Parents as Teachers: Survey Results

In the Spring of 2014, the education consultants of SHARE, AERC, and Anchor Education were surveyed regarding their observations of parents homeschooling on the field. These consultants generally have a broad base of experience across wide geographic areas and sending agencies. The survey was conducted by PACE and the results were presented and discussed at the 2014 IMKEC meetings earlier this month.

The survey questions are presented below, along with the survey results and discussion notes from the 2014 IMKEC participants.

If a parent isn’t _____, homeschooling will probably not be successful.

The most common response to this question by a 2:1 ratio was “committed.” The IMKEC participants, who are generally very experienced education consultants, discussed this and offered these behaviors as evidence of commitment to homeschooling:

• belief that homeschooling is the best choice for their family;
• a willingness to prioritize homeschooling and view it as part of their ministry instead of competition for their time and resources;
• well-prepared and well-equipped for homeschooling.

Think of the most successful homeschoolers on the field that you’ve observed. To what would you most attribute their success?

Twenty percent of participants responded that they attributed homeschooling success to “organization.” Other answers included “specific attributes of children” and parental attitudes as success factors. Conversely, respondents most often attributed struggles for homeschoolers to “disorganization.” The IMKEC participants offered the following for helping homeschooling parents get organized:

• prefield planning and development of an overall education plan;
• opportunities for homeschooling parents to network, exchange ideas, and support one another;
• attendance at on-field education conferences (such as those offered by SHARE, AERC, and Anchor Education).

What one or two home education curricula have you seen many parents using successfully?

There were many curricula offered in answer to this question, but 60% of respondents answered that the Sonlight curriculum was often used successfully. IMKEC participants offered these thoughts regarding curriculum:

• encourage parents toward curriculum that allows for some changes in modality/learning style;
• help parents understand that they do not need to complete every activity suggested in the curriculum guides;
• Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschooling Curriculum can be an excellent resource for information about curricula as well as a learning styles assessment.

What role does a family’s sending organization play in the success/lack of success of their homeschooling?

Sixty percent of the survey respondents indicated that sending organizations play a “significant” or “pivotal” role in the success of homeschoolers on the field. The consultants noted that it was important to include homeschooling in the formal or informal job descriptions of the primary homeschooling parent. Several consultants also noted that sending organizations should connect families to education organizations (AERC, Anchor, SHARE), their own consultants, and mentors, as well requiring pre-field education planning.

IMKEC participants noted that sending organizations could also support the success of homeschoolers by including pre-field preparation and on-field education conferences in the budgets of homeschoolers. They also noted that it is sometimes difficult for field and agency leaders to understand the needs of homeschooling families.

Approximately how often to you observe both parents to be involved in homeschooling on the field?

Over 70% of respondents said that they “sometimes” or “often” observe both parents to be involved in homeschooling. Nearly 30% said they “rarely” observe this, and no one indicated that they have observed both spouses to be involved “never” or “almost always.”

IMKEC participants had several ideas for how to encourage the involvement of both spouses in homeschooling:

• require couples to complete pre-field education planning together;
• consultants can ask about this and talk about this as they consult with families and present workshops;
• questions related to this can be included in annual reviews for homeschooling families.

How would YOU answer the above questions? Do you have any suggestions related to any of these questions that might help newer education consultants?

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