Negative judgments from extended family Not at all
Negative judgments from friends or neighbors	Negative judgments from friends or neighbors Very significantly	Negative judgments from friends or neighbors Somewhat significantly	Negative judgments from friends or neighbors A little	Negative judgments from friends or neighbors Not at all
Pressure from social norms/cultural expectations	Pressure from social norms/cultural expectations Very significantly	Pressure from social norms/cultural expectations Somewhat significantly	Pressure from social norms/cultural expectations A little	Pressure from social norms/cultural expectations Not at all
Concerns about family income	Concerns about family income Very significantly	Concerns about family income Somewhat significantly	Concerns about family income A little	Concerns about family income Not at all
Finding friends	Finding friends Very significantly	Finding friends Somewhat significantly	Finding friends A little	Finding friends Not at all
Uncertainty about own choices	Uncertainty about own choices Very significantly	Uncertainty about own choices Somewhat significantly	Uncertainty about own choices A little	Uncertainty about own choices Not at all

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 16. How often does your family experience the following benefits of homeschooling?

	always	often	sometimes	never
learning benefits for child	learning benefits for child always	learning benefits for child often	learning benefits for child sometimes	learning benefits for child never
social and emotional benefits for child	social and emotional benefits for child always	social and emotional benefits for child often	social and emotional benefits for child sometimes	social and emotional benefits for child never
reduction in family stress	reduction in family stress always	reduction in family stress often	reduction in family stress sometimes	reduction in family stress never
increased family closeness and communication	increased family closeness and communication always	increased family closeness and communication often	increased family closeness and communication sometimes	increased family closeness and communication never
physical or health benefits to child	physical or health benefits to child always	physical or health benefits to child often	physical or health benefits to child sometimes	physical or health benefits to child never
freedom in family schedule	freedom in family schedule always	freedom in family schedule often	freedom in family schedule sometimes	freedom in family schedule never

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 1. How many children age 17 or younger live in your household?

Question Title

* 2. In your household, how many children age 17 or younger are currently being homeschooled?

Question Title

* 3. What is your relationship to the homeschooled children in your household?

Question Title

* 4. Who has primary responsibility for managing your child's or children's homeschooling?

Question Title

* 5. What age(s) are your homeschooled children? (Check all that apply.)

Question Title

* 6. How long ago did you begin homeschooling your child(ren)?

Question Title

* 7. Before your family began to homeschool, did any of your children attend a private, public, charter, or parochial school?

Question Title

* 8. If you answered "yes" to the previous question, how would you describe your child's (children's) former school?

Question Title

* 9. What were the primary reasons that your family began homeschooling? (Check all that apply.)

Question Title

* 10. What was the MOST important reason that your family decided to homeschool? (Please check ONE.)

Question Title

* 11. Which approach does your family use as homeschoolers? We know that there are many terms that homeschooling families use -- and even some debate about those terms. Please check as many (or as few) as apply to your family.

Question Title

* 12. Does your child or children use a specific curriculum or curriculum package?

Question Title

* 13. If yes, what is/are the name(s) of the curriculum or curricula?

Question Title

* 14. Which best describes how often your child or children participates in any formal group activities or classes outside of the home?

Question Title

* 15. How much have the following challenges related to homeschooling affected you or your family?

Question Title

* 16. How often does your family experience the following benefits of homeschooling?

Question Title

* 17. How would you describe your family's approach to homeschooling, in your own words?