Family-School Conflict: Exiting School in Order to Home School

Much of the existing research on home schoolingfocuses on statistically describing home schoolers,classifying families on the basis of theirmotivations, or linking them to the privatizationagenda. In contrast to these studies, thisqualitative research study attempts to shed light onan understudied aspect of home schooling, namely,the lived experiences of mothers whose childrenstarted out in institutional schools, but pulledthem out in order to home school. At the culturallevel, this study traces how the meaning of schoolhas evolved from the Aristotelian view of school asschole or leisure into modern managerialist notionsof school as buysness. The mothers' stories showhow their every day experiences collide with socialefficiency and bureaucratic processes schools haveborrowed from business. This analysis should be ofinterest to parents, school professionals, andpolicy makers.

Autorentext

Asha Knutson, Ph.D. Earned doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Vice President, ADVANTIS Research & Consulting, Eagan, Minnesota.

Klappentext
Much of the existing research on home schooling focuses on statistically describing home schoolers, classifying families on the basis of their motivations, or linking them to the privatization agenda. In contrast to these studies, this qualitative research study attempts to shed light on an understudied aspect of home schooling, namely, the lived experiences of mothers whose children started out in institutional schools, but pulled them out in order to home school. At the cultural level, this study traces how the meaning of school has evolved from the Aristotelian view of school as schole or leisure into modern managerialist notions of school as buysness. The mothers' stories show how their every day experiences collide with social efficiency and bureaucratic processes schools have borrowed from business. This analysis should be of interest to parents, school professionals, and policy makers.