New Study Published About Homeschool Abuse and Regulation
NHERI has just published a new study that needs to be shared far and wide! The research is delving into the relationship between homeschool abuse and the degree of state regulation.
We keep hearing scholars and policymakers claim that homeschooling must be regulated and controlled by the civil government to ensure life goes well for the homeschooling kids. While we argue that political philosophy that private homeschool education should be left alone. This study by NHERI examined whether there is a relationship between the degree of state control of homeschooling and the rate of abuse or neglect by the parents (or other legally responsible caregivers) of homeschooled children ages 6 through 17. The investigation considered the homeschool laws by state and whether they had a relationship to homeschool child abuse.
And guess what… Their regression analysis of 18 years of data from all the U.S. states found no relationship between the degree of state control or regulation of homeschooling and the frequency of homeschool abuse. And not only that, there have been some indications of a lower incidence of abuse and neglect of homeschooling children than those in the general public (Ray, 2018; Williams, 2017)!! In other words, a comparison of homeschool abuse versus public school abuse or private school abuse suggests less abuse, if anything, of homeschool students. There is no research-based evidence that homeschool children are at a greater risk than others to be abused or neglected.
To read the entire study and support their research, click here to head over to the NHERI website.
Not familiar with what NHERI is?
NHERI is the National Home Education Research Institute. They collect and analyze research about homeschooling and publishe the research journal, Home School Researcher. The institute has hundreds of research works documented on homeschooling, many of which were done by NHERI. Simply put, NHERI specializes in homeschool research, facts, statistics, scholarly articles, and information.
Hey, Trish. Thanks for the news!
Great article, thank you. I homeschooled my daughter k-12. I only lived in states where I felt i had total freedom and control over our homeschooling experience. I hope our current political climate does not change homeschooling for the worse.