Editing Homeschooling (section)

==Teaching methods, forms and philosophies==
{{See also|Pedagogy}}
Homeschooling is usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an online teacher,<ref>"Homeschool." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2015. Web. 3 June 2015. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homeschool Dictionary.reference.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302144400/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homeschool|date=2016-03-02}}</ref> but the concrete practice can vary widely. The spectrum ranges from highly structured forms based on traditional school lessons to more open, free forms like [[unschooling]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Tyler |date=2014-10-15 |title=How Is Unschooling Different From Homeschooling? |url=https://www.noodle.com/articles/how-is-unschooling-different-from-homeschooling |access-date=2020-10-10 |website=www.noodle.com |language=en}}</ref> which is a [[curriculum]]-free implementation of homeschooling that involves teaching children based on their interests.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What Is Unschooling? A Parents Guide to Child-Led Home Education|url=https://www.parents.com/kids/education/home-schooling/what-is-unschooling-all-about-child-led-home-education/|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Parents|language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Unschooling - letting children grow up without school or teachers|url=https://www.dpa-international.com/topic/unschooling-letting-children-grow-without-school-teachers-urn%3Anewsml%3Adpa.com%3A20090101%3A161024-99-923474|access-date=2020-12-15|website=dpa International|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129061217/https://www.dpa-international.com/topic/unschooling-letting-children-grow-without-school-teachers-urn%3Anewsml%3Adpa.com%3A20090101%3A161024-99-923474|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=https://www.educationcorner.com/what-is-unschooling.html|title=What is Unschooling?|website=www.educationcorner.com|access-date=2019-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224021627/https://www.educationcorner.com/what-is-unschooling.html|archive-date=2019-12-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Homeschool families can utilize a wide variety of educational methods and materials with a wide range of educational paradigms.<ref>{{cite web|date=2013-05-08|title=Informal learning, home education and homeschooling (home schooling)|url=https://infed.org/informal-learning-home-education-and-homeschooling-home-schooling/|access-date=2020-12-21|publisher=YMCA George Williams College}}</ref> Some of the concepts homeschoolers can incorporate include [[Classical education movement|classical education]] (including [[trivium (education)|Trivium]], [[Quadrivium]]), [[Charlotte Mason]] education, [[Montessori method|Montessori]], [[theory of multiple intelligences]], unschooling, [[Waldorf education|Waldorf]], school-at-home (curriculum choices from both secular and religious publishers), and [[A Thomas Jefferson Education]]. Homeschool educations may incorporate pre-made curriculum made up from private or small publishers, apprenticeship, hands-on-learning, distance learning (both online and correspondence), dual enrollment in local schools or colleges, and curriculum provided by local schools and many others.

A student's education may be customized to support his or her learning level, style, and interests.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-12-11 |title=Top Reasons Parents Switch to Homeschool |url=https://www.powerhomeschool.org/articles/top-reasons-for-homeschooling/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |publisher=powerhomeschool.org}}</ref> It is not uncommon for a student to experience more than one approach as the family discovers what works best for their student. Some companies offer all-in-one homeschooling curricula. Purchased as a grade-level package or separately by subject, the package may contain all of the needed books, materials, tests, answer keys, and extensive teacher guides.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homeschooling Approaches - School-at-Home |url=https://www.homeschool.com/Approaches/SchoolAtHome.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707155717/https://www.homeschool.com/Approaches/SchoolAtHome.asp |archive-date=2017-07-07 |access-date=2017-10-24 |website=www.homeschool.com}}</ref> However, many families use an eclectic approach, picking and choosing from various suppliers. For sources of [[curricula]] and books, a study found that 78 percent utilized "a public library"; 77 percent used "a homeschooling catalogue, publisher, or individual specialist"; 68 percent used "retail bookstore or another store"; 60 percent used "an education publisher that was not affiliated with homeschooling." "Approximately half" used curriculum from "a homeschooling organization", 37 percent from a "church, synagogue or other religious institution" and 23 percent from "their local public school or district." In 2003, 41 percent utilized some sort of [[distance learning]], approximately 20 percent by "television, video or radio"; 19 percent via "The Internet, e-mail, or the World Wide Web"; and 15 percent taking a "correspondence course by mail designed specifically for homeschoolers."<ref name="NCES">{{cite web|url=http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/index.asp|title=Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 - Executive Summary|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200100/http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/index.asp|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=difficult to read list of statistics|date=August 2017}}

Individual governmental units, e.g. states and local districts, vary in official curriculum and attendance requirements.<ref name="HSLDA">{{cite web|url=http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp|title=HSLDA - Home Schooling-State|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422230903/http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp|archive-date=22 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Structured versus unstructured ===
Approaches to homeschooling fall under two categories: structured and unstructured. Structured homeschooling includes any method or style of home education that follows a basic curriculum with articulated goals and outcomes. This style attempts to imitate the structure of a traditional school setting while personalizing the curriculum. Unstructured homeschooling, also known as unschooling, is any form of home education where parents do not construct a curriculum at all. This method attempts to teach through the child's daily experiences and focuses more on self-directed learning by the child, free of textbooks, teachers, and any formal assessment of success or failure.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martin-Chang |first1=S. |last2=Gould |first2=O. N. |last3=& Meuse |first3=R. E. |year=2011 |title=The impact of schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from homeschooled and traditionally schooled students |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=195–202 |doi=10.1037/a0022697 |id={{ProQuest|878227015}}}}</ref>

===Unschooling and natural learning===
{{Main|Unschooling}}

The term '''unschooling''', coined by [[John Holt (educator)|John Holt]], describes an approach in which parents do not authoritatively direct the child's education, but interact with the child following the child's interests, leaving them free to explore and learn.<ref name="kwmzdt">{{cite web |title=A Conversation with John Holt - The Natural Child Project |url=http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/marlene_bumgarner.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920222451/http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/marlene_bumgarner.html |archive-date=20 September 2017 |access-date=19 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="NCES" /> '''Natural learning''' refers to a type of learning-on-demand where children pursue knowledge based on their interests and parents take an active part in facilitating activities and experiences conducive to learning but do not rely heavily on textbooks or spend much time "teaching", looking instead for "learning moments" throughout their daily activities. Parents see their role as that of affirming through positive feedback and modeling the necessary skills, and the child's role as being responsible for asking and learning.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://education.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-80|title=Self-Directed Education—Unschooling and Democratic Schooling|encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education |publisher=Oxford University Press |first=Peter|last=Gray|date=April 15, 2017|access-date=September 18, 2018|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.80|isbn=9780190264093|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919061756/http://education.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-80|archive-date=September 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another prominent proponent of unschooling is [[John Taylor Gatto]], author of ''[[Dumbing Us Down]]'', ''The Exhausted School'', ''A Different Kind of Teacher'', and ''[[Weapons of Mass Instruction]]''. Gatto argues that public education is the primary tool of "state-controlled consciousness" and serves as a prime illustration of the [[total institution]] — a social system which impels obedience to the state and quells free-thinking or dissent.<ref>John Taylor Gatto, ''Weapons of Mass Instruction'' (Odysseus Group, 2008).</ref>

==== Informal learning ====
{{Main|Informal learning}}

'''Informal learning''' refers to the component of homeschooling which happens outside of the classroom. Informal learning is an everyday form of learning through participation and creation, in contrast with the traditional view of teacher-centered learning. The term is usually used synonymously with "non-formal learning" and "self-directed learning." Informal learning differs from traditional learning as there are no expected objectives or outcomes. From the learner's standpoint, the knowledge that they receive is not intentional. Activities such as planting a garden, baking a cake or even talking to a technician at work about the installation of new software can be considered informal learning: the individual is completing a task with different intentions but ends up learning skills in the process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Livingstone |first1=D. W. |year=2006 |title=Informal Learning: Conceptual Distinctions and Preliminary Findings |journal=Counterpoints |language=en |volume=249 |pages=203–227 |jstor=42979596}}</ref> Children watching their tomato plants grow will not generate questions about photosynthesis but they will learn that their plants are growing with water and sunlight. This leads them to have a base understanding of complex scientific concepts without any background studying.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Elizabeth Outlaw |last2=Heaton |first2=Emily T. |last3=Heslop |first3=Karen |last4=Kixmiller |first4=Kassandra |year=2009 |title=Science Learning at Home Involving Families |journal=YC Young Children |language=en |volume=64 |issue=6 |pages=39–41 |jstor=42731048}}</ref>

Depending on the part of the world, informal learning can take on many different identities and has differing cultural importances. Many ways of organizing homeschooling draw on the model of apprenticeships and [[Learning through play|play-based learning]]. In some [[Homeschooling international status and statistics|South American indigenous cultures]], such as the [[Chillihuani]] community in Peru, children learn irrigation and farming technique through play, advancing them not only in their own village and society but also in their knowledge of realistic techniques that they will need to survive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bolin |first=Inge |date=November 2006 |title=Growing up in a Culture of Respect: Child Rearing in Highland Peru |journal=Journal of Latin American Anthropology |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=430–432 |doi=10.1525/jlca.2006.11.2.430 |issn=1085-7052}}</ref> In Western culture, children use informal learning in two main ways: through hands-on experience with new material, and by asking questions to someone who has more experience (i.e. parents, elders). The concept of informal learning depends on the inquisitiveness and interests of the child.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Legare |first1=Cristine H. |last2=Sobel |first2=David M. |last3=Callanan |first3=Maureen |date=October 2017 |title=Causal learning is collaborative: Examining explanation and exploration in social contexts |journal=Psychonomic Bulletin & Review |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=1548–1554 |doi=10.3758/s13423-017-1351-3 |issn=1531-5320 |pmc=10409598 |pmid=28744768 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==== Unit studies ====
In a '''unit study''' approach, multiple subjects such as math, science, history, art, and geography, are studied in relation to a single topic. Unit studies are useful for teaching multiple grades simultaneously as the difficulty level can be adjusted for each student. An extended form of unit studies, Integrated Thematic Instruction utilizes one central theme integrated throughout the curriculum so that students finish a school year with a deep understanding of a certain broad subject or idea.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Randle |first1=Inga |date=1997 |title=The measure of success: Integrated Thematic Instruction |journal=The Clearing House |volume=71 |issue=2 |page=85 |doi=10.1080/00098659709599331}}</ref>

==== Autonomous learning ====
'''Autonomous learning''' is a school of [[education]] which sees learners as individuals who can and should be [[Wiktionary: autonomy|autonomous]]; i.e., be responsible for their own learning climate.

Autonomous education helps students develop their self-consciousness, vision, practicality, and freedom of discussion. These attributes serve to aid the student in his/her independent learning. However, a student must not start their autonomous learning completely on their own. It is said that first having interaction with someone who has more knowledge in a subject will speed up the student's learning and allow them to learn more independently.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=L. W. Chiu|first=Hazel|year=2012|title=Supporting the development of autonomous learning skills in reading and writing in an independent language learning centre.|url=https://sisaljournal.org/archives/sep12/chiu/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=f5309b4960|journal=Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal|volume=3|pages=271–272|access-date=2016-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129144127/https://sisaljournal.org/archives/sep12/chiu/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=f5309b4960|archive-date=2016-11-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some degree of autonomous learning is popular with those who home educate their children. In true autonomous learning, the child usually gets to decide what projects they wish to tackle or what interests to pursue. In-home education, this can be instead of or in addition to regular subjects like doing math or English.

=== Hybrid homeschooling ===
'''Hybrid homeschooling''' or '''flex-school'''<ref name=":9"/> is a form of homeschooling in which children split their time between homeschool and a more traditional schooling environment like a [[school]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-10|title=Can Hybrid Home Schooling "Cross the Chasm?"|url=https://www.edchoice.org/engage/can-hybrid-home-schooling-cross-the-chasm/|access-date=2020-12-15|website=EdChoice|language=en-US}}</ref> The number of students who participated in hybrid homeschooling increased during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Musaddiq |first1=Tareena |last2=Strange |first2=Kevin |last3=Bacher-Hicks |first3=Andrew |last4=Goodman |first4=Joshua |title=The Pandemic's Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools |journal=The Journal of Public Economics |date=2022 |volume=212 |page=104710 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104710|hdl=10419/245479 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A commonly cited reason for choosing this model is that parents are not sure whether they can provide their children a comprehensive and neutral education at home or cannot devote themselves to homeschooling full-time due to time constraints or excessive stress.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Lenz|first=Lyz|date=2020-08-18|title=A Family Looks Back on Their Hybrid Home-School Experience|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/parenting/homeschool-siblings.html|access-date=2020-12-15|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Some families also want their children to socialize with other children and find that schools are better suited for this purpose because social exchange does not only take place occasionally, but is an everyday experience there.<ref name=":12"/>