Home School Researcher Volume 40, No. 4, 2026, p. 1-11
Lauretta Osho
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Studies, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico, lauretta.osho@enmu.edu
Mindy Spearman
Associate Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, mispear@clemson.edu
Abstract
Given the limited studies on homeschooling practices in developing countries, this study explores the practices and processes of homeschooling young children in Northern Nigeria through an in-depth descriptive case study of one homeschooling family. Using semi-structured interviews and observational data, a parent dyad from a homeschooling family was studied. The study examines how parents plan, implement, and evaluate their children’s learning while navigating contextual challenges, including access to curriculum, security concerns, and economic instability. Findings reveal that homeschooling in this context is shaped by strong parental involvement, faith-based values, flexible learning schedules, and individualized instruction. Despite structural and societal challenges, the homeschooling environment allowed the children to develop academic confidence, independence, and enthusiasm for learning. The study contributes to the limited literature on homeschooling in developing countries and highlights homeschooling as a context-responsive educational practice that may provide meaningful alternatives for families in regions facing educational constraints.
Keywords: homeschooling, case study, Nigeria, processes, practices.
Opening Vignette
Judith, Julie, and Juana run eagerly into the schoolroom early in the morning, followed by their mother and teacher, Mama Jordan. The day starts with circle time, opened with a quick prayer by the youngest girl, Juana. Julie, the middle child, hands out a Bible and small flags–one Nigerian, one Christian–so each of them has something to hold during the pledges. The girls stand as they recite each pledge from memory. The rest of the morning is set into motion when Juana loudly yells, “Calendar time!” The children grab their personal calendars, flipping pages and updating goals. Juana needs a bit of extra help with this task, so Mama Jordan kneels beside her as the other girls work more independently. After the girls finish writing goals, they move to sit on a rug, where they begin drawing, gluing, and cutting. Today is “Making Monday,” when the schoolroom is transformed into a creative hub of activity. Mama Jordan moves in and out of the room, restocking the craft rug with fresh art supplies. Big sister Judith is so excited about the project that she jumps up for a short break, then runs back to work furiously. As the crafting session winds down, the front door opens. Papa Jordan has returned home. The children light up and rush to show him what they’ve made. He smiles and listens as they explain their projects, then transitions the girls into their weekly awards ceremony. He reviews their recent work and celebrates each child’s progress by handing out shiny star stickers–some gold and some brightly colored. The girls proudly display these on their progress charts.
The fast-paced morning schoolroom eventually transitions to a quiet learning center, as the girls ease into focused academic work. Each child has her own personal workspace, outfitted with a desk, chair, and star-filled progress chart. Mama Jordan moves around as she supervises and assists the girls where needed, occasionally working on her own management tasks when time allows. The children work mostly independently, visiting the scoring station at intervals to check their answers–a process requiring both honesty and integrity. Judith and Julie do a good job of maintaining focus, while Juana occasionally receives Mama Jordan’s gentle encouragement and redirection. The walls of the schoolroom are vibrant, decorated with educational charts, maps, and colorful past projects. In the corner is a library with books and additional resources. Mama Jordan ensures that each child is busy throughout the morning, nurturing each girl during this unique homeschool setting.
Introduction
The adoption of homeschooling has increased significantly worldwide over the years (Chinazzi, 2023). Families are choosing homeschooling for several reasons, including religion, relocation, concerns about peer influence, increased family time, reduced competition, and support for individuality (Lyubitskaya & Polivanova, 2022). Additional factors include bullying, negative school experiences, the belief that home offers better-quality education (Jolly et al., 2013), and a desire to teach morals, culture, and life skills (Guterman & Neuman, 2017). Concerns about COVID-19 have also contributed to the trend in recent years (Adamson, 2022). In the United States, for instance, most homeschooling families cite worries about the school environment as their primary reason (Hudson et al., 2023), and the homeschooling population continues to grow at an estimated annual rate of 2%–8% (Ray, 2024).
Worldwide homeschooling practices take many forms, including virtual, hybrid, and independent models (Cheng & Hamlin, 2023; Hanna, 2012; Pannone, 2014). Structured hybrid programs and online learning are most common in Western nations (Carpenter & Gann, 2016; Wearne & Thompson, 2022). Parents in home education programs often get support and encouragement from associations or collaborative communities (Cheng & Hamlin, 2023; Hanna, 2012; Kunzman & Gaither, 2020; Mazama, 2015). Homeschooling practices in developing countries are more likely to be independent endeavors, typically without organized external support (Dlamini et al., 2021). The daily experiences of home-educated students as engaged in parent-directed, home-based education are highly understudied within these contexts (Dlamini et al., 2021). Homeschooling in the Nigerian context is one of such understudied phenomena.
While private after-school tutoring has long been popular among Nigerian parents (Akinrinmade, 2023), full-time homeschooling is an unusual and underreported phenomenon (Awofala et al., 2020), typically practiced only by “a few elite families” (Balogun, 2021). Most Nigerian parents enroll their students in school-based, in-person public or private education. Homeschooling has been slow to gain acceptance in many African nations, in part because official government stances have held that students are best served within traditional schooling systems (Tweni et al., 2022). South Africa and Kenya are notable exceptions, both with growing homeschool movements (Donnelly, 2024; Tweni et al., 2022).
When the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 forced governments and parents worldwide to reconsider in-person learning, the Nigerian government began supporting online education at home as a temporary measure (Balogun, 2021). Online education proved difficult to implement within the Nigerian public school structure. Teachers and parents, especially women, had limited proficiency in digital and information and communication technology skills; low-income parents were blocked by the high costs of digital access; and an irregular power supply made it difficult for families to participate in electronic lessons (Gideon, 2020; Balogun, 2021). Many Nigerian parents became frustrated with home education during this time; 70% of Nigerian parents surveyed at the start of the pandemic expressed dissatisfaction with homeschooling facilitated by the public schools (Briggs, 2020). Some parents, however, took advantage of the opportunity of being at home to build family bonds, explore new interests, and attempt to home educate their children independently (Gideon, 2020). According to Gideon (2020), research is needed that presents “examples of successful homeschool practice” to show Nigerian stakeholders that home education is a “viable alternative to regular schools.” This study addresses this gap by examining the homeschooling practices of a Nigerian family and offering an in-depth portrayal of how homeschooling is experienced and implemented in the Nigerian context.
Methodology
The present study adopts a case study research design to explore the practices and processes of homeschooling within a Nigerian family context. Case study methodology is widely used in the social sciences to investigate complex phenomena within their real-life settings. According to Heale and Twycross (2018), a case study is an intensive and systematic investigation of a person, group, or unit, allowing researchers to examine a phenomenon in depth while considering multiple variables that influence it. Rather than isolating variables as in experimental research, case studies aim to understand the holistic, context-rich nature of real-world experiences.
This case study, both descriptive and intrinsic, showcases a successful Nigerian homeschooling family. Stake (1995) distinguishes intrinsic case studies as those conducted when a researcher is particularly interested in the case itself, not just because it represents other cases or phenomena, but also because it is of some inherent significance. The focus in an intrinsic case study is more on exploring and appreciating the specific details of the case than generalizing findings to broader contexts. This study also takes the form of a descriptive case study, as described by Yin (2018). Yin (2018) characterizes a descriptive case study as one that aims to provide a detailed understanding of a specific case, focusing on elaborating the features and context of the case.
This study focuses on the unique characteristics of a single case by exploring the operations of one Nigerian homeschooling family to understand the parents’ practices and how they experience and interpret homeschooling. The case concerns the parent dyad and is bounded by the shared perspectives and practices of these two individuals as they jointly navigate home education for their daughters. The case was selected using purposeful, criterion-based sampling. The researchers sought a homeschooling family in Northern Nigeria that had sustained their homeschooling practice over time and could reflect on their experiences. This particular family was selected in part based on accessibility, willingness to participate, and meeting the criteria for participation.
Research Questions
The research questions that guided this case study are:
- What practices do Nigerian homeschooling parents follow to plan, implement, and evaluate their children’s learning?
- What challenges do homeschooling parents in Nigeria face, and how do they navigate or overcome them?
- What successes do homeschooling parents in Nigeria experience?
Data Source
This case study is bounded by its focus on a single Nigerian homeschooling parent dyad located in Northern Nigeria, Papa and Mama Jordan, whose shared practices and perspectives constitute the unit of analysis as they jointly implement and interpret their homeschooling experience. The case is geographically defined by its Northern Nigerian context and temporally bounded by a two-week data collection period, during which semi-structured interviews with both parents and one observation of a typical homeschool day were conducted. Although the family has homeschooled for over 9 years, the study captures their reflections and practices as they are represented within this defined data collection window. The children were not participants and therefore are not part of the unit of analysis. The study does not extend to other families or regions, and its findings are intended to provide an in-depth understanding of this particular case rather than to generalize to broader populations.
The primary data sources are semi-structured interviews with each member of the parent dyad. The names used for the participants in this study are not their real names (Pseudonyms). Both parents answered the same general questions, focusing on the experiences, practices, and challenges encountered during their homeschooling journey. The children’s experiences are considered only as they are described or interpreted by both parents; the children themselves were not interviewed and are not the unit of analysis. Additionally, observational data from a typical day of the Jordan family homeschooling provided insight into the structure of the day and how the parents interacted with their children. Field notes from this observation were used to support the interview data during analysis and to craft case vignettes. The opening and closing vignettes are crafted from observations of the family’s typical school day. The results describe the Jordan Family and their homeschooling practices, as well as themes that emerged from the data during a constant comparative coding process conducted by both researchers for inter-coder reliability.
In the context of homeschooling research in Nigeria, a case study design offers a valuable contribution. Given the limited empirical literature on homeschooling within African educational contexts, detailed case studies can provide foundational insights into how homeschooling is implemented, experienced, and sustained by families. By documenting the practices, motivations, and challenges of one homeschooling family, this study helps illuminate homeschooling as a potential educational pathway and provides a framework for future investigations of home education across Nigeria and other developing contexts.
Researcher’s Positionality
One of the researchers is a former home educator in Northern Nigeria who homeschooled her children for 5.5 years. She had decided to homeschool because, as an educator herself, she could not find an affordable school that met her children’s educational needs satisfactorily. With this challenge, she came across a curriculum she liked that was also used as a homeschool curriculum. The homeschool ideology was a strange concept to her at the time, but with some research and her husband’s full support, she decided to take a leap of faith, quit her job, and start homeschooling her children. She met another family who also wanted to start homeschooling about the same time as she did. That was another motivation for her to stay with the plan. She immediately fell in love with the results she was seeing in her children’s social and academic outcomes.
Unfortunately, she began encountering strong opposition from family, friends, and the community at large, as homeschooling was an unfamiliar practice that many disapproved of. The common concerns people raised to discourage her were a lack of socialization for her children and academic backwardness. Initially, she herself was unsure of her decision, but reading about others who had succeeded and eventually meeting a family in another town who were making progress in homeschooling, she stayed on. Her first year was met with increasing opposition from all who cared about her and her family. However, by the second year, people around her, seeing the transformation in her children’s lives, started coming to ask questions. Some wanted her to take in their own children, which she declined, but was willing to teach them what she knew about homeschooling. By the end of her third year as a home educator, eight families had joined, and they had built a homeschooling community to support each other. People soon found that homeschooling, when properly executed, is a viable option for providing their children with the best education.
She found that there were other Homeschooling families scattered across different parts of Nigeria. Many of these families use a very similar curriculum, and some found it easy to reach out to older homeschooling families for help. She believes that homeschooling still thrives in Nigeria and many new families are slowly adopting this form of education.
The Jordan Family
Mama and Papa Jordan (pseudonyms), both citizens of Nigeria, are parents in a homeschooling family in Northern Nigeria. Mama Jordan, age 39, is the primary homeschool educator and the mother of the children being homeschooled. 40-year-old Papa Jordan is the supporting homeschooler and the family’s father. They have been homeschooling for about nine years and are educating their three daughters: Judith (12), Julie (9), and Juana (6) (all pseudonyms). Papa Jordan has a master’s degree, while Mama Jordan has a bachelor’s, and they both work as full-time Christian missionaries in Northern Nigeria. By the nature of their work, their income comes from relying on financial support from individuals, their home churches, international mission organizations, and charitable donations. This makes their financial status inconsistent and mostly unreliable.
Western-style education expanded in Nigeria from 1944 to independence in 1960 during the Colonial era across the three major regions (Eastern, Western, and Northern), with the help of foreign missionaries (Imam, 2012). According to Imam (2012), Western Nigeria was the first region to experience significant educational advancements, followed by the Eastern region. Northern Nigeria, however, showed a general lack of interest in Western education due to its vast Islamic population, as many people favored enrolling their children in Qur’anic schools and were uncomfortable with the Western-style learning. This attitude still largely affects the adoption of education in the predominantly Muslim Northern Protectorate for the fear of converting children to Christianity (Imam, 2012; Isah et al., 2020). More than two-thirds of students in this region remain illiterate even after completing primary school, compared with 18% to 28% in the South (Bertoni et al., 2019). In recent years, religious insurgencies by the Boko Haram (translated as “Western-style education is forbidden”) group, who are opposed to any non-Islamic education, have plagued the Northern part of Nigeria, with mass bombings and kidnappings, further putting fear and a threat to education in these areas (Joda & Abdulrasheed, 2015). The town the Jordan family lived in during this study is located in the north-eastern part of Nigeria, which houses an average population of about 450,000. This part of Nigeria is home to 16 universities (Isah et al., 2020) and many other lower educational facilities.
The Jordan family uses the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum. ACE is a Christian faith-based curriculum that follows a highly structured format, allowing students to progress through the material independently at their own pace (Fleming & Hunt, 1987; Scaramanga, 2017). Each grade level has 12 small packets of materials focused on different topics that a child is expected to complete at their own pace. After finishing a lesson, the student is expected to take a test to assess their understanding. This program is adopted in many Christian-focused schools around the world, despite being founded in Lewisville, Texas, by Donald Howard (Scaramanga, 2017). The ACE curricular materials, though designed in the United States, are now available to users worldwide. However, the Jordan family has found it rather difficult to obtain in Nigeria, despite the fact that there is an authorized franchise office in Northern Nigeria that owns the franchise to sell these materials. The scarcity of the program’s resources stems from the fact that most faith-based schools, as well as homeschools in Nigeria, subscribe to the curriculum, and the Nigerian distributor lacks the capacity to obtain the supplies needed to meet the growing demand for these materials.
Homeschooling Rationale
For the Jordan family, homeschooling was an intentional and long-standing commitment rather than a spontaneous decision. Mama Jordan imagined educating her children at home years before marriage or motherhood. Her concerns centered on the academic and social climate of many Nigerian public schools, where uniform expectations of performance often left little room for individual pacing. She was especially troubled by the experiences of children who struggled academically but were not adequately supported; instead, they received judgmental attitudes from teachers and peers. In contrast, she valued the possibility of children learning within a safe, familiar, and supportive environment where instruction could be tailored to individual readiness and growth.
At the heart of the Jordans’ decision is a deeply held aspiration for their daughters’ holistic development. Both parents desire that their children understand their inherent worth, engage meaningfully with the world, develop independence, grow in confidence, and cultivate a lifelong love of learning. Mama Jordan articulates this vision clearly:
What I’m hoping to see is girls who know what they know, who can hold their own worth in this world. They know they’re independent and confident based on who they are. And they can hold their own anywhere… they’re crazy about knowledge, and are curious. They want to know who they are… they know how to get to know. .. I thank God that it looks like it’s happening already. You know they love knowledge, and they know how to get it.
Her reflections reveal that homeschooling is viewed not merely as an educational alternative but as a formative pathway for identity development and intellectual agency. Motivated by this conviction, Mama Jordan pursued formal homeschooling training even before becoming a parent. This training was developed by the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) office in northern Nigeria to support current and prospective homeschoolers, as well as school teachers and administrators, who use or intend to adopt the curriculum. The program is designed to build participants’ capacity to implement the curriculum effectively and with greater instructional confidence. This preparatory step positioned her to transition into homeschooling with clarity and confidence once the time arrived. Through this training, she became acquainted with the curriculum the family now employs, solidifying homeschooling as a definite future plan rather than a tentative option.
Papa Jordan expressed full support for this direction, emphasizing that his endorsement stemmed from both his trust in his wife’s conviction and his own belief in the value of parental involvement. He noted that homeschooling enables them to “mold their character and mold who they are becoming.” Together, the parents view themselves as uniquely positioned to guide their daughters toward their fullest potential, with homeschooling serving as the structure through which that guidance is enacted. Consequently, when their eldest daughter’s preschool experience did not align with their expectations for environment and learning conditions, they promptly withdrew her and formally began their homeschooling journey.
Daily Routine and Structure
The ACE curriculum is aligned with Mama and Papa Jordan’s core values. As a religious family, they appreciate a curriculum that aligns with their beliefs and includes activities such as prayer and Bible verse recitation. Mama Jordan puts it this way, “It’s a faith-based curriculum and so they use scriptures a lot. That’s one of the big things for me.” Both parents emphasize discipline and consistency to help their children gain knowledge and self-reliance. While their methods are well-organized and follow a clear framework, they also remain flexible and modify routines when unexpected circumstances or urgent needs arise. According to Papa and Mama Jordan, the structure of their homeschooling has evolved over time, adapting to the children’s changing needs and ages. For example, the children originally woke up at 7 am, but the parents moved the wake-up time up to 6:30 am when they felt the children had grown enough to handle the earlier start.
The girls spend their first hour of the day doing chores and cleaning up. At 7:30 am, Mama Jordan serves the family breakfast, which she has prepared. The family eats together and then follows the meal with a family prayer. Each child then heads into the schoolroom to begin their schoolwork. Most of the time, Mama Jordan is not yet ready to join them, but since the older children can work independently, they begin on their own. While they get started, Mama Jordan cleans up after breakfast and gets herself ready before joining them at 9:00 am.
Mathematics is always the first subject of the day. According to Mama Jordan, this is because math requires “a fresh brain, which is early in the morning.” At 10:00 am, all the children gather for Circle Time, which lasts 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the day and the activities. Circle Time is a highlight of the day, something the children look forward to, because it is filled with fun and engaging activities. Each day of the week has a different theme to make Circle Time special: Making Mondays, Tales Tuesdays, Watching Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays, and Fun Fridays [See Table 1].
Table 1
Circle Time Routine
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Pray | Pray | Pray | Pray | Pray |
| Pledges | Songs | Pledges | Pledges | Songs |
| Calendar | Calendar | Calendar | Calendar | Calendar |
| Memory Verse | Memory Verse | Memory Verse | Memory Verse | Memory Verse |
| Celebrate | Celebrate | Celebrate | Celebrate | Celebrate |
| Making Monday | Tales Tuesday | Watching Wednesday | Thankful Thursday | Fun Friday |
| Sword drills | Civic Education | |||
| Presentation | Presentation | Presentation | Presentation | Presentation |
On Making Mondays, the children create a craft or fun item that keeps them fully engaged. Tales Tuesdays are devoted to storytelling. Mama Jordan reads aloud a variety of educational stories, either pulled from her home library or from online resources. Watching Wednesdays are reserved for documentaries about animals, plants, or other relevant topics that align with what the children are currently studying. Thankful Thursdays provide children with an opportunity to become more mindful of the world around them and express gratitude. Each child receives a slip of paper to write down things that they are grateful for that happened during the last week. These slips are stored in a large jar and are revisited at the end of the year. The children especially look forward to Fun Fridays. On these days, Mama Jordan selects from a pool of fun ideas; examples include: puzzles, songs, field trips, virtual trips, brain breaks, Bible drills and coloring.
Schoolwork resumes immediately after circle time and continues until around 2:00 p.m. During this period, the children are free to take a “brain break” at any time. Brain breaks are short, 10-15-minute periods when the child steps away from academic work to do an activity that refreshes their mind, such as going outside for some fresh air or dancing to a music video. Children who choose not to take a break may remain in the schoolroom and continue working. At any stage of their school activities, any child who is struggling in subject areas that Mama Jordan is not strong in, such as mathematics, science, or any content she is unable to handle at that moment, is sent to Papa Jordan for further tutoring. Papa Jordan also steps in from time to time to take over the school when Mama Jordan needs to rest, travel, or run errands. Mama Jordan typically leaves the schoolroom around 1:00 p.m. to help Papa Jordan prepare lunch while the girls continue working. School officially ends at 2:00 p.m., and the whole family sits together for lunch. After lunch, the children are expected to nap or rest from 3:00-4:00 p.m. If a child has not completed the academic goals they set for themselves for the day, they return to the schoolroom after naptime to finish. Otherwise, the remainder of the day is open for the girls to do as they wish.
The Joys of Homeschooling
For Mama and Papa Jordan, homeschooling is more than an instructional arrangement; it provides a flexible framework that allows them to respond intentionally to their family’s evolving needs. Mama Jordan’s early preparation and training prior to having children contributed to what the Jordan parents describe as a smooth and rewarding transition into home education. This foundation appears to have shaped both their confidence and their capacity to adapt to their approach over time. A central feature of their practice is the structure and flexibility it is rooted in. Rather than rigid long-term prescriptions, the family works from yearly goals that they revisit and refine. As Mama Jordan explains,
We have objectives that we hope to see. And then every year, I go through it and see… For instance, I might want them to learn languages [or anything else]… So I have goals that I go through. And see what I can take each year.
This cyclical planning process allows them to monitor skill development while adjusting expectations to align with their daughters’ growth and interests.
Their adaptability to changing situations is also evident in their curricular decisions. When they encounter resources that enrich learning, they integrate them; when strategies no longer serve their purpose, they discontinue them. Mama Jordan describes this approach: “…So there are those things that when I read about something that oh, I think I should add this in my homeschool routine, I add it. Sometimes, things that aren’t working for us anymore, we let go.” She recounts one instance in which an unplanned discovery led to an extended inquiry:
I ran into a video like that was about an astronaut and all that. So we spent the whole week watching different educational videos on aerodynamics and how to build and we even built a model rocket. So there are things like that… They didn’t ask them in the curriculum to do that.
Such examples suggest openness to emergent learning opportunities beyond prescribed materials. Similarly, Mama Jordan supplements formal curriculum with creative supports that enhance retention and engagement. She notes,
So I go online to check [for things] like adjectives like a song, or I just improvise. So the schoolroom is full of things like that to help them remember. So it’s not really part of the curriculum, but it helps to support and help to make the medicine go down easily.
These improvisational strategies illustrate how she blends structured instruction with personalized scaffolding.
The family’s flexibility is also reflected in their daily scheduling practices. The parents reported intentionally prioritizing adequate sleep, allowing both themselves and their children to wake only after sufficient rest. This approach appears to contribute to a calmer and more regulated start to the instructional day, in contrast to the time constraints and morning pressures commonly associated with traditional school schedules. Their instructional rhythm also allows space for responsiveness to the children’s emotional and physical needs. Mama Jordan reflects on occasions when the children requested adjustments to the day’s plan:
So it’s such a rainy day, and they [the children] asked, Mommy, please, can we not do school today? Please, can we have an hour extra to sleep?”. And I’m like, Okay, why not? Those are things that make me myself, you know, I can go under the blankets because we’re homeschooling.
Mama Jordan also fondly talked about how their line of work as missionaries make them travel sometimes, and at such times, homeschooling provides the flexibility they need like she says “…some trips that we wouldn’t have made if our kids were schooling conventionally… ” Such moments underscore the relational and human-centered dimension of their homeschool practice.
Mama and Papa Jordan also reflected on the personal satisfaction they experience through homeschooling, particularly as they observe the positive changes in their children’s confidence and academic growth. They described how homeschooling has allowed their daughter Judith to rebuild her sense of self as a capable learner. As Mama Jordan explained,
So she feels ‘I’m intelligent. I’m good, I can do this,’ then that gives her confidence to do other things. So I see her do well in other areas, also because we were able to homeschool her…. She had felt she wasn’t intelligent.
Mama and Papa Jordan also described how homeschooling allows them to take their children’s interests seriously and intentionally nurture their aspirations. Rather than viewing their daughters’ career interests as a passing phase, they actively create opportunities for them to explore and develop those interests in meaningful ways. As Mama explained, citing an instance,
Like one of the girls, she said she wants to be a chef. She has been wanting to be a chef for years now. So I’m taking her seriously. I met a chef, and I introduced them… Well, they made a … they baked, they made food together.
Overall, Mama Jordan expresses deep satisfaction with the homeschooling journey and its impact on her children. Reflecting on her experience, she felt that at the initial stages of homeschooling, they needed to step up what they were teaching their children to meet the level of conventional schools, “I had that feeling of ‘We are competing with conventional schools’, especially with the education system in Nigeria.” Now she knows better and states, “So if I could do it again, I would relax a bit more. I’ll be more patient.” This reflection suggests that, alongside its instructional benefits, homeschooling has also shaped her own personal growth and perspective.
Challenges and Navigation in the Homeschooling Experience
The Jordan family highly values the benefits of homeschooling and intends to continue this approach for the foreseeable future. However, the homeschooling experience does come with some challenges. Some of these are major challenges, while others are simply adjustments they had to make due to their children’s growth and the homeschooling needs. The major difficulties the Jordan family has encountered are acquiring the resources for their homeschool. This is mainly because they do not readily obtain the books and other curricular materials they need for their chosen curriculum. The organization that supplies these materials does not have the capacity to supply to as many private schools and homeschools as are registered with them, because it is not a Nigerian curriculum. Mama Jordan puts it this way,
…other people who don’t use the curriculum may not have that problem. But yeah, that’s one of my biggest challenges, getting the curriculum. So sometimes we can be stuck and can’t continue to move because we don’t have the curriculum.
The Jordan family also learned to adjust their schedules and practices when Mama Jordan finds it difficult to run the school due to health problems, stress, travels in response to their mission work, or other situations that may arise. For instance, when Mama Jordan was ill, she ensured that school never stopped as she reported,
So when I’m down or ill, school slows down. Like the other time I had surgery, school slowed down a bit. But it didn’t stop because they are self-taught. So somebody else stood in, you know, took over, even though it wasn’t like the regular circle time. It was not specific.
There were times when she also did not feel up to it; for instance, when she is fatigued and just needs a short break. Some of such times she puts it this way, “Sometimes I’m not in the mood. Sometimes I don’t feel like, but I do it. Yeah. So those. Those are the few challenges.” Papa Jordan has learned to fill in whenever Mama Jordan is unable to and does homework with any child that does not meet their day’s goals, “if they have homework, they have to do it with Daddy”. Mama Jordan also faced the challenge of a lack of community because of the current location that they reside in. She puts it this way, “where I am presently [resident] there’s no [homeschool] community. So that’s a very gigantic… So I’m the only one homeschooling here, so it’s difficult. If I was a new homeschooler I probably would have quit.” For Mama Jordan, having an association of homeschoolers would have helped to encourage her further. Based on her past experience, having a group of homeschooling families come together from time to time would go a long way toward helping her push further. Papa Jordan also confirms these concerns, too.
The family has since learned to adapt to changes in their work, children and their environment. For instance, as the children grew older, they adapted their extracurricular activities to suit their needs. Mama Jordan said about the change in circle time activities, “… as they grew up, because the oldest is 7th grade now, of course she wouldn’t still be doing the same things. Yeah, it won’t be the same things that she needed then. That’s what she needs now.” She had to add activities that would be fun for the older child while still balancing the fun for the younger children. She even arranged excursions and other outings that met her girls’ needs, such as visits to big eateries to help the children fulfill their love of cooking. When she feels tired or discouraged, Mama Jordan also gets all her support and encouragement from Papa Jordan to move on. She puts it this way,
And sometimes when it’s so hard. And I’m like, I want to give up. I’m going to send the students back to conventional schools. I can’t do it. It’s tough. Then he encourages. He says things like, “I see the things, look at all the things that have happened. Look at this, look at that! Look!” Then he helps me by saying, “Okay, okay, let me continue [for the rest of the day].” Yeah. So he actually supports. So it’s good for the other spouse to support the other.
Mama and Papa Jordan, though they have homeschooled their children for about nine years, are taking it one day at a time. They do not claim to want to continue on this path throughout their children’s education. Mama Jordon says, “We, my husband and I, we try not to bite a lot. We just say, Okay, let’s continue to this point. So recently, we had to sit down and think, are we going to continue homeschooling? So we decided to continue for the next 3 years and see.”
Discussion
This discussion interprets the findings of the present study on the practices and processes of homeschooling young children in Nigeria through the experiences of the Jordan family. Using this single-case perspective, the discussion explores how the parents plan, implement, and evaluate their children’s learning, as well as the challenges they encounter and the successes they report. The findings are situated within the broader sociocultural, economic, and security contexts that influence educational decision-making in Northern Nigeria. By connecting this case’s results to existing literature on homeschooling and alternative education, this section highlights homeschooling as a context-responsive educational practice that reflects parental values, local realities, and evolving educational needs.
Practices and Processes
Homeschooling for the Jordan family emerged from a long-standing, values-driven commitment rooted in concerns about standardized academic expectations and the social pressures present in traditional Nigerian schooling contexts. Their decision reflects a deliberate effort to cultivate their daughters’ confidence, independence, character formation, and intellectual curiosity within a home environment intentionally structured to support individualized learning and identity development. The findings show that homeschooling in the Jordan family is deliberate, structured, and values-driven. Mama Jordan’s early preparation and training in homeschooling enabled her to create a well-organized learning environment that is focused on discipline, independence, and flexibility. She intentionally chose a structured curriculum that would keep the children active while also allowing them to pace their learning as they preferred. The use of the ACE curriculum provides a clear framework for scheduling, implementation, and assessment, allowing the children to progress at their own pace. The daily routines of the Jordans’ homeschool, including structured academic periods, Circle Time, and self-regulated brain breaks, demonstrate how homeschooling enables individualized instruction that adapts to children’s developmental needs. This further shows the family’s intention to ensure their children’s education is exceptionally well planned. This further confirms the research’s findings that home education offers a more convenient environment for children’s learning (Jolly et al., 2013).
Assessment in the Jordan family’s homeschool is embedded within daily learning through curriculum-based testing, observation, and goal setting. The ACE curriculum includes assessments for each unit of learning that enable students to check their progress and see whether they have attained mastery of the unit content. Children regularly demonstrate mastery through ACE assessments while parents monitor understanding informally and make adjustments as needed. This ongoing, formative approach allows immediate feedback and supports continuous progress. The flexibility of homeschooling enables assessment to occur in familiar, low-stress settings, which contrasts with the high-pressure testing environments often found in formal schooling. This could only be possible within the flexible homeschool environment, as affirmed in the literature (Lyubitskaya & Polivanova, 2022).
An important feature of the Jordan family’s homeschooling practice is the active involvement of both parents in their children’s education and daily lives. Mama Jordan assumes the primary instructional role and is consistently present with the children during their learning activities, guiding and supporting their academic progress. Papa Jordan complements this role by participating in key moments of encouragement and recognition, such as homework supervision, the daily celebration time, and the weekly awards ceremony, where he acknowledges each child’s accomplishments and offers motivation in areas where they experience difficulty. This collaborative approach reflects a high level of parental engagement and creates opportunities for the intentional transmission of family values and cultural beliefs within the learning environment, a practice consistent with the observations of previous studies, who note that homeschooling environments often allow parents to more directly influence their children’s moral, cultural, and educational development (Hilado et al., 2013; Guterman & Neuman, 2017).
Challenges and Adjustments
Homeschooling in Northern Nigeria is shaped by a range of contextual challenges, including religious tensions, resistance to Western-style education, and insecurity associated with insurgent activities in the region (Joda & Abdulrasheed, 2015; Isah et al., 2020). These sociopolitical conditions influence parental educational decisions and raise concerns about the safety and quality of formal schooling. In addition, the Jordan family’s reliance on irregular financial support creates economic constraints that affect their ability to consistently obtain educational materials and curriculum resources. There was also the factor of stress or burnout, which, in previous studies, could be a reason some parents quit homeschooling (Gode, 2009). Despite these barriers, the family demonstrates notable resilience by adapting their routines, prioritizing their children’s education, and strategically managing limited resources.
The family’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances was evident in their shared commitment to continuing homeschooling. Mama Jordan carried the primary responsibility for daily instruction, yet Papa Jordan provided consistent support, particularly during periods when she was ill, fatigued, or overwhelmed by the demands of homeschooling and household responsibilities. Their collaborative approach allowed the family to maintain continuity in their children’s education even during challenging periods. Furthermore, the Jordans demonstrated flexibility in their homeschooling practice by continuing instruction during travel and modifying learning schedules when necessary. This adaptability reflects findings from previous homeschooling research that emphasize flexibility as a defining characteristic and advantage of home education (Yusuf & Enesi, 2012).
Another challenge faced by the Jordan family was the limited presence of a local homeschooling community. Unlike homeschooling families in some Western contexts who benefit from cooperative groups and shared learning networks, the Jordans largely navigated homeschooling independently. This lack of community support limited opportunities for collaboration, shared resources, and social interaction with other homeschooling families, reinforcing Thomas’s (2016) observation that community networks often play an important role in sustaining and encouraging homeschooling efforts.
The Jordan family’s use of the ACE curriculum further illustrates how religious beliefs strongly shape homeschooling practices. For the Jordans, alignment between curriculum content and their faith-based values was a central motivation for homeschooling and a key factor in sustaining their commitment to this educational approach. However, the scarcity and high demand for ACE materials in Northern Nigeria posed additional challenges in accessing curriculum resources. These limitations highlight how structural factors such as distribution systems and resource availability can significantly influence the feasibility and sustainability of homeschooling, even when strong parental motivation and commitment are present (Thomas, 2016).
Homeschooling Successes
The Jordan family reported several positive outcomes from their homeschooling experience, including their children’s enjoyment of learning, increased independence, strong character development, and alignment between education and family values. Key elements of their homeschooling routine, such as flexible scheduling, individualized pacing, and engaging activities like Circle Time, appear to contribute significantly to these positive learning experiences. In contexts where formal schooling may be limited, unsafe, or misaligned with parental beliefs, these outcomes suggest that homeschooling may be a viable educational alternative.
A central factor sustaining the Jordan family’s commitment to homeschooling is the visible progress they observe in their children. According to the parents, the homeschooling environment has allowed their children to learn at their own pace and experience academic success in ways that might not have been possible in more rigid educational settings. Furthermore, homeschooling provides opportunities to build on the children’s individual interests and talents. Mama and Papa Jordan intentionally extend learning beyond traditional academic instruction by connecting their children with real-world experiences and mentors. Through these interactions, the parents create authentic opportunities for their children to explore their interests while reinforcing the value of their personal goals and aspirations.
These experiences reflect the family’s broader educational philosophy of supporting curiosity, creativity, and personal growth through personalized and interest-driven learning opportunities that homeschooling environments can more readily accommodate. Observing their children’s academic progress and intellectual engagement has also reinforced the parents’ confidence in their educational choice. Such outcomes are consistent with previous research that reports strong academic performance among homeschooled students (Nicholas et al., 2021). Additionally, the flexibility inherent in homeschooling practices could allow families to adapt learning experiences to children’s developmental needs (Yusuf & Enesi, 2012), while the self-paced nature of instruction often promotes mastery of academic concepts (Lucas et al., 2021).
Importantly, the parents noted that the academic successes they noticed have most likely contributed to a meaningful shift in their children’s self-perception. They also noted that over time, the children moved from doubting their intellectual abilities to developing greater confidence in their academic capabilities. This growing sense of competence extended beyond academic tasks, influencing other areas of their lives and encouraging them to approach new challenges with greater assurance. For Mama and Papa Jordan, witnessing this transformation in their daughters’ confidence, independence, and self-belief represents one of the most significant and rewarding outcomes of their homeschooling journey.
Limitations of the Study
One important limitation of this study is its focus on a single homeschooling family, which constrains the generalizability of the findings to other homeschooling contexts in Nigeria. However, consistent with the purpose of case study research, this study prioritizes depth over breadth, offering rich, context-specific insights into an understudied population. These findings aim to contribute to a nuanced understanding of homeschooling practices and serve as a foundation for future research across diverse settings. While the intrinsic case study design provided a rich, detailed understanding of the Jordan family’s homeschooling practices, the family’s experiences may not fully represent those of other homeschooling families across different socioeconomic, cultural, or regional contexts. Additionally, the study relied primarily on parent perspectives and a limited observation period, which may not fully capture the complexity of children’s long-term academic and social experiences.
Another limitation concerns the context-specific nature of homeschooling in Northern Nigeria, where factors such as insecurity, economic instability, and limited access to curriculum resources shape educational practices in unique ways. These contextual factors may differ significantly across other regions of Nigeria or other countries, thereby influencing how homeschooling is implemented and experienced. Furthermore, the study did not include comparative data from children enrolled in formal schooling, which limits the ability to draw conclusions about the relative effectiveness of homeschooling compared to traditional education systems.
Suggestions for Further Research
Future research should explore homeschooling practices across multiple regions of Nigeria, including urban and southern contexts, to better understand how cultural, economic, and security conditions influence families’ decisions to homeschool. Expanding the research to include diverse family structures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational approaches would provide a more comprehensive picture of homeschooling practices within the Nigerian context. Such studies could also examine how support structures such as homeschooling networks, faith-based organizations, and community groups contribute to the sustainability of homeschooling.
In addition, comparative and longitudinal studies would provide deeper insight into the outcomes of homeschooling in Nigeria. Comparative research examining the academic, social, and emotional development of homeschooled children compared with those in public or private schools could offer valuable evidence on the effectiveness of homeschooling as an educational pathway. Longitudinal studies following homeschooled children into adolescence and adulthood could further illuminate long-term outcomes in academic achievement, social integration, and career pathways. Finally, further investigation into the policy and legal frameworks surrounding homeschooling in Nigeria would be beneficial for informing educational policy and developing context-sensitive support systems for homeschooling families.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that homeschooling in Nigeria, particularly within the Northern region, is shaped by a complex interaction of religious commitments, security concerns, educational philosophy, and parental agency. Within this context, the Jordan family’s experience illustrates how homeschooling can serve as a structured, intentional, and adaptive educational practice for young children. Despite challenges related to limited resources, restricted access to curriculum materials, and broader sociopolitical instability, the family’s practices reveal how parents can creatively organize learning environments that support individualized instruction, moral development, and academic engagement. As such, the findings contribute to a growing understanding of homeschooling as a context-responsive educational alternative within the Nigerian educational landscape.
Research examining homeschooling in developing and underdeveloped countries remains limited, and this study provides an important contribution by documenting homeschooling practices from the perspective of a Nigerian family. By highlighting the Jordan family’s decision-making processes, daily routines, and educational priorities, the study offers insight into how homeschooling is practically implemented in a context where formal schooling may be constrained by safety concerns, rigid structures, or misalignment with family values. The case, therefore, serves as a valuable resource not only for current homeschooling families seeking affirmation and shared experience but also for prospective homeschoolers exploring alternative educational pathways. In addition, the findings may help reduce the social stigma that sometimes surrounds homeschooling in Nigeria.
More broadly, the study underscores the potential of homeschooling to support individualized learning, flexible scheduling, strong parental involvement, and holistic child development, all of which are widely recognized as important components of effective early childhood education. While homeschooling is not without its limitations or challenges, the evidence from this case suggests that it can provide meaningful educational opportunities for families who intentionally plan and sustain such practices. Stakeholders, policymakers, educators, and educational stakeholders may benefit from recognizing homeschooling as a legitimate educational option and from exploring ways to support families who choose this pathway. Continued research in this area will be essential to strengthen the evidence base, inform policy discussions, and expand educational opportunities for children growing up in diverse and sometimes challenging contexts.
Closing Vignette
The sun shines high in the sky, and the weather warms up. Julie and Juana start to show signs of tiredness from their schoolwork. Their focus starts to dwindle, and their brain breaks get more and more frequent. Mama Jordan notices the change, but needs to step out to assist Papa Jordan, who is in the kitchen preparing lunch. Eventually, young Juana loses interest in her work completely, sitting on the floor instead, looking drained or hungry. Julie looks at her younger sister and also starts to show signs of fatigue. Judith, in contrast, pushes on eagerly and presents her mother with a paper that she has been working on. Mama Jordan checks on the girls at increasingly frequent intervals, encouraging them to do a little more each time. Finally, she walks into the room and announces, “It’s lunchtime!” The girls collectively sigh with relief and move to the kitchen table, digging into a delicious meal with a sweet aroma while discussing the events of the day with Papa and Mama Jordan. After lunch, they retire to their bedroom with full stomachs for a rest or a nap before transitioning into their daily, fun, free play time.
References
Adamson, C. (2022). Stepping out of the system? A Grounded Theory on how Parents Consider Becoming Home or Alternative Educators. British Journal of Educational Studies, 70(3), 281-303. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2021.1959896
Akinrinmade, B. I. (2023). The Use of Private Tutoring and Its Relationship to Primary-School-Age Children’s Academic Achievements in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation). Florida State University, College of Education.
Awofala, A. O., Lawal, R. F., Isiakpere, B. J., Arigbabu, A. A., & Fatade, A. O. A. O. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria and Attitudes Towards Mathematics Homeschooling Among Pre-Tertiary Students. Nigerian Online Journal of Educational Sciences and Technology, 1(2), 57-70.
Balogun, Y. R. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria and The Effectiveness of Home-Schooling on the Girl-Child Education. COVID-19: African Women and The Will to Survive (pp. 113 – 123). University of Bamberg Press.
Bertoni, E., Di Maio, M., Molini, V., & Nistico, R. (2019). Education is forbidden: The effect of the Boko Haram conflict on education in North-East Nigeria. Journal of Development Economics, 141, 102249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.06.007
Briggs, D. C. (2020). COVID-19: The Effect of Lockdown on Children’s Remote Learning Experience–Parents’ Perspective. Journal of Education, Society, and Behavioral Science 10(42), pp. 42-52.
Carpenter, D., & Gann, C. (2016). Educational Activities and the Role of The Parent in Homeschool
Families With High School Students. Educational Review, 68(3), 322-339.
http://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2015.1087971
Cheng, A., & Hamlin, D. (2023). Contemporary Homeschooling Arrangements: An Analysis of Three Waves of Nationally Representative Data. Educational Policy, 37(5), 1444-1466.
Chinazzi, A. (2023). A Social Contract for Home Education: A Framework for the Homeschooling Debate. Encyclopaideia, 27(65), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1825-8670/15312
Dlamini, N., Maharaj, P., & Dunn, S. (2021). Home-schooling in South Africa: Adapting to the New Normal of Providing Education. Perspectives in Education, 39(1), 106-121.
Donnelly, M. (2024). Data or Ideology: What is Driving Homeschooling Policy Around the World, and Why? Journal of School Choice, 18(4), 1–14.
Fleming, D. B., & Hunt, T. C. (1987). The World as Seen by Students in Accelerated Christian Education Schools. The Phi Delta Kappan, 68(7), 518-523.
Gideon, A. A. (2020). Home Education as an Alternative to Institutional Schooling in Nigeria: Lessons from COVID-19. CCEAM, 66.
Goode, K. J. (2009). Transitioning Home-School Children Into the Public School Classroom (Publication No. 3362690.)[Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Guterman, O., & Neuman, A. (2017). Schools and Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Comparison of School-Going and Homeschooled Children. The journal of educational research, 110(4), 425–432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1116055
Hanna, L. G. (2012). Homeschooling Education: Longitudinal Study of Methods, Materials, and Curricula. Education and Urban Society, 44(5), 609–631. doi:10.1177/0013124511404886
Heale, R., & Twycross, A. (2018). What is a Case Study?. Evidence-Based Nursing, 21(1), 7-8.
Hilado, A. V., Kallemeyn, L. & Phillips, L. (2013). Examining Understandings of Parent Involvement in Early Childhood Programs. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 15(2).
Hudson, L., Kaatz, T., Battle, D., Hall, L. J., Bahr, S., & Eyster, S. (2023). 2019 Homeschooling and Full-Time Virtual Education Rates. Stats in Brief. NCES 2023-101. National Center for Education Statistics.
Jolly, J. L., Matthews, M. S., & Nester, J. (2013). Homeschooling the Gifted: A Parent’s Perspective. Gifted Child Quarterly, 57(2), 121-134. http/:doi.org/10.1177/0016986212469999
Kunzman, R., & Gaither, M. (2020). Homeschooling: An Updated Comprehensive Survey of The Research. Other Education-The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 9(1), 253–336. ISSN 2049-2162
Lucas, C., Hood, P., & Coyle, D. (2021). Blossoming in English: Preschool Children’s Emergent Literacy Skills in English. Journal Of Research In Childhood Education, 35(3), 477–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2020.1742256
Lyubitskaya, K., & Polivanova, K. (2022). Parental Engagement: Why Parents in Russia Choose Homeschooling and What Problems They Have to Solve. Journal of School Choice, 16(2), 191–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2021.2018785
Imam, H. (2012). Educational Policy in Nigeria from the Colonial Era to the Post-Independence Period. Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 4(Italian Journal of Sociology of Education 4/1), 181-204.
Isah, E. A., Yakubu, S., & Adeleke, T. T. (2020). Socio-Cultural Factors and Access to University Education in the North-East Region of Nigeria. East African Journal of Educational Research and Policy, 15(1), 59-73.
Joda, F., & Abdulrasheed, O. (2015). Effects of Insurgency on Girls Education in North Eastern Nigeria. European Journal of Education and Development Psychology, 3(1), 44–50. ISSN 2055-0189
Mazama, A. (2015). African American Homeschooling Practices: Empirical Evidence. Theory
and Research in Education, 14(1), 26-44. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878515615734
Nicholas, M., Rouse, E., & Paatsch, L. (2021). Child-Centred Teaching: Helping Each Child to Reach Their Full Potential. Education Sciences, 11, 280. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11060280
Pannone, S. (2014). Homeschool curriculum choices: A phenomenological study. (Doctoral
dissertation). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI 3628918).
Ray, B. D. (2024, February 9). Research facts on homeschooling. Retrieved https://www.nheri.org/how-many-homeschool-students-are-there-in-the-united-statesduring-the-2021-2022-school-year/
Scaramanga, J. (2017). Systems of indoctrination: Accelerated Christian education in England (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London).
Stake, R. (1995). Chapter 10: Harper School. In The Art of Case Study Research (pp. 137–160). Sage Publications.
Thomas, J. (2016). Learning from Homeschooling Routines. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 25(3), 233-250.
Tweni, M. F., Wamocha, L., & Buhere, P. (2022). Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled versus Conventionally Schooled Children Pursuing the Accelerated Christian Education Curriculum in Kenya. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 80(3), 474-486. https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/22.80.474
Wearne, E., & Thompson, J. (2022). National hybrid schools survey 2022. National Hybrid Schools Project, Kennesaw State University, March.
Yin, R. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods, 6th ed. Sage.
Yusuf, H. O., & Enesi, A. O. (2012). Using Sound in Teaching Reading in Early Childhood Education. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(4), 660–666. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.4.660-666 ¯