Abstract
Homeschooling has been expanding in many countries in the western world, especially in the United States and in England. Studies have shown that there are different types of homeschooling, with different influences on the outcome of the educational process. However, the research to date has ignored the effects of parents’ personality and background on the practice of homeschooling, despite extensive evidence of the important role of these factors in shaping the educational orientation of parents. The present study focused on the impact of different aspects of parents’ personality and socioeconomic status on the type of homeschooling they chose. The findings indicated, among other things, that mother’s education correlated positively with more structured homeschooling, and family income and conscientiousness both correlated positively with more structure in daily routine and in homeschooling.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrom, A. W. C. (2009). Pennsylvania’s superintendents: Current thoughts on the state of homeschooling. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Widener University, Chester, PA.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Aurini, J., & Davies, S. (2005). Choice without markets: Homeschooling in the context of private education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26(4), 461–474.
Barratt-Peacock, J. (2003). Australian home education: A model. Evaluation and Research in Education, 17, 101–111.
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Després, B. (2013). A question of resistance to home education and the culture of school-based education. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(3), 365–377.
Edelstein, R. S., Alexander, K. W., Shaver, P. R., Schaaf, J. M., Quas, J. A., Lovas, G. S., et al. (2004). Adult attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event. Attachment & Human Development, 6(1), 31–52.
Fraley, R. C., & Waller, N. G. (1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 77–114). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350–365.
Gray, P., & Riley, G. (2013). The challenges and benefits of unschooling, according to 232 families who have chosen that route. Journal of Unschooling & Alternative Learning, 7(14), 1–27.
Guterman, O. & Neuman, A. (2014). Old/New way to learn—home-schooling (or the past and future of education). In Paper presented at 12th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities. Madrid, Spain.
Hill, N. E., & Taylor, L. C. (2004). Parental school involvement and children’s academic achievement pragmatics and issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(4), 161–164.
Hoff, E., Laursen, B., & Tardif, T. (2002). Socioeconomic status and parenting. Handbook of Parenting Volume 2: Biology and Ecology of Parenting, 8(2), 231–252.
Holt, J. (1995). How children learn (Revised ed.). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Israel Ministry of Education. (2009). Homeschooling—Procedures (Director-General’s Circular 2009/8(a), 3.1–37). Retrieved from http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Applications/Mankal/EtsMedorim/3/3-1/HoraotKeva/K-2009-8a-3-1-37.htm.
John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. L. (1991). The “big five” inventory -versions 4a and 54 (Tech. Report). Berkeley, CA: Institute of Personality Assessment and Research.
Kindsvatter, A., & Desmond, K. J. (2013). Addressing parent–child conflict: Attachment-based interventions with parents. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91(1), 105–112.
Kunzman, R., & Gaither, M. (2013). Homeschooling: A comprehensive survey of the research. Other Education, 2(1), 4–59.
Levison, C. (2000). A Charlotte Mason education: A home schooling how-to manual. Beverly Hills, CA: Champion Press Ltd.
Lois, J. (2012). Home is where the school is: The logic of homeschooling and the emotional labor of mothering. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Martin-Chang, S., Gould, O. N., & Meuse, R. E. (2011). The impact of home schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from homeschooled and traditionally schooled children. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 43, 195–202.
Matheson, D. (Ed.). (2014). An introduction to the study of education. London: Routledge.
Merry, M., & Howell, C. (2009). Can intimacy justify home education? Theory and Research in Education, 7(3), 363–381.
Merry, M. S., & Karsten, S. (2010). Restricted liberty, parental choice and homeschooling. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 44(4), 497–514.
Mikulincer, M., & Florian, V. (2000). Exploring individual differences in reactions to mortality salience: Does attachment style regulate terror management mechanisms? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 260–273.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2003). The attachment behavioral system in adulthood: Activation, psychodynamic and interpersonal processes. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 35). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Neuman A. (2003). Home schooling in Israel. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Neuman, A., & Aviram, R. (2003). Home schooling as a fundamental change in lifestyle. Evaluation and Research in Education, 17, 132–143.
Neuman, A., & Guterman, O. (2016). Structured and unstructured elective home education: A proposal for broadening the taxonomy. Cambridge Journal of Education. doi:10.1080/0305764X.2016.1174190.
Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2014). Comparative and international education: An introduction to theory, method, and practice. London: A&C Black.
Prinzie, P., Stams, G. J. J., Deković, M., Reijntjes, A. H., & Belsky, J. (2009). The relations between parents’ Big Five personality factors and parenting: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(2), 351–362.
Ray, B. D. (2000). Homeschooling teaching strategies. Online Submission.
Ricci, C. (2011). Unschooling and the willed curriculum. Encounter, 24(3), 45–48.
Shaver, P. R., Belsky, J., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). The adult attachment interview and self-reports of romantic attachment: Associations across domains and methods. Personal Relationships, 7, 25–43.
Sümer, N., & Harma, M. (2015). Parental attachment anxiety and avoidance predicting child’s anxiety and academic efficacy in middle childhood. Psychological Topics, 24(1), 113–134.
Taylor-Hough, D. (2010). Are all homeschooling methods created equal? Retrieved 3 Dec 2012, from http://charlottemasonhome.com/about/are-all-homeschooling-methods-created-equal/.
Thomas, A. (1998). Educating children at home. London: Cassell.
Van Galen, J. A. (1988). Ideology, curriculum, and pedagogy in home education. Education and Urban Society, 21(1), 52–68.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guterman, O., Neuman, A. Personality, socio-economic status and education: factors that contribute to the degree of structure in homeschooling. Soc Psychol Educ 21, 75–90 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-017-9406-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-017-9406-x