MCCLAIN, KEVIN R., Ph.D. Homeschool and School: an Inquiry Into the Sphere Sovereignty of Educational Entities (2014) Directed by Dr
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MCCLAIN, KEVIN R., Ph.D. Homeschool and School: An Inquiry Into the Sphere Sovereignty of Educational Entities (2014) Directed by Dr. Glenn M. Hudak. 152 pp. The purpose of this study was to reflect on several theories of homeschool advocates regarding the nature of childhood education practices. The study focused on claims made by some who identify as Christian that schools are outside the design God has for society and that parents should directly educate their children in the home. This study utilizes a framework of cosmic relations developed by the Dutch Reformed philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd and central to the school of thought known as Reformational Philosophy. Aspectual Theory provides a structure for examining normative functioning. Sphere Sovereignty is the differentiated rights and responsibilities entities possess based on their cosmic law structure. Aspectual Analysis examines the actualization of normative functioning. Aspectual Theory presupposes that the cosmic law framework enables a plurality of entities to actualize their distinct normative functioning in a mutual supportive way, contributing to an experience of Shalom, or universal flourishing. The cosmic structure of educational entities is theorized and three principles for normative functioning are postulated. The cosmic structure of Family and School are examined. Theories advanced by some homeschool advocates concerning the dysfunction and anti-normative status of schools are critically examined. A unique power, qualified in the Ethical bond of human relationships, is identified as crucial to understanding the educative distinctiveness of others and the possibility of educational institutions. HOMESCHOOL AND SCHOOL: AN INQUIRY INTO THE SPHERE SOVEREIGNTY OF EDUCATIONAL ENTITIES by Kevin R. McClain A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2014 Approved by Glenn M. Hudak Committee Chair To Brea, animae dimidium meae my faithful spouse and educator. To the students of the Perelandra School: Ransom Asher Sigourney Tobias Corwin May you flourish! To Joel Whitmire McClain July 6, 2007 - Feb 3, 2012 in loving memory. ii APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation written by Kevin R. McClain has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair Glenn M. Hudak Committee Members Leila Villaverde H. Svi Shapiro Bennett Ramsey March 20, 2014 Date of Acceptance by Committee February 25, 2014 Date of Final Oral Examination iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................1 II. PROBLEM ...........................................................................................................31 III. METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................71 IV. THE STUCTURE OF EDUCATIONAL ENTITIES ..........................................95 V. HOMESCHOOL AND SCHOOL .................................................................... 112 VI. APPRECIATING EDUCATORS .......................................................................130 VII. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................137 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................147 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Aspects and Kernel Meanings ............................................................................ 79 v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Homeschooling is a growing educational movement in America. Homeschoolers eschew conventional schooling and instead practice a more parent-directed learning centered in the home. The success homeschoolers are experiencing, that is their broad legal acceptance, their growth in numbers, and finally, the growing body of research1 which shows that homeschooled children, in general, fare just as well as or better than on academic and social indicators as their schooled counterparts, challenges modern notions of the institution of school and the vocation of educator. What is the meaning of this challenge? There exists today an institutional crisis in America, and this crisis is nowhere more evident than when examining attitudes toward schools. Students, parents and community leaders are increasingly calling for reform and questioning whether institutions of education truly serve the public's best interest. Questions of relevancy, safety and cost place incredible pressure on educators and school administrators. But these challenges to institutions of learning are not sudden or even new. They follow on the heels of an educational movement now nearly 30 years old: modern homeschooling. Citing a variety of reasons, including a desire to give their child more opportunity for 1 Joseph Murphy's Homeschooling in America: Capturing and Assessing the Movement (2012) provides an excellent review of the research over the past 20 years regarding the academic and social effects of homeschooling on children. 1 self-directed learning in a safe, unhurried, stress-free environment and to include in the curriculum the lessons of their cultural, moral and religious heritage which have guided them through life, parents are increasingly electing to forgo conventional schools and instead direct their child's education in the home. The modern homeschool movement in America continues to grow, currently at a rate of 8% a year (Ray, 2004; Rudger, 1999; Spiegler, 2003). In America, as of 2009, roughly 2.9% of school-aged children (5-17) were homeschooled (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2009). Since 2006, over 4% of school-aged children in North Carolina are homeschooled (NCDNPE, 2007). Originally frowned upon and even charged with educational neglect by some, homeschoolers have persisted in their educational lifestyle. Increasingly, educational researchers who study homeschoolers find well adjusted children and socially-engaged families (Kunzman, 2009; Stevens, 2001). Reports of academic success have caused many universities and colleges to recruit homeschoolers. Indeed, the success of America's nearly 2 million homeschoolers have inspired others in numerous developed societies; current estimates include 15 developed countries and an additional 2 million students (Ray, 2011). The transformation in the attitude in American culture toward school and homeschoolers is significant. Once a place that celebrated the one room schoolhouse, American is now a place which acknowledges the legitimacy of, and even often admires, the homeschool. As their numbers grow and attitudes toward them shift, homeschoolers 2 are in a unique position to influence society by advancing the theories and practices they embrace. They are increasingly in a position to advocate for changes to educational policy. Therefore, what homeschoolers think about learning and the institution known as school may very well impact the future educational policy. Homeschooling is not a singular movement (Gaither, 2008; Knowles, Marlow, Muchmore, 1992; Stevens, 2001). Within the homeschooling community there is a wide range of practices and attitudes toward education and the institution known as school. Homeschoolers attribute their educational practices to an array of religious, epistemic, sociopolitical theories. As philosopher Richard Rorty (1989) has noted, it is a testament to the contingency that is characteristic of reality that a diverse group of people with different backgrounds and perspectives and theories about knowledge and society arrive at similar conclusions and practices. Several researchers have noted the increasing diversity present in the modern homeschool movement. Studies from the beginning of the homeschool movement (Chatham-Carpenter, 1994; Mayberry, 1995; Ray, 1997; Rudner, 1999) showed the movement predominately (over 90%) white and Christian. Evangelical, fundamentalist, pentecostal and charismatic denominations were most prominent, characterized by weekly church attendance and being "biblically anchored" (Murphy, 2012, p. 23). However, as early as the late 1990s, the correlation of homeschooling growth to these population demographics was recognized by many researchers as insufficient. 3 While in its recent resurgence homeschooling began as a trend among fundamentalist Christians with primarily religious motivations, homeschoolers now represent a wide array of values and political mores. As such, homeschoolers are no longer an easily defined segment of the population (Welner & Welner, 1999) Joseph Murphy, Vanderbilt University Peabody School of Education associate dean, former vice president of the American Educational Research Association (AESA) and author of Homeschooling in America: Capturing and Assessment the Movement (2012), challenges the assessment that homeschooling is first and foremost a religiously motivated activity and instead argues that what defines homeschoolers is a decision to forgo the conventional school experience and instead become more directly involved in their child's learning. Murphy presents two major definitions of homeschooling. The one summarizes homeschooling deftly: “the rejection of public