by Douglas Pietersma, Ed.D.
Background
The authors from the University of Doha in Doha, Qatar (Eldeeb, Diab, Yusr, & Qadhi, 2024) set out to review multiple studies dealing with home education. Their intent was to conduct a meta-analysis of existing studies to synthesize the conclusions from these studies and answer the following research questions:
RQ1. To what extent does homeschooling serve as an effective alternative form of education in enhancing children’s academic learning outcomes? How does homeschooling compare to traditional schooling?
RQ2. Why do parents choose homeschooling? How do homeschoolers perceive their social interactions in terms of happiness and confidence?
Methodology
The researchers conducted a search of the Web-of-Science database for studies that fit their predetermined criteria by using two search terms covering education: “homeschooling” and “home education.” They added an additional term, “motivation,” to cover the intended context of the intended analysis.
The authors delimited themselves in several areas: First, the resources had to be open access, which took their initial pool of results from 362 down to 157. Next, they eliminated all non-English language articles (18) leaving them 139. An article from Israel was removed with no explanation from the authors. The remaining 138 articles were divided up between the authors for further review and exclusion. After initial review, they removed articles that were primarily Covid-related (80), those that were deemed to be unrelated to the context of motivation (26), or those that were deemed erroneous or otherwise inaccessible (12). This left 18 articles for inclusion in the meta-analysis.
Despite the English-language only delimitation, the final pool of articles contained six articles each from the United States and Great Britain, with single articles having a research focus in Czechia, Finland, Australia, Kenya, and South Africa. One article had no geographic specification.
The articles varied in type with qualitative being the greatest in number (12), and three each for quantitative and mixed-methods studies.
Theoretical Framework
The authors read the refined pool of articles and used a standardized form to extract data from the studies in the final pool. After completing multiple independent readings, the authors discussed their individual findings to triangulate data points.
Findings
The findings to RQ1 from the compiled data can be categorized into two themes.
First, that home education is inherently flexible. The highly individualized nature of home education produces a unique dynamic to each home education environment. This is seen as beneficial to the individual student(s) even if it is problematic for the definition, categorization, and comparison of these differences to make scholarly generalizations. The researchers also noted data pointing to the flexibility in the curriculum used, as well as the variety of pedagogical methods employed by parents. These customizations enabled education via a larger aperture thus facilitating a broader range of educational applications, such as the inclusion of creative arts and social development via cooperative learning opportunities.
The second categorization of findings from the compiled data fall into the theme of benefits. The familial relationship was enhanced through the parent-as-teacher dynamic because of the personalized attention each student receives through the home education process. Home education was noted to have exemplary student-to-teacher ratios, which enabled the adaptation of instruction to the student’s individual learning style, including the proclivities of special needs students. It also allowed for adjustment to the pace of instruction so that students could accelerate where they are able and ensure mastery learning in areas where more time is required to strengthen an academic concept. Finally, the home education environment had the benefit of reduced distractions as compared to institutionalized school settings.
The findings for RQ2 were more succinct and are summarized as follows: Parents pursue home education because of dissatisfaction with conventional schooling, worries about social disparities, or a preference for teaching alternative religions or moral perspectives to their children. Data points to the students having a positive perspective because of their freedom for self-directed education and pursuit of preferred content.
Conclusion
Overall, the authors provide a positive outlook on home education, with cursory reflections on points made by a few detractors. For instance, the authors noted that assessment of home educated students might not be adequate given the disparity in instructional methodologies, but they gave no recommendations as to how this might be rectified. They pointed to their study as a useful tool for school psychologists and policy decision makers, but do not seem to address any home education proclivities towards avoiding entanglements with the conventional schooling system. In their introduction, they highlighted “multi-cultural” education, but this was not included in the data which emerged from their analysis.
NHERI Comment
The findings and conclusions seem to be substantially consistent with data produced and/or published by NHERI to date. What is notable is that it comes from authors based in the Middle East, specifically the country of Qatar. There is ample mention of “religious” motivations for home education but no specification or delineation between faith traditions. It is of note that the researchers excluded a study from Israel without providing explanation but felt obliged to explicitly mention it in this study. This could be suggestive of an acknowledged bias against Israel.
Given the authors’ affiliation with the University of Doha, it is notable that there is no mention or discussion of home education in Qatar. Home education is legal in Qatar with permission from the Supreme Education Counsil which regulates the practice, while expatriates are allowed to home education with no restrictions, but they are encouraged to follow their home country’s requirements (AI query).
References
Eldeeb, M. K., Diab, T., Yusr, A. & Qadhi, S. (2024). Exploring Homeschooling: In-depth Meta-Analysis of Its Impact on Learning Motivation and Factors Influencing Family Choices. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 23(4), pp. 432-461. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.4.23, retrieved from https://www.ijlter.myres.net/index.php/ijlter/article/view/1931/1955