Trends in Participation Rates of Home Educating in B.C., 1993 to 2013 by Nicole Gardner B. A., University of Victoria, 1997 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies Nicole Gardner, 2015 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Trends in Participation Rates of Home Educating in B.C., 1993 to 2013 by Nicole Gardner B. A., University of Victoria, 1997 Supervisory Committee Dr. John O. Anderson, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies Supervisor Dr. Todd Milford, Department of Curriculum & Instruction Outside Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. John O. Anderson, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies Supervisor Dr. Todd Milford, Department of Curriculum & Instruction Outside Member When a family in British Columbia (B.C.) chooses to educate their child at home, they have two legal options: enrollment in a Distributed Learning (DL) program or registration under Section 12 (S12) of the School Act as a homeschooler. To date, there has been very little published on trends in participation rates and growth rates with regards to home educating options in B.C. The current study employs a quantitative archival design to document trends in DL and S12 across age, gender and location. Home educating is on the rise in B.C. over the past twenty years, largely due to an increase in enrollment in DL programs while registration under S12 has declined. Distinct patterns in age, gender and location between S12 and DL are apparent in the data. Growth rates among age categories in DL mirror declines in S12. While there are slightly more males than females in the total school-aged population in B.C., within DL programs there are more females than males at the secondary level. In 1993/1994 rural children were more likely to be educated at home than urban children in B.C.; today the opposite is true. Further research is needed to ascertain why these trends persist. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ...................................................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... x Dedication .......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 History of Homeschooling and the Birth of the Modern Homeschool Movement ........ 1 Legalities of Homeschooling .......................................................................................... 5 Educational Options in B.C. ........................................................................................... 6 Defining Distributed Learning ........................................................................................ 7 Defining Homeschooling ................................................................................................ 8 Distinguishing Between Homeschooling and Home Educating or Home Learning ...... 9 Costs of Home Educating ............................................................................................. 10 Non-Compliance ........................................................................................................... 11 Definition of Trends and Participation Rates ................................................................ 12 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 13 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 15 Popular Homeschooling Literature ............................................................................... 15 Homeschooling around the World ................................................................................ 18 The Rising Popularity of Homeschooling as an Educational Choice in the U.S. ......... 20 Literature on Homeschooling in Canada ...................................................................... 31 Distributed Learning Programs ..................................................................................... 39 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 42 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 48 v Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................... 51 Age ................................................................................................................................ 60 Gender ........................................................................................................................... 71 Location ........................................................................................................................ 76 Chapter 5 ........................................................................................................................... 85 Age ................................................................................................................................ 89 Gender ........................................................................................................................... 92 Location ........................................................................................................................ 94 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 98 Future Research .......................................................................................................... 102 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 103 Chapter 6 ......................................................................................................................... 106 References ....................................................................................................................... 110 Appendix A ..................................................................................................................... 121 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 122 vi List of Tables Table 1. Division of School Districts by Location .......................................................................... 46 Table 2. Annual Rate of Growth across home educating options in B.C. ...................................... 55 Table 3. Annual Rate of Growth among Registered homeschoolers in B.C. .................................. 57 Table 4. Growth Rate of Total Home Educated in B.C. by Age Category ...................................... 62 Table 5. Growth Rate of Total School-Aged Population in B.C. by Age ........................................ 64 Table 6. Patterns in Age by Home Educating Status ...................................................................... 65 Table 7. Annual Growth Rates “Home Schooled Student: Distance Ed” ...................................... 69 Table 8. Average Number of Total Home Educated per year in B.C. by Home Educating Status and Age ............................................................................................................................. 70 Table 9. Gender Distribution among Home Educating Status (Registered S12 Homeschooling: “Home Schooled Student: Standard and Alternate” and DL “Other: Distance Ed”) ..... 73 vii Table 10. Growth Rates of Home Educating in B.C. by Location .................................................... 78 Table 11. Growth Rates of DL enrollment by Location .................................................................... 80 Table 12. Growth Rates of S12 registration by Location ................................................................. 83 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Estimated U.S. Home Educating Population 1980-1990 .................................. 23 Figure 2. Estimated U.S. Home Educating Population 1990-2000 .................................. 26 Figure 3. Estimated number and confidence interval for number of homeschooled students: 1999, 2003, and 2007........................................................................................