A STUDY OF PARENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF THEIR ROLES AS HOME EDUCATORS OF THEIR CHILDREN Terrence John Arthur Harding BA, DipEd, DipCDP, MEd (QUT) A thesis submitted in accordance with requirements for Doctor of Philosophy 2011 Centre for Learning Innovation Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology Australia Key Words home education, home schooling, homeschooling, distance education, home educator, parents as educators, parents, phenomenography, Queensland, Australia, conceptions, roles, parent roles Abstract Home education is a growing phenomenon in Australia. It is the practice whereby parents engage in the full time education of their children at home. This study used a phenomenographic approach to identify and analyse how home educating parents conceive of their roles as home educators. Data analysis presented an outcome space of the parents‘ qualitatively different conceptions of their roles as home educators. This outcome space exemplifies the phenomenon of the roles of parent home educators. This thesis reports on the qualitatively different ways in which a group of 27 home educating parents viewed their roles in the education of their children. Four categories of description of parent home educator roles emerged from the analysis. These parents saw themselves in the role of a (1) learner, as they needed to gain knowledge and skills in order to both commence and to continue home education. Further, they perceived of themselves as (2) partners, usually with their spouse, in an educational partnership, which provided the family‘s educational infrastructure. They also saw themselves in the role of (3) teachers of their children, facilitating their education and development. Finally, they conceived of themselves as (4) educational pioneers in their communities. These four categories were linked and differentiated from each other by three key themes or dimensions of variation. These were the themes of (1) educational influence; (2) educational example; and (3) spirituality, which impacted both their families and the wider community. The findings of the study indicate that home educators experience their roles in four critically different ways, each of which contributes to their family educational enterprise. The findings suggest that home educators, are bona fide educators and ii that they access parental qualities that provide a form of education which differs from the educational practices characteristic of the majority of Australians. The study has the potential to generate further understandings of home education for home educators and for the wider community. It may also inform policy makers in the fields of education, social welfare, and the law, where there is a vested interest in the education and welfare of children and families. Publications arising from the study Harding, T. J. A. (2008). Parent home educators: Teaching children at home. A phenomenographic study. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Changing Climates: Education for Sustainable Futures, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Harding, T. J. A., & Farrell, A. (2003). Home schooling and legislated education. The Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Educational Law Association, 8(1&2), 125–133. Ireland, J. E., Tambyah, M., Neofa, Z., & Harding, T. J. A. (2008, November). The tale of four researchers: Trials and triumphs from the phenomenographic research specialization. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Changing Climates: Education for Sustainable Futures, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from http://www.aare.edu.au/08pap/ire08373.pdf iii CONTENTS Key Words ......................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. ii List of Tables..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................... vi Statement of original authorship ...................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS ......................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Significance of the study ........................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Defining home education ....................................................................................................... 2 1.4 The study ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.5 The researcher ........................................................................................................................ 4 1.6 Overview of the thesis ............................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 6 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Searching for alternatives to traditional schooling ................................................................. 6 2.2.1 Home education and the law in Australia .................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Parent responsibility or state responsibility? ............................................................... 11 2.3 Home education research ..................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1 Australian home education research ............................................................................ 17 2.3.2 Australian home education as communities of practice ............................................... 19 2.3.3 Home education and academic issues .......................................................................... 20 2.3.4 Home education and socialisation ............................................................................... 24 2.3.5 Socialisation in traditional schooling .......................................................................... 28 2.4 Socio-cultural educational approaches to home education ................................................... 29 2.5 Role theory ........................................................................................................................... 32 2.6 Family studies ...................................................................................................................... 36 2.6.1 Changes to family ......................................................................................................... 36 2.6.2 Mothers’ roles .............................................................................................................. 40 2.6.3 Fathers’ roles ............................................................................................................... 42 2.6.4 Parents as educators .................................................................................................... 43 2.7 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 51 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 51 3.2 A qualitative paradigm ......................................................................................................... 51 3.3 The choice of phenomenography ......................................................................................... 52 3.4 Phenomenography: An overview ......................................................................................... 53 3.4.1 Ontological and epistemological assumptions of phenomenography .......................... 56 3.4.2 Second-order perspective ............................................................................................. 58 3.5 Nature of experience ............................................................................................................ 59 3.6 Theory of awareness ............................................................................................................. 61 3.6.1 Referential aspect of awareness ................................................................................... 62 3.6.2 Structural aspect of awareness ..................................................................................... 62 3.7 Key features of the phenomenographic approach ................................................................ 65 3.7.1 Conceptions .................................................................................................................