ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The passage of the No Child Left
Behind Act has focused attention not only on public education in the United
States, but on alternatives to public education as well. One such alternative
is homeschooling, a growing trend in recent years(1). One-third (34%) of U.S.
adults know someone who currently homeschools their child. Among those
households with children who are old enough to have attended school, eight
percent report that their child has been homeschooled at some point in their
education.
These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,435 U.S. adults
surveyed online by Harris InteractiveŽ between March 8 and 14, 2006.
Reasons for homeschooling
U.S. adults think that parents' main reasons or say their own main reasons
for homeschooling their children are dissatisfaction with academic instruction
(65%), to provide religious or moral instruction (60%), and concern about
safety at school or on the school bus (53%). Half of adults (51%) say one of
their main reasons for homeschooling or think that other parents homeschool
their children is because of dissatisfaction with state or government
regulations at school.
Party identification and homeschooling
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to know someone who currently
homeschools their child (40% vs. 29%). Party identification also distinguishes
adults' views on parents' motivations for homeschooling their children.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to cite religious or moral
instruction (69% vs. 56%) and student behavior problems (50% vs. 43%) as main
reasons behind homeschooling. In contrast, Democrats are more likely than
Republicans to cite schools being too crowded to provide individual attention
(44% vs. 35%) and educating children with special needs (42% vs. 33%) as main
reasons for homeschooling.
The emphasis on academic instruction in the reasons for homeschooling is
also reflected in the perceived quality of education that homeschooling
provides, compared to that of U.S. public schools. U.S. adults are more likely
to rate the quality of education provided by homeschooling as very good or
excellent than that provided by public schools at both the elementary and
secondary levels, although neither is rated very highly. One-quarter of adults
rate homeschool education as excellent or very good compared to fewer than two
in 10 adults who rate public school education this highly at the elementary
(25% vs. 17%) or the secondary (23% vs. 14%) levels.
TABLE 1
THOSE WHO KNOW SOMEONE WHO CURRENTLY HOMESCHOOLS THEIR CHILD
"Not including you or your spouse/partner, do you know anyone who
currently homeschools their child, that is, part or full-time schooling at
home instead of in a public or private school?"
Base: All Adults
All
Republicans
Democrats Independents
Adults
%
%
%
%
Yes
34
40
29
35
No
66
60
71
65
TABLE 2
WHAT TYPES OF SCHOOLS CHILD HAS ATTENDED
"If applicable, what types of schools has your child(ren) ever
attended?"
Base: All Adults
All Households with
Adults Children Old Enough
to Attend School
%
%
Public
school
57
92
Private school,
church-related
13
20
Private school, not
church-related
5
8
My child(ren) is/was homeschooled
2
8
Charter
school
2
7
I don't have a child(ren) or my child
is not old enough to attend school
yet
39
--
TABLE 3
REASONS FOR HOMESCHOOLING CHILDREN
"Why is/was your child(ren) homeschooled? What do you think
are the main
reasons why parents homeschool their children?"
Base: All Adults
All Republicans Democrats Independents
Adults
%
%
% %
Dissatisfaction with
academic
instruction
65
68
64 68
To provide religious or
moral
instruction
60
69
56 58
Concern about safety at
school (or on the
bus)
53
50
55 52
Dissatisfaction with
state/government
regulations at
school
51
51
50 54
Student behavior
problems at
public/private schools
(or on the
bus)
47
50
43 51
To provide
individualized
teaching
42
43
43 42
Schools were too crowded
to provide individual
attention
41
35
44 43
Child(ren) has special
needs/disabilities
39
33
42 41
Too much attention
trying to maintain
discipline and too
little attention to true
learning
37
36
39 37
Public/private school
does not challenge
students
29
30
28 32
To improve family
unity
21
23
20 20
Want year-round
schooling
13
14
12 14
It was more convenient
due to transportation
issues
12
11
13 11
Could not get into
desired
school
10
7
12 9
My child(ren) stopped
enjoying learning at
public/private
school.
9
8
9 10
*Only responses with 1% or more listed.
TABLE 4
EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF EDUCATION
PROVIDED IN THE UNITED STATES
"Overall, how would you rate the quality of education
provided by the
following in the United States?"
Percent saying excellent/very good
Base: All Adults
All
Adults
%
Homeschooling, grades
K-6
25
Homeschooling, grades
7-12
23
Public schools, grades
K-6
17
Public schools, grades
7-12
14
Methodology
The Harris PollŽ was conducted online within the United States between
March 8 and 14, 2006 among 2,435 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age,
sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where
necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the
population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include:
sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed);
measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately
or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals),
interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result
cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite
"margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should
be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is
possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other
sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability
sample of 2,435 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent probability
that the overall results have a sampling error of 2 percentage points.
Sampling error for the sub-samples of Republicans (774), Democrats (814),
Independents (642) and households with school-aged children (460) is higher
and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account.
This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no
theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.
J27128
Q807, 810, 835, 841_1, 841_2, 841_7, 841_8
The Harris PollŽ #29, April 14, 2006
By Dana Markow, Ph.D., Vice President, Youth and Education Research, Harris
InteractiveŽ