Why home school? : an exploration into the perspectives on education of parents who home school in Otago and Canterbury.

• Main Author: McAlevey, Fiona
• Language: en
• Published: University of Canterbury. School of Educational Studies and Human Development 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2481

This thesis is the result of research carried out over a two year period between 1995 and 1997. The research, which was qualitative, was carried out in Otago and Canterbury. Five mothers were interviewed who had or who were at the time of the research, involved in home schooling their children. In addition three children and a father took part by participating in interviews, conversations or a participant observation. The thesis focused on the philosophies of education held by the home schooling parents. These philosophies were based on beliefs of either a pedagogical or religious nature. An analysis of these philosophies revealed that the parents who participated in this research were all making overt political statements by choosing to home school. They resisted traditional notions about education by taking their children home to educate.