Graduate Research Papers

Availability

Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the impact of homeschooling as an educational option for high ability students, particularly in Iowa. Using a literature review and personal interviews, the writer sought to determine the reasons parents homeschool, advantages and disadvantages of this option, and its impact on education in Iowa. The literature and interviews showed that a major reason that parents of high ability students homeschooled their children was a belief that the public school could not adequately provide for and challenge high ability students. The reviewed literature indicated that two important advantages of homeschooling for high ability students were academic improvement and the dual enrollment option in Iowa. Three major concerns were expressed: the lack of a high school diploma, if the homeschooling continued through the secondary level; parental lack of methods training; and, the most frequently cited concern, the lack of socialization opportunities. While homeschooling is a growing trend in Iowa, its educational impact is difficult to assess because of inadequate collection of data by public education agencies and because parents are reluctant to share their experiences. However, since Iowa school district funding is based in part on total student enrollment, homeschooling is having a district-wide financial impact, particularly if several students are being homeschooled.

Year of Submission

1995

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Division of Education of the Gifted

First Advisor

William Waack

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this dissertation or thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1995

Object Description

1 PDF file (29 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Education Commons

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