We learn, together: exploring familial learning in home education

This includes a significant number of families choosing to keep children’s learning outside of formal schooling following the COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Some suggest that the numbers of home-educated children are vastly under-represented in surveys done by local authorities and data collection agencies. There is currently no formal data collection to provide conclusive numbers, but some agencies suggest that there are in excess of 110,000 home-educated young people in England alone. It is likely that numbers have increased far more significantly in the 4-5 years prior to COVID than the generally agreed 20%.

....why does it matter where they [children] learn as long as they are learning?

Initially, this research was designed to consider if and how the spaces in which we learn really matter. Sometimes within Home Education circles, parents ask with slight confusion ‘why does it matter where they [children] learn as long as they are learning?’. Over time, it became apparent to the researcher that the element of confusion was linked, at least anecdotally, to two things: firstly, parents consider education so valuable that they wish to protect it; secondly, parents see value in their own learning as a means of supporting their children’s learning (increased parental education capital through home education of their children).

An online survey was created for fifty-two home-educating families, across the four nations of the UK. The research was then conducted in 2021 and 2022. The aim was to identify what home-educating families valued about education, and in what ways learning via this mode of education changed the education capital of whole families, in addition to just children and young people.

In this doctoral, mixed-methods study, families (including young people) were asked to attribute value (High; Medium; Less; None) to several statements related to educational spaces, curriculum and educators ^[1]. The results were somewhat surprising. Twenty-one families highly valued the spaces in which children were learning, specifically ‘children themselves having the choice of where they learn’. Equally, twenty-one families highly valued education that takes place ‘inside the home and alternative spaces (not schools)’, and twenty families highly valued education in ‘preparing children to play an active part in society’. The two statements that numerous families viewed as having the least value were ‘the opportunity to replicate their own experiences of education’ (one statement that will have been answered by the parents) and ‘the opportunity to be educated within a specific faith or culture’.

It is important to note that this survey asked families (parents and children) to respond, however it is accepted that the survey will have been answered predominantly by adults. Furthermore, of those adults, it is likely that most respondents will have been home-educating mothers (or female adult). These responses were discussed in the Photovoice stage of the research where young people were able to discuss their part in answering the survey.

Graph 1: Q5 Indicate how much value you place on the given statements (Highest Value –v- Lowest Value)

Across the UK, as well as internationally, religious beliefs and culture are certainly reasons for families to choose Home Education for their children and the wider family. It may be that for this particular survey question, the majority of responses came from families who had not factored in religion or culture as part of their decision. Only three families in this study placed a high value on faith and culture, and of those families, two of them also rated children’s choice of space as being high-value (the third family rated choice of space as medium-value).

Another very telling result was that among families, parents did not seem interested in replicating their own educational journey. Twelve of the parent respondents felt that there was ‘no value’ in replicating their own educational journey, and all but two of the parents identified as being home-educating females/mothers. As part of the next stage in the wider research project, it may be possible to explore this further. The preliminary findings of this survey highlight that parents value choice and personalisation of learning more highly than replicating their own educational experiences. Yet the ways in which parents/guardians’ own educational journeys impact how home education is ‘done’ within their family is a relatively unexplored but important topic.

Alongside the opportunity to learn in a variety of spaces, families identify the importance of education and the role of ‘education in preparing children and young people for active participation within society’. However, they also identify the importance of children and young people following their own interests and problem-solving. Arguably, this means young people learning at their natural age and stage of development.

The imprint of a child’s feet in play-dough

A number of families who took part in this research had experienced both schooling and home education. These families certainly did believe that the spaces in which children learn were important and that for some, this was critical to just how much a family valued education.

 A small young child is problem-solving.

Points for reflection

• Do parents/carers value the same aspects of education as their parents? If there are differences, what are they?
• How do families decide on the format and/or structure of their home education journey? What are the factors that parents/carers and young people include when making this important decision?
• Is it the people, spaces or resources that are most valued by home-educating families?