A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENTAL DECISION-MAKING IN REGARDS TO HOMESCHOOLING By Pamela Lou Rogers Campbell A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY K-12 Educational Administration 2012 ABSTRACT A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENTAL DECISION-MAKING IN REGARDS TO HOMESCHOOLING By Pamela Lou Rogers Campbell Researchers have spent a relatively small amount of time focusing on homeschooling. The few studies which have been completed regarding homeschooling have skirted the question of the decision-making process taken by parents as they choose to begin or discontinue homeschooling. The void in the academic knowledge regarding this growing trend in education has been filled with the data and analysis of this study. By using a qualitative methodology I was not only able to gain insight into the thoughts and experiences of homeschool parents, I was able to hear their passion for their children’s education and see their excitement as they described their familiarity with the twists and turns and emotions of the pathway to their final decision. This study addresses the questions: “What process do parents go through when making the decision to begin or discontinue homeschooling their children?” And “What circumstances precipitate a parent’s decision to move their children to homeschool or to end homeschooling?” Fourteen families were interviewed and data was collected and analyzed to determine the answer using a decision-making model made up of six different processes. Additionally, the precipitating circumstances were collected and categorized into sub-groups to clearly view the outcome of the evaluation of the data. The results of this study indicate that two decision-making processes, convergence and insightful, dominated the corridor to the final choice of the initial child’s educational placement. All of the parents in the study had friends who homeschooled and regardless of their background, were concerned about beginning to homeschool their own children. Copyright by PAMELA LOU ROGERS CAMPBELL 2012 DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the following individuals: To my past: My late father, Frank S. Rogers and mother, Alice E. Rogers My present: My loving husband Harold Campbell My future: My sons, Dr. Mark Campbell and First Lieutenant Jonathan Campbell iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am thankful to God for being my guiding light throughout this work as well as in life. He gave me the insight and tenacity to see this project through to the end. My undying gratitude and eternal thanksgiving goes to my husband Harold for supporting, loving, and encouraging me during the long nights of researching and typing. Thank you also to my wonderful sons, Mark and Jonathan, for accompanying me to the MSU Library to do research and for never giving up on me. Thank you to my parents, Alice and Frank, who helped me to develop into a life-long learner and supported me in any endeavor I attempted. A very special thank you goes to my advisor and committee chair person, Dr. Kristy Cooper. Her guidance, support, and confidence in my abilities have been especially appreciated. Her willingness to become my advisor and committee chairperson in my final year of work has won my eternal gratefulness and admiration. I also wish to thank my committee members for their input and support. Thank you to Dr. Susan Printy for working tirelessly to find a new advisor to help me finish my dissertation and for her positive words of encouragement. Thank you to Dr. David Arsen for his guidance through EAD 995 and helping me develop my ideas into a proposal. Thank you to Dr. Maria Teresa Tatto for training me in the techniques of program evaluation and for all of her support and encouragement all along the way. Thank you to my former advisor Dr. Phil Cusick for continually asking me, “What do you want to know?” and for never giving up on me. Appreciation and thank you to the fourteen families who opened up their doors and hearts and let me learn about parental decision-making from those who had experienced the pathway to their choice of learning environments. Their willingness to share their experiences and understanding of the processes made a lasting impact on me. v PREFACE As I evaluated options for my dissertation I contemplated various educational concerns. While discussing the alternatives with Dr. Phil Cusick, a professor (ret.) at Michigan State University, he asked what I knew about homeschooling. At the time I had several friends and acquaintances who were homeschooling their children. I began to read about homeschooling and talk to other educators and friends. As a K-12 superintendent I had known families who had left their traditional school setting to begin homeschooling, as well as many children who registered for school after having been homeschooled for years. While spending time investigating children who were homeschooled and working with my advisor, Dr. Kristy Cooper, I was able to focus on my interest in the decision-making process as families follow a pathway to their final choice for the education of their children. My personal network in the mid-Michigan Christian community gave me an opportunity to continue to learn about homeschooling. When parents choose to homeschool it is a critical life-changing decision. The decision- making pathway is filled with twists and turns, emotional ups and downs, and thoughtful conversations. The drive of a parent to provide the ultimate in an educational learning environment for their child is an integral part of the decision-making process. Throughout the text I give a close look into the families who followed a thoughtful pathway to begin homeschooling. Of special interest to many, I also include a depiction of the process families take to discontinue homeschooling. As you read the quotes, you will become acquainted with the families who spent many hours lovingly soul-searching and discussing their child’s future. The support of my advisor, friends, and family made it possible for me to discover, analyze, and produce this dissertation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………….….....ix LIST OF FIGURES..……………………………………………………………………………..x CHAPTER 1: HOMESCHOOLING: AN EDUCATIONAL CHOICE………………………… 1 1.1 Introduction…………………….…………………………………………………....1 CHAPTER 2: HOMESCHOOLING IN AMERICA.…………………………………………… 4 2.1 Purpose of the Study………….………………………………………………………4 2.2 What We Know About Homeschooling…………….……………………………..... 4 2.3 History and Growth of the Homeschooling Movement in the United States...........…8 2.4 Characteristics of Homeschooled Children……………….……………..........…….17 2.5 Decision-Making………………………………………………..…………………..18 2.6 Decision-Making Theories..............……………..………………………………….20 2.7 Research Questions……..………………….……………….…………….……….. 26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY……………………….…………………..………………….28 3.1 Sample Selection…………………………..……………………….………………28 3.2 Introduction to the Families.…………………………….…..……….……………..31 3.3 Data Collection…………….……………………………………………..................36 3.4 Data Analysis………..…………………..……….…….……………….…….…... .38 3.5 Validity and Reliability….……..…….………………………………….……….....40 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ON PARENTAL DECISION-MAKING PATHWAY…….……….44 4.1 Convergence Decision-Making……………………….………..….……………….46 4.2 Insightful Decision-Making…………..…………………..………….….………….57 4.3 Similarities Between Convergence and Insightful………………………..………...69 4.4 Additional Decision-Making Pathways……………..…………………….….……..73 4.5 Subsequent Children………….………………………….……………………….....79 4.6 Discontinuing Homeschooling……………..………………….……………….…...85 4.7 Summary………………………………..…………………………………….……92 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT PRECIPITATED THE ACTIVATION OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ……..………………..94 5.1 Circumstances………..……………………………………………………...……..94 5.2 Specific Events…………..……………………………………………….…….…..96 5.3 Events that Precipitate the Discontinuance of Homeschooling …………..….........100 5.4 Condition of Schools and Families………………..……………………....….…...102 5.5 Conditions of Schools and Families that Precipitated Discontinuance of Homeschooling…………………..……………………………….………….……106 5.6 Characteristics of Parents………..…………………………………….………….111 5.7 Characteristics of Parents who Discontinued Homeschooling ………..…………..116 vii 5.8 Characteristics of the Children…..……………………………………..……..…..118 5.9 Characteristics of the Children Influences Discontinuance of Homeschooling…………………………………………….………………………122 5.10 Chapter Summary………………………………………………………….……..124 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS…..…………………………………126 6.1 Introduction…………………………………………………….…………………126 6.2 Parental Decision-Making Process………………..…….……………..……….…130 6.3 Circumstances Precipitating the Decision-Making Process……………………….134 6.4 Implications……………..……………………………………………….………..141 6.5 Future Research….……………………..…….………………………….………..144 6.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………..…………….………147 APPENDICES…………….…………………………………………………………………..151 Appendix A Letter Requesting Interview……………………………………..............152 Appendix B Interview Consent Form…………………………………………………153 Appendix C Interview Protocol………………………………………………………..155 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………....158 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Introduction to Families and the Grade Their Child Began Homeschooling …...……28 Table 3.2 Disclosure of Convenience and Snowball Sample Interviewees……..………………30 Table 3.3 Comparison Data for U.S. Population, NHES Homeschooling Survey (IESd, 2007) and My Study........................................................................................………………43