Research and Trends in the Studies of Homeschooling Practices: A Review on Selected Journals

Abstract

The practice of homeschooling still receives contrasting responses on its relevancy and effectiveness. The current study is aimed to map the trends in the selected eleven studies from various educational journals. The analysis focuses on mapping the trends on: a) research settings, b) target sample, c) method or instrument used, d) common focus or issues covered, and e) pattern in the findings of all selected studies. It is found that majority of the current studies were more focusing in evaluating the effectiveness and relevancy of homeschooling as an alternative to traditional schooling, especially on the area of effective learning experiences and healthy social development. Despite the strengths of homeschooling practice, this paper has also discovered the discrepancies in the findings of the current studies and provided recommendations for an effective homeschooling practice.