Listen to the parents: Homeschooling and positive psychology

Abstract

The scope of homeschooling has increased significantly in recent years in several western countries. Studies of the subject have shed light on the perspective of parents who choose to homeschool–reasons for the choice, educational goals and actual results– from their point of view. The research literature also teaches us about the perspectives of kids and adolescents who were raised in homeschooling regarding the same questions. Understanding these points of view indicates certain aspects that those who are educated at home perceive as most central. Some of the subjects included in these aspects are also central to the research on positive psychology, a field that has developed over the same period. The present article presents the findings regarding these aspects in the study of homeschooling and suggests possible links between them and the development of research on positive psychology. The article indicates several similarities and examines the possible theoretical and methodological contributions of a broader perspective of the two fields, as well as the potential benefit to the study of homeschooling in identifying the reasons for homeschooling, examining the results of homeschooling, and understanding the practice of families that homeschool.