tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/homeschooling-9668/articlesHomeschooling – The Conversation2023-12-06T15:53:38Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180622023-12-06T15:53:38Z2023-12-06T15:53:38ZRural communities are being left behind because of poor digital infrastructure, research shows<p>In an era where businesses and households depend on the internet for everything from marketing to banking and shopping, the lack of adequate digital access can be a significant hurdle. And our recent research shows that many <a href="https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/the-socio-economic-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-ceredigion-">homes</a> and <a href="https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/the-economic-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-ceredigion-busine">businesses</a> in the UK are being left stranded in the digital age.</p>
<p>Our two studies focused on a rural county in Wales, Ceredigion, where the lack of reliable digital infrastructure worsened the impacts of the pandemic on families and businesses. Poor digital accessibility and connectivity exacerbated the stress levels of families who were already having to juggle home schooling and working from home. </p>
<p>Similarly, businesses had to struggle with issues around internet provision, availability of effective digital infrastructure and digital proficiency while working and running businesses from home. </p>
<p>Our research involved two online surveys. One focused on households and the other on businesses and the self-employed between April and June 2021. The survey questions were designed to address the challenges and opportunities brought about by the pandemic. </p>
<p>Some important themes emerged in the responses we received to both surveys. These were insufficient digital accessibility and connectivity, lack of digital skills and training opportunities and the cost of broadband and mobile access.</p>
<h2>Household experiences</h2>
<p>Our research showed that 12% of homes did not have enough digital equipment for their needs during the pandemic and 76% of these included children who were being home schooled. Schools and some workplaces provided equipment in some instances, but 18% of households had to borrow equipment. </p>
<p>Despite that ability to borrow, many homes found themselves juggling equipment between homeworking adults and children learning online. Many pupils relied on small mobile devices to access lessons, while others lacked access to equipment like printers.</p>
<p>These problems were compounded in rural and remote areas, where slow broadband speeds and a lack of reliable mobile signal were cited as the biggest issues. Other issues included the cost of broadband and mobile access, the lack of digital skills or training opportunities to improve digital skills, poor customer service from broadband providers and issues with connectivity.</p>
<h2>Business and self-employed experiences</h2>
<p>The pandemic brought similar challenges to businesses. The closure of non-essential firms during the pandemic led to a <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/e-commerce-in-the-time-of-covid-19-3a2b78e8/">surge</a> in e-commerce. Companies that could embrace online sales were able to continue operating despite lockdowns and restrictions. </p>
<p>But businesses that were slow to adopt e-commerce or lacked the necessary infrastructure struggled to adapt. In fact, our research found that 47% of businesses faced difficulties with digital access and connectivity during the pandemic. Some of the other issues faced by businesses included:</p>
<p>• a lack of reliable broadband or mobile (37%)</p>
<p>• slow broadband speed (29%)</p>
<p>• poor mobile signal (26%)</p>
<p>• lack of digital skills or access to training schemes (16%)</p>
<p>• the cost of access (13%)</p>
<p>People working from home in rural locations also had problems due to a lack of digital infrastructure, poor connectivity and a lack of digital skills. </p>
<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>
<p>In the future, an increased reliance on online work, education and public services, such as online health and welfare support, will further disadvantage those without adequate internet access. The digital divide is widening between those with higher incomes and those with lower incomes. </p>
<p>For example, households with higher incomes were <a href="https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3051117">more likely</a> to have had access to technology for home schooling and remote working during the pandemic, unlike those with lower incomes.</p>
<p>The gap in access to digital technology is often determined by location too. Remote and sparsely populated areas often lack adequate broadband and mobile signal coverage. Bridging this digital divide is crucial for economic growth, social inclusion and access to essential services. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachers-supported-children-and-parents-through-covid-19-school-closures-181380">How teachers supported children and parents through COVID-19 school closures</a>
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<p>To address the digital divide, the UK and devolved governments need to invest in digital infrastructure in rural areas to ensure that everywhere has at least a minimum quality coverage. Local authorities could introduce schemes that enable people to gain access to cost-effective computer devices and internet access.</p>
<p>Expanding digital literacy and empowering businesses in rural areas is also crucial. Enhancing digital skills training would better prepare future generations for the digital world. </p>
<p>Additionally, businesses in rural areas require tailored support, such as funding for digital infrastructure upgrades, training opportunities and guidance on consumer privacy and protection, to enable their digital growth and sustainability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aloysius Igboekwu currently volunteers for a Childcare charity as a Trustee. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Plotnikova and Sarah Lindop do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research reveals the digital divide that was exposed by the COVID pandemic.Aloysius Igboekwu, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Aberystwyth UniversityMaria Plotnikova, Lecturer in Economics, Aberystwyth UniversitySarah Lindop, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2178022023-11-20T19:00:45Z2023-11-20T19:00:45ZAs homeschooling numbers keep rising in Australia, is more regulation a good idea?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560266/original/file-20231119-15-hczh37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C43%2C7206%2C4786&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/mother-helping-her-daughter-with-homework-4260475/">August De Richelieu/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The number of families choosing to homeschool in Australia and <a href="https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8578.12468">around the world</a> keeps growing.</p>
<p>New data from Queensland <a href="https://qed.qld.gov.au/our-publications/reports/statistics/Documents/home-education-registrations.pdf">released last week</a> show there has been a 20% increase over the past year, with 10,048 registered homeschoolers up from 8,461. Over the last five years, there has been a 152% growth in primary students and 262% growth in high school students who are home schooled in the state. </p>
<p>At the same time, Queensland is <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CMWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Fqueensland-education%2Fqld-homeschooling-crackdown-looms-as-parents-fail-to-make-grade%2Fnews-story%2Fdb318404cf763488e7c48fab53b4c4e7&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-1-NOSCORE">looking at</a> “cracking down” on parents who home school. </p>
<p>There are concerns homeschooling needs more regulation because parents only have to report once a year and are not subjected to testing such as NAPLAN. Is this what we need?</p>
<h2>Homeschooling across Australia</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/7281cfd6-b3e4-4346-ae2c-33e63e8e6106/home-schooling-data-reports-relating-to-2022.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=">New South Wales</a> 12,359 students were registered for homeschooling in January 2023, a 37% jump on the 2022 figures. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/aboutus/Pages/homeschoolingstatistics2020.aspx#:%7E:text=Home%20schooling%20in%202022,their%20children%20for%20home%20schooling.">Victoria</a>, the most recent figures show there were 11,912 homeschooled students as of December 2022, an increase of 36% since 2021. </p>
<p>Across the country, I estimate, based on state and territory data, there are more than 43,000 legally registered homeschooled students. This does not include students whose parents <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">do not register them</a> with their state or territory education departments, even though it is a legal requirement. </p>
<p>Estimates on the numbers who do not register vary. Some home education curriculum providers suggest there are as many <a href="https://euka.edu.au/all-resources/why-is-homeschooling-on-the-rise-in-australia/#:%7E:text=As%20of%202019%2C%20there%20are,enrolled%20in%20distance%20education%20either.">unregistered students</a> as there are registered students. Accurate figures are difficult because families are reluctant to admit they are not meeting their legal requirements.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two young children work at a desk with books and pens." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560270/original/file-20231119-21-gz39av.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There are more than 43,000 students registered for homeschool in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/children-doing-their-homework-6248432/">Kampus Production/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Why are numbers growing?</h2>
<p>A 2023 <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-and-educators/other-education/Documents/research-insight-report.pdf">Queensland government report</a> shared data from a survey of more 500 parents in the state who homeschooled their children. </p>
<p>It found 45% of families surveyed never intended to homeschool. It also found 61% had a child with a disability or health issue, including ADHD, autism, behavioural issues and mental ill health. Many also had concerns about bullying. </p>
<p>Families also reported their child was not learning at school, and not wanting to go, so homeschooling became the only choice available.</p>
<p>This reflects academic research, which finds most families who choose to homeschool have <a href="https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=02adef93-84d0-4ec7-83ba-1b7150d7ea7d%40redis">negative school experiences</a>, withdraw because of <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/238245/">bullying</a> or are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2020.1728232">neurodiverse</a>.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">homeschooling was growing</a> before the pandemic, the school-at-home arrangements during COVID led to a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/queensland-home-school-registrations-soar-during-covid-19-/100778840">large growth</a> in numbers. For some families, the experience showed them learning at home was <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/9789004532571/BP000013.xml">possible and enjoyable</a> and they <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588667/full">decided</a> not to go back.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/he-was-in-fear-of-his-life-bullying-can-be-a-major-factor-in-deciding-to-homeschool-193621">'He was in fear of his life': bullying can be a major factor in deciding to homeschool</a>
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<h2>What do homeschooling parents need to do?</h2>
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<img alt="A young child sits at a desk, typing on a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560276/original/file-20231120-19-jc4sns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Most parents who homeschool their kids are not qualified teachers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-blue-crew-neck-shirt-using-black-laptop-computer-3994051/">Alexander Grey/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Many families who homeschool are not qualified educators. Of those surveyed in the 2023 <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-and-educators/other-education/Documents/research-insight-report.pdf">Queensland report</a>, 20% had a teaching qualification. A further 15% had experience working in a school in a role other than teaching.</p>
<p>According to the state’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2006-039">Education Act</a>, homeschooling parents have to provide a “<a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-and-educators/other-education/Documents/home-education-fact-sheet.pdf">high-quality education</a>” tailored to the needs of the child and the child must show progress. </p>
<p>Families need to <a href="https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/reporting-for-registration-for-home-education.docx">report annually</a> on the child’s learning and provide a plan for the following year. Parents also <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-and-educators/other-education/Documents/reporting-information-and-samples-set1.pdf">provide samples</a> of their child’s learning.</p>
<p>Approaches vary across other states. In New South Wales there is a <a href="https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/765f88b5-cd94-4acc-a75c-4b88d60d8fb8/form-2-application-for-renewal-or-exemption-from-registration-for-home-schooling.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=">home visit</a> by a department representative. In Victoria, a family provides a plan and must submit to an audit if they are chosen at random.</p>
<p>Parents do not have to teach to the Australian Curriculum <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/parent-information/">because</a> it sets the goals for what students should learn as they progress through school, not what parents should be doing at home.</p>
<h2>To regulate or not to regulate?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CMWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Fqueensland-education%2Fqld-homeschooling-crackdown-looms-as-parents-fail-to-make-grade%2Fnews-story%2Fdb318404cf763488e7c48fab53b4c4e7&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-1-NOSCORE">Courier Mail</a> has reported the Queensland government is considering a “crackdown” on homeschooling rules, noting homeschoolers aren’t required to use the Australian Curriculum or do NAPLAN tests.</p>
<p>However, international research suggests <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/an-overview-of-the-worldwide-rise-and-expansion-of-home-education-homeschooling/266744">homeschooling outcomes</a> are as good as at mainstream schools in terms of academic success. Homeschooling <a href="https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/the-effectiveness-of-home-education/">can work</a> because it suits some children better and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118926895.ch5">parents are motivated</a> to help their children learn.</p>
<p>There is a risk too much regulation will lead to more families flying “under the radar” and not registering. Many who <a href="http://users.comcen.com.au/%7Eguthltd/johnno.homeschool/technical/Registration.htm">do not register now</a> say they do not comply because they are <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IZSLBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA112&dq=not+registering+as+a+homeschooler&ots=Zn8Y1L0zXP&sig=2wylgQBAl_l9Fx5vIsU4muD-mi8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=register&f=false">scared of authorities</a> and feel they have been let down by schools in the past. </p>
<p>Australian <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/reliable-or-risky/266759">research</a> suggests onerous compliance requirements lead to families disengaging with authorities and does not lead to better outcomes for students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooled-students-often-get-better-test-results-and-have-more-degrees-than-their-peers-111986">Homeschooled students often get better test results and have more degrees than their peers</a>
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<h2>How to engage homeschooling families</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/victorian-home-education-advisory-committee">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://theac.tas.gov.au/council-and-staff/">Tasmania</a>, homeschooling families have been included on <a href="https://theac.tas.gov.au/">boards</a> providing advice to government about regulation.</p>
<p>Surveys by the <a href="https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/should-i-register-victoria/">Home Education Network</a> (a home schooling support network) suggest more than 90% of homeschoolers in the state are registered. </p>
<p>If Queensland wants to <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/reliable-or-risky/266759">increase compliance</a>, it should consider doing more to work with families. For example, by including them in policy making about home education, so families see compliance as a way to support their child’s education, not as a “punishment” for not sending them to a mainstream school. </p>
<p>Governments should also look more closely at <a href="https://intapi.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/jped-2021-0004">why families leave schools</a>. We know families are not homeschooling as an “easy option” – they are doing it because it is a last resort.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/traditional-school-doesnt-suit-everyone-australia-needs-more-flexible-options-177608">Traditional school doesn't suit everyone. Australia needs more flexible options</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New data from Queensland shows there has been a 20% increase in homeschooling in the state over the past year.Rebecca English, Senior Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030472023-05-16T08:18:04Z2023-05-16T08:18:04ZA pandemic silver lining: how kids in some disadvantaged schools improved their results during COVID<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526107/original/file-20230515-23-ummfq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C3020%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Students from schools in low-income communities did not suffer significant “learning loss” during the pandemic years of 2020-2021, but instead improved in certain areas of study.</p>
<p>That’s one key finding from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-023-00614-y%22%22">our research</a>, published recently in the journal The Australian Educational Researcher.</p>
<p>In fact, we found students considered most at risk of “learning loss” during the pandemic actually achieved greater growth in mathematics and equivalent growth in reading in 2021 when compared with a similar group of students from 2019.</p>
<p>Our results reveal one silver lining from the past three challenging years, and underscore what’s possible when programs aimed at helping the most disadvantaged students are well funded. </p>
<p>Overall, however, we still have a long way to go to remove pervasive and structural inequities baked into Australia’s school systems, and to narrow achievement gaps.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/early-naplan-results-show-promise-but-we-dont-know-the-full-impact-of-covid-school-closures-yet-166737">Early NAPLAN results show promise, but we don’t know the full impact of COVID school closures yet</a>
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<h2>What we did and what we found</h2>
<p>Our study involved data on Year 3 and 4 academic results, collected as part of a randomised controlled trial with 125 New South Wales public schools. </p>
<p>From this data we carried out two studies – one comparing student results in 2020 to 2019, the second comparing 2021 to 2019. </p>
<p>In other words, one analysis compared student results from the first year of the pandemic with pre-pandemic kids. The other compared academic results of pre-pandemic kids with those who’d lived through consecutive years (which included remote learning).</p>
<p>The groups of students for each year of the study – 2019, 2020 and 2021 – were carefully “matched” so we could be confident we were comparing like with like.</p>
<p>When comparing 2020 and 2019 cohorts, we found no significant differences <em>overall</em> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-021-00436-w?">in maths or reading achievement.</a> </p>
<p>However, analysing these same data by school Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (a measure of school-level advantage that accounts for school location, parent education and percentage of Indigenous students) revealed worrying inequities. </p>
<p>In this 2019 and 2020 comparison (which compared pre-pandemic students to those living through the first year) we found students in disadvantaged schools achieved less growth in maths. Those in mid-range schools had achieved slightly more.</p>
<p>Then when the pandemic continued, we were able to also compare pre-pandemic kids (the 2019 group) with those who’d lived through both years (the 2021 group).</p>
<p>This allowed us to measure the impact of consecutive years of disrupted learning.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, we found students from disadvantaged schools achieved three months additional growth in maths and equivalent growth in reading compared to their 2019 pre-pandemic peers. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, students in mid-range and advantaged schools achieved about the same as their pre-pandemic peers.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525809/original/file-20230512-23-455h7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We wanted to measure the impact of consecutive years of disrupted learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Concerns about ‘learning loss’</h2>
<p>Early in the pandemic, teachers, parents, researchers, government, and the media worried and speculated that student results would decline. </p>
<p>As our research shows, major concerns about widespread diminishing academic achievement did not materialise. </p>
<p>Even where students did not achieve at the same rates as they did in pre-pandemic years, they still learned. </p>
<p>In hindsight, the idea of “learning loss” or of students’ learning going backwards was likely a source of unnecessary worry for families.</p>
<p>However, overseas results show Australia was an outlier.</p>
<p>World Bank <a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099720405042223104/idu00f3f0ca808cde0497e0b88c01fa07f15bef0">analysis</a> of 35 empirical studies on the impact of COVID-19 on student learning concluded students around the world fell behind by “roughly a one-half year’s worth of learning.” </p>
<p>It also found students from disadvantaged contexts were more likely to be negatively affected. </p>
<p><a href="https://cepr.harvard.edu/road-to-covid-recovery?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220505&instance_id=60504&nl=the-morning&regi_id=70134605&segment_id=91344&te=1&user_id=c457c9f6c1bd4790b4840bc3f648ce84">Researchers at Harvard University</a> found remote and hybrid learning during the pandemic contributed to significantly widening achievement gaps for disadvantaged students.</p>
<p>In this global context, the recent academic achievement of students in our NSW studies are cause for real celebration.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5455%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5455%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525803/original/file-20230512-19-ehb7ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In hindsight, the idea of ‘learning loss’ or of students’ learning going backwards was likely a source of unnecessary worry for families.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s behind these results?</h2>
<p>When the pandemic brought lockdowns and uncertainty, governments and education departments around Australia found hundreds of millions of dollars to put toward preventing students from falling behind.</p>
<p>The NSW Department of Education’s tutoring scheme, launched in 2021, may have contributed to the positive academic results we found. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/covid-learning-support-program">COVID intensive learning support program</a> funded schools to employ more educators to deliver small group literacy and numeracy tuition to students identified as needing it most.</p>
<p>The program has been extended to June 2023, but has been <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8816">criticised</a> for not being particularly well targeted.</p>
<p>The widespread teacher shortage has also been a factor. Hard-to-staff schools in disadvantaged and rural and remote areas, where arguably tutoring was needed most, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X22001305?via%3Dihub">reported</a> struggling to hire classroom teachers let alone additional educators for the tutoring program.</p>
<p>It’s also possible our key finding could be explained by the strict focus on literacy and numeracy in primary schools when students returned after periods of remote learning. </p>
<p>However, this “back to basics” focus – at the exclusion of sport, assemblies, excursions and the other extracurricular activities that punctuate school life – may also have negatively affected <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-022-00572-x">student</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-022-00518-3">teacher</a> wellbeing.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-students-return-to-school-small-group-tutoring-can-help-those-who-are-falling-behind-198388">As students return to school, small-group tutoring can help those who are falling behind</a>
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<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>The achievement gap between students from marginalised groups and their more advantaged peers looms large in the Australian education system. </p>
<p>The students in our study from disadvantaged schools, while showing academic improvement in maths in 2021, still started and ended the year well behind their more advantaged peers. </p>
<p>In fact, their achievement level at the end of 2021 was still below where students in advantaged schools began their school year.</p>
<p>There are clear lessons to be learned from the pandemic and our research on its effects. </p>
<p>For decades, funding models left marginalised students at real disadvantage. But when the pandemic hit, governments were able to find significant funding for programs and initiatives actually targeted at those with the greatest need. </p>
<p>Can such special funding be sustained to stem ongoing inequities in Australian schooling? <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-waiting-for-gonski-a-great-book-about-the-sorry-tale-of-school-funding-178016">David Gonski</a>, appointed by the Gillard government in 2011 to review Australian school funding models, certainly thought so.</p>
<p>Our results could not be more timely. Federal education minister Jason Clare recently announced an <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/expert-panel-inform-better-and-fairer-education-system">expert panel</a> and <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/national-school-reform-agreement-ministerial-reference-group">ministerial reference group</a> to advise on a new National School Reform Agreement. </p>
<p>This agreement sets out five-year initiatives and targets, which are tied to funding and agreed between the federal government and states. It represents our best opportunity to finally get school funding right.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-school-reform-agreement-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-school-funding-202847">What is the National School Reform Agreement and what does it have to do with school funding?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Miller receives funding from the NSW Department of Education and the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Gore receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Department of Education and Paul Ramsay Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Fray receives funding from the NSW Department of Education and the Paul Ramsay Foundation. </span></em></p>Our results highlight what’s possible when programs aimed at helping the most disadvantaged students are well funded.Andrew Miller, Senior Lecturer in Education, University of NewcastleJenny Gore, Laureate Professor of Education, Director Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of NewcastleLeanne Fray, Senior Lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987682023-02-09T13:35:09Z2023-02-09T13:35:09ZPublic school enrollment dropped by 1.2M during the pandemic – an expert discusses where the students went and why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508483/original/file-20230206-17-8m0130.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4025%2C2679&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some parents decided to continue home-schooling their kids even after public schools resumed in-person classes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakSchools/645e25ea11a34a59983949f05e8fbe0a/photo">AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Student learning took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just how much is only becoming clear nearly three years after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic and nearly all U.S. public schools pivoted to online instruction for at least several months in March 2020.</p>
<p>However, the data guiding the nation’s efforts to help kids catch up does not generally include the students who experienced the most dramatic learning disruptions.</p>
<p>Nationwide testing results released in the fall of 2022 revealed that the <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/reading/2022/">reading</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/mathematics/2022/">math</a> performance on standardized tests of students who were in fourth and eighth grades in the U.S. in the 2021-2022 school year declined by <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/director/remarks/11-2-2022.asp">historic amounts</a>.</p>
<p>This dramatic evidence of learning loss has <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/media-advisories/us-department-education-hold-first-several-sessions-strategies-and-programs-boost-academic-recovery-impact-pandemic">mobilized federal, state and local education leaders</a>. The federal government has allocated US$122 billion to support state and local efforts to help students “<a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-hosts-raising-bar-literacy-math-series-address-academic-recovery">catch up in the classroom</a>.”</p>
<p>Public school districts are using these resources to fund <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/report-40-of-districts-plan-to-spend-esser-funds-on-tutoring/621740/">tutoring</a> and <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-are-schools-spending-esser-funds-4-takeaways-from-a-new-report/2022/05">extended learning time</a>. And <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/challenges-implementing-academic-covid-recovery-interventions-evidence-road-recovery">researchers are assessing</a> the effects of these investments on standardized test scores.</p>
<p>However, these efforts do little to identify or target support to the children whose learning environments were most disrupted by the pandemic. This is especially so for the youngest students, who aren’t yet old enough for most standardized testing.</p>
<h2>Enrollment decline and the ‘streetlight effect’</h2>
<p>During the pandemic, public school enrollment in grades K through 12 fell by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/public-schools-falling-enrollment.html">1.2 million</a> students. These declines were concentrated among <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/us/covid-kindergarten-enrollment.html">kindergarten students</a> and in schools that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312221140029">offered only remote instruction</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly dramatic enrollment losses among even younger learners <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/26/1094781782/preschool-enrollment-pandemic">erased a decade of progress</a> in boosting preschool education enrollment.</p>
<p>These declines indicate that the pandemic caused students to miss instructional time or undertake disruptive school switches, often in their developmentally critical early years.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://network.asbointl.org/viewdocument/asbo-international-survey-report-h-1">school officials</a> list early-childhood programs among the least popular use of available federal funds and provide no indication of targeted academic-recovery efforts for younger or truant students.</p>
<p>This is an example of what scholars call the “<a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/why-scientific-studies-are-so-often-wrong-the-streetlight-effect">streetlight effect</a>,” in which people focus their attention on easily visible evidence – such as the test scores available for older, currently enrolled students – rather than other relevant data that are more obscured and harder to identify.</p>
<p>And long lags in national data reporting mean little is yet known about the learning environments of the disproportionately young children whose families avoided public schools during the pandemic. Currently, official federal statistics do not even provide basic data on <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_205.10.asp?current=yes">private school</a> or <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_206.10.asp?current=yes">home-school</a> enrollment beyond 2019.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child sits at a desk marking a paper with a pencil." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In most schools, standardized tests don’t start until well beyond kindergarten.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/exam-time-royalty-free-image/679376636">FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Where the kids went</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/where-kids-went-nonpublic-schooling-and-demographic-change-during-pandemic">research</a>, done collaboratively with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/enrollment-missing-kids-homeschooling">The Associated Press</a> and data journalists at Stanford University’s <a href="https://biglocalnews.org/">Big Local News</a>, addresses this issue. </p>
<p>For our analysis, we gathered <a href="https://purl.stanford.edu/sb152xr1685">state-level data</a> on public, private and home-school enrollment for the school years from 2019-20 through 2021-22. We also used U.S. Census Bureau estimates to identify the school-age population in each state over this time period. These combined data provide insights into where the students who avoided public schools went and what it means for the nation’s academic-recovery efforts. </p>
<p>Complete data aren’t available in every state, but we have good data on more than half of the school-age population in the U.S. at the onset of the pandemic. These states also experienced public school enrollment declines that are representative of the national trend.</p>
<p>Some students, particularly the youngest, clearly turned to private schools during the pandemic. In the 34 jurisdictions with available data, private school enrollment grew by over 140,000 students between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years. However, this increase only explains a modest amount – roughly 14% – of the corresponding decline in public school enrollment.</p>
<p>A more surprising finding is the robust growth of home-schooling during this period. An <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/homeschooling-on-the-rise-during-covid-19-pandemic.html">early Census Bureau survey</a> reported that home-schooling increased soon after the pandemic began. Our data show this initial increase endured into the 2021-22 school year when most public schools returned to in-person instruction.</p>
<p>In the 22 jurisdictions with data, home-school enrollment increased by over 184,000 students between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years – a 30% increase. For every additional student enrolled in private school over this period, nearly two entered home-schooling. This sustained growth in home-schooling explains 26% of the corresponding losses in public school enrollment.</p>
<p>Roughly a quarter of the public school enrollment loss simply reflects the pandemic decline in the number of school-age children in the U.S. However, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-states-migration-lockdowns-census-11640733268">people moving to new homes during the pandemic</a> means this demographic impact varied considerably by state. In states like California and New York, which saw their overall <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-population-estimates.html">populations fall dramatically</a>, the percentage declines in public school enrollment were at least six times those in states like Texas and Florida, where populations grew.</p>
<h2>New questions for academic recovery</h2>
<p>These findings raise several new questions about what help American students will need to get their education back on track. For instance, researchers know little about the learning opportunities available to children who switched to home-schooling, or the effects of this choice on families.</p>
<p>Our data is also unable to locate more than one-third of the students who left public schools. That could mean that some children are not going to school at all – or that even more families started home-schooling but did so without notifying their state.</p>
<p>A third possibility is that the pandemic led more families to have their kids skip kindergarten. Our data indirectly supports this conjecture. The unexplained declines in public school enrollment are concentrated in <a href="https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/state-k-3-policies-06">states that do not require kindergarten attendance</a>, like California and Colorado.</p>
<p>What we do know is the pandemic’s learning disruptions occurred disproportionately among the nation’s youngest learners. </p>
<p>Our work to understand and respond to this situation is just beginning. One possible response is to refocus some federal funding on the broad use of early screening tools to reliably identify – and address – learning setbacks years before students are old enough to take the current battery of standardized tests, which often begins in the third grade. Policymakers can also do more to locate students who are missing and to understand the educational needs of those outside the light of conventional data systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Dee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Federal, state and local efforts to help students recover learning they missed or lost during the pandemic are underway. But those projects don’t include the youngest students.Thomas Dee, Barnett Family Professor, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1949242022-11-21T13:10:17Z2022-11-21T13:10:17ZEbola: Uganda’s schools were closed for two years during COVID, now they face more closures – something must change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496121/original/file-20221118-24-tji913.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Extended school closures during the pandemic set Ugandan children far behind their peers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BADRU KATUMBA/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children in Uganda missed out on more school because of the COVID pandemic than their peers anywhere else in the world. An estimated <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/10/ugandan-children-back-to-school-after-nearly-2-year-covid-closure">15 million pupils</a> in the East African nation did not attend school for 83 weeks – that’s almost two years. Statistical models predict a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073805932100050X?via%3Dihub">learning deficit of 2.8 years</a> in Uganda because of the time lost through COVID-related closures.</p>
<p>Now the education system has been hit by another public health emergency. In early November the government <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/11/10/1135619132/uganda-ends-school-year-early-as-it-tries-to-contain-growing-ebola-outbreak">announced</a> that preschools, primary and secondary schools must close their doors for the year ten days earlier than planned. This is part of its attempt to contain an <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON421">Ebola outbreak</a> which had, by 16 November, <a href="https://africacdc.org/disease-outbreak/outbreak-brief-8-sudan-ebola-virus-disease-evd-in-uganda/">killed 55 people</a>; <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ebola-kills-8-children-as-infections-rise-in-schools-4013716">eight were children</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s crucial for Uganda to try and stop Ebola from spreading. The disease has a far higher fatality rate than COVID. The country’s packed classrooms and poor school infrastructure, such as poor ventilation and sanitation, make students highly vulnerable to infections.</p>
<p>But young Ugandans have already fallen <a href="https://theconversation.com/uganda-closed-schools-for-two-years-the-impact-is-deep-and-uneven-176726">far behind</a> in their learning because of COVID. And, as the effects of climate change worsen, Africa is becoming increasingly vulnerable to health emergencies, including a number of infectious diseases. </p>
<p>That makes it incredibly important for Uganda to find a way to balance the realities of public health emergencies with children’s right to education. This is a particularly pressing issue in low-income contexts where many children struggle to complete their schooling even outside emergency situations.</p>
<h2>Kids are already far behind</h2>
<p>In a previous <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/chso.12627">study</a> emerging from a larger project called <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7654-8">CoVAC</a>(led by Karen Devries, Jenny Parkes and Dipak Naker), we outlined the many harms and losses Ugandan children and youth faced due to the prolonged closure of schools. </p>
<p>When schools finally reopened in January 2022, one in ten students <a href="https://www.unicef.org/uganda/press-releases/23-countries-yet-fully-reopen-schools-education-risks-becoming-greatest-divider">did not report back</a> to school. Some schools had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/14/term-starts-in-uganda-but-worlds-longest-shutdown-has-left-schools-in-crisis">closed for good</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uganda-closed-schools-for-two-years-the-impact-is-deep-and-uneven-176726">Uganda closed schools for two years – the impact is deep and uneven</a>
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<p>The government tried to support distance learning through TV, radio, newspapers, downloadable curricula or, in some instances, via mobile phones. However, most interventions, in particular those that required access to a mobile phone or computer only benefited urban elites with the means to send their children to expensive private schools.</p>
<p>Almost all of the participants in our study had no or limited access to the resources needed to effectively engage with these materials. Girls in remote areas were especially disadvantaged, as they tended to have less access to mobile phones than boys.</p>
<p>Most of our study participants were not able to continue their schooling via distance learning. They eventually gave up on their education.</p>
<p>Homeschooling became a common practice in wealthier countries. But in Uganda it was a privilege reserved for only a few children from higher socio-economic backgrounds and expensive schools. The majority of Ugandan caregivers have to make an income in any way they can and often lack the time, space and resources to learn with their children at home.</p>
<p>Although schools will be only closed for a relatively short time, losing another ten days of learning may weaken the trust among Ugandans in the functioning of their educational institutions. Many Ugandans <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0738059321000237?via%3Dihub">struggle to pay</a> for their children’s school fees and will question the real value of education in light of current and potentially more interruptions. </p>
<h2>Overhauling current model</h2>
<p>Uganda’s education sector needs to be strengthened so that disruptions caused by future health emergencies do not leave children even further behind in their schooling.</p>
<p>This will require an overhaul of how education is governed, implemented and made accessible during emergency situations. Uganda inherited its education system from its former British colonial administration. The appropriation of western and former colonial education systems by countries in sub-Saharan Africa has been questioned and critiqued by many, particularly <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11159-016-9547-8">African scholars</a>. </p>
<p>Schooling, it is argued, was initially used as a tool by former colonisers to “<a href="https://ngugiwathiongo.com/decolonising-the-mind/">conquer the African mind</a>”. It ignored local culture and context with the intention to sustain colonial administration and nurture exploitative economic structures. </p>
<p>Today, part of the problem with adopting a universal model of schooling is that the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22002030?via%3Dihub">many flaws inherent in western-style education</a> are exacerbated in times of crisis. For instance, the model champions a form of schooling that is time and location bound. It does not easily adapt to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13533312.2016.1214073">alternative forms of education</a> that allow for a more flexible mode of learning in the absence of a functioning school. </p>
<p>If adequately resourced and well implemented, alternative modes of learning during school closures can help the most vulnerable children and youth in their educational trajectories and overall well-being. This could be in the form of supporting distance learning in a different manner, such as the potential of outdoors teaching and learning where there is enough space for social distancing. Nearby teachers could be engaged to support locally organised, small learning groups of children in their respective communities. </p>
<p>Another option could be to ensure safe and continuous access to education in a staggered manner under strict hygienic measures. Investments in partnerships with local agencies and community-based organisations could help to facilitate radio, TV or internet-based learning spaces for children and youth with no access to learning technology.</p>
<h2>Urgent</h2>
<p>Some Ugandans told us that they fear schools will be closed for far longer than initially announced. This happened repeatedly during the COVID pandemic. It is also sadly likely that Ebola will not be the last epidemic the country must manage. </p>
<p>That’s why novel strategies and more resources are urgently needed to finally address deeply rooted social injustices in and outside education that arise before, during and after public health emergencies. Otherwise, children will be continuously at a high risk of dropping out of school, making them vulnerable to child labour or teenage pregnancies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simone Datzberger received funding for work referenced in this article from the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme (grant number 702880).
Funding for CoVAC research, referenced in this article, is provided by the Medical Research Council (grant number: MR/R002827/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Musenze Junior Brian does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Young Ugandans have already fallen far behind in their learning because of COVID.Simone Datzberger, Assistant Professor in Education and International Development, UCLMusenze Junior Brian, PhD Fellow, Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936212022-11-07T19:01:54Z2022-11-07T19:01:54Z‘He was in fear of his life’: bullying can be a major factor in deciding to homeschool<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493711/original/file-20221107-23-pveimj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C34%2C4525%2C2993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica Lewis/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An increasing number of Australian families are educating their children at <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sick-of-the-disruption-dramatic-rise-in-children-registered-for-home-schooling-20220119-p59pfc.html">home</a>, either through <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-08/home-and-alternative-schooling-on-the-rise-in-australia/100503948">homeschooling</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-new-online-only-private-school-what-are-the-options-if-the-mainstream-system-doesnt-suit-your-child-189138#:%7E:text=A%20recent%20study%20found%20that,number%20has%20grown%20since%20then.">distance education</a>. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2557076806/AC97D81EBE754A5BPQ/4?accountid=13380">research highlights</a> how some parents are not necessarily choosing to homeschool for religious reasons or because they want to hothouse their kids. Nor are they doing it as their <a href="https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=10ac318f-1b10-4daf-a872-218752270131%40redis">first choice</a>.</p>
<p>Rather some are doing it because their children are being bullied and going to school is no longer a safe option. </p>
<h2>How many Australians homeschool?</h2>
<p>As of 2021, there were about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-new-online-only-private-school-what-are-the-options-if-the-mainstream-system-doesnt-suit-your-child-189138">26,000 young people</a> in home education in Australia – this includes both homeschooling and those who do distance education. </p>
<p>We saw numbers increase due to COVID disruptions and know they have grown since then. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-new-online-only-private-school-what-are-the-options-if-the-mainstream-system-doesnt-suit-your-child-189138">Australia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn't suit your child?</a>
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<p>For example, in <a href="https://qed.qld.gov.au/our-publications/reports/statistics/Documents/home-education-registrations.pdf">Queensland</a> alone, there has been a nearly 70% increase in the numbers of homeschoolers in the last year.</p>
<p>This includes a <a href="https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/home-education-registrations/resource/32ab80b6-47e3-4d1c-a3e1-977bdc28003f">137% increase</a> in the primary years and a 205% increase in the secondary years in the five years to 2022.</p>
<p>Significantly, these figures only cover the families that register. We know some families who homeschool <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/reliable-or-risky/266759">do not make it official</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008">do not engage with authorities</a>. </p>
<h2>The stereotypes</h2>
<p>There are some <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1052483">well-worn stereotypes</a> about families who homeschool their kids. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A child does arithmetic work" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493714/original/file-20221107-13-9l9ruo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are more than 26,000 young people who are educated at home in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These include the “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0192513X211055125?casa_token=EigNW0r4bTwAAAAA%3AIpq7buDSVLFRLwRefKD2gOT6TUygUin0WEAcSjSZAVqA12Znalp9jRg_qVBCZ597rv-pgi2i8YCy">religious fanatics</a>” who don’t want their child learning about evolution, or being exposed to liberal attitudes on sex and gender.</p>
<p>There are also “off-grid hippies” who feel they want to keep institutions out of their lives. This group are also likely to be <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/114941/">anti-vaxxers</a>.</p>
<p>Some homeschoolers are also thought of as “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2019.1584850?casa_token=AMlyIw_eWOcAAAAA%3AUdSaYkfZ58hz9ojI_L82dIwaJO5441Xu8R5FWIh3ororPUhVHpJwRF9MgQGSvijTZB0Ns6JtLjlB">hot-housers</a>” who believe their child is too gifted and special to be in a mainstream classroom.</p>
<p>People also associate homeschooling with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2019.1584850?casa_token=AMlyIw_eWOcAAAAA%3AUdSaYkfZ58hz9ojI_L82dIwaJO5441Xu8R5FWIh3ororPUhVHpJwRF9MgQGSvijTZB0Ns6JtLjlB">socially isolated children</a> who refuse to leave their room and play with other kids. </p>
<h2>My research: the impact of bullying</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2557076806/AC97D81EBE754A5BPQ/4?accountid=13380">new research</a> colleagues and I examined how bullying had affected families who had chosen to homeschool their children. </p>
<p>We interviewed six parents all of whom identified bullying as their number one reason for homeschooling. All participants were from New South Wales and Queensland.</p>
<p>In our forthcoming paper, these families identified a number of serious incidents. One mother talked about how son (who is allergic to nuts) was tormented by a group of children with a peanut butter sandwich. They reportedly wanted to see if he would die from exposure to the allergen.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The last thing before I pulled him out [school] was being chased through the school by kids who’d bought a peanut butter sandwich. And [my son] was in fear, he was in fear of his life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another mother told of her child who was constantly beaten up in the toilets because of his issues with bladder control. She said his teacher had not helped, even belittling him in front of other children, saying “babies need help to go the toilet”. </p>
<p>Another interviewee’s daughter, who was on the autism spectrum, was spending every day hiding behind the classroom door to protect herself from classroom bullies. She said her daughter would grab the day’s work and spend the rest of the time behind the door.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>She had actually decorated the door, she was there so often she […] put up a sign that said, ‘I am here because I need help’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is clear from these stories, and those in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2021.1947196?casa_token=AgwmsV7CzQUAAAAA%3A-MDuUZx1QwSPierHHiKd8nlaEcKzLx6YohrDyw_lZ7KQIxywVWKQDltWZNrUrCFfk0nNnZk9XI80">other studies</a>, that bullying is a significant factor in some parents choosing to homeschool.</p>
<p>Significantly, the relationship between bullying and homeschooling has also been seen in other countries, including the <a href="http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-26fc2ba8-8385-40d5-972f-e657e52fd2a3">United States</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpc.13570?casa_token=0rxUEt3_C5QAAAAA%3ARJF5_LxrBYWFXNI_JBZ7xRbnh99xb4WxITQT0F8Ma2a0TqPxZwfLVka3XuQLAPyvOhsoqFkPREuPBw">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2012.00536.x?casa_token=6goLbjhJ_6cAAAAA%3A57MsEVARcIhQnXJbjc9gqKN0ueGukjPsclOz5Vj3BU0fPKtDDVO7jyguy0ttkVlkWWZ2iyE48klgoQ">United Kingdom</a>.</p>
<h2>Yes, this is complex, but the consequences are severe</h2>
<p>We also know some of these young people have complex needs, such as physical issues with bladder control, serious nut allergies and autism. </p>
<p>These needs were not being met or managed by their schools and made the child more vulnerable. As one of our participant parents noted, by being different, they were a target.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-australia-wants-to-improve-school-outcomes-we-need-to-define-what-equity-really-means-192095">If Australia wants to improve school outcomes, we need to define what 'equity' really means</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>All our participants reported they had tried to work with the school. But the issues had either continued or the child had been so traumatised by their experience, they refused to go to back to school. Some participants had tried multiple schools.</p>
<p>The parents all noted how much schools were struggling, because they have to manage everyone’s needs and can’t be everywhere. But when schools do fail to manage the bullying, it can <a href="https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icei-19/125928762">push families</a> into homeschooling. </p>
<p>The families in our study told us they now had to carefully plan their journeys passing the school or their child would have panic attacks and meltdowns.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some days if we drive the wrong way to the supermarket […] and it’s not even the same school that he was at […] there’s that real negative association with schools and classrooms.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>Growth in homeschooling numbers suggests families who keep their children at home are going to be an increasingly significant educational force.</p>
<p>Until serious steps are undertaken to work with parents, and understand their decision to keep their children at home, it’s likely the numbers will continue to rise. </p>
<p>There is also a risk governments will lose contact with these families if they continue to choose not to register as homeschoolers with authorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193621/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are lots of stereotypes about why people homeschool their kids. Some parents interviewed in new research said bullying meant they had no choice.Rebecca English, Senior Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1891382022-08-25T20:03:20Z2022-08-25T20:03:20ZAustralia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn’t suit your child?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480810/original/file-20220824-12-vq87be.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C37%2C4962%2C3285&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/VzIsqZ8K9LI">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As of next year, a Melbourne private school will open to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/schools-hub/inside-pangea-haileybury-colleges-18kayear-online-school/news-story/81ec5e11e7b8d90ae9c59fee672544c7__;!!NVzLfOphnbDXSw!DU1Fz2Di3VpzMtsfkPHB8RA379QFfo_W_Fg_KIrgy5s_6X6uQKcch5tnzjoOUTSQd3m5IRoaWVaagFD6qN6T2rInP7HwzhHL8aHWAa_v$">online-only enrolments</a> for years five to 12. </p>
<p>It will cost A$18,000 per year in fees, and parents will have to supervise their child the whole time they are “at school”. It is billed as giving families flexibility and providing opportunities for those who live far away from the school. This comes as <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-can-fit-education-into-our-lives-more-kids-learning-at-home-20220819-p5bb4k.html">new data</a> shows there has been a 44% rise in students homeschooling in Victoria since 2019. </p>
<p>There are good reasons why the mainstream school system does not work for some students. And there are multiple options for families to explore if they are considering learning from home. </p>
<h2>At-home education in Australia</h2>
<p>With a small population spread across a vast continent, Australia has a long history of distance and at-home education. There are public distance education schools in all states and territories.</p>
<p>Access, and pricing, depends on your state or territory. In Queensland, for example, anyone can access <a href="https://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au/enrolments/new-enrolments">state distance education</a>. Those who are “homeschooling by choice” are required to pay around $1,600 for the service; those who are “homeschooling by limited choice” don’t have to pay. In <a href="https://www.education.wa.edu.au/distance-education">Western Australia</a>, it is also available to students who require more “flexibility” or who want to <a href="https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/schools/alternative-schooling/external-education">study subjects</a> not available at their school.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A student works at home during lockdowns in May 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A student works at home during lockdowns in May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Peled/ AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/policy-library/associated-documents/pd-2002-0006-02.pdf">may also suit</a> students who are geographically isolated or whose circumstances mean they are <a href="https://www.education.act.gov.au/schooling/distance-education">unable to access school</a> on a regular basis, perhaps because of health issues or extracurricular commitments such as elite sports training.</p>
<p>We also know in-person learning may not suit students with special education needs, such as those with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2020.1728232">autism or ADHD</a>, students who are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2018.1532955?casa_token=EcB-Ogm2bXgAAAAA:lzMDJq-hNQK6mVWxveVGwHFjgFDGCV7wXUfS8KTHAwoqDATeS7j6o5i0A32d0Fc2dPS3Mq117Sl3">bullied</a>, or those who feel the school system <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/soc4.12725?casa_token=36pttErRnp0AAAAA%3A0i4DAe2ce9d8lQDtmZTS_VnRqpSQfpHejlGJE9xhiWkbSuKp-gl3i1g4MTPXibNkBpvn7n4ani41fg">does not suit them</a>. </p>
<p>Learning away from the mainstream system can also help accelerate <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2020.1728232">gifted students</a>.</p>
<p>In the wake of COVID lockdowns, many of these children have drifted toward <a href="https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10198725&AN=157014092&h=U2pHYZzf7Q%2F6Srnna2u2pFfM9D5FQyZAsqeS0%2BmhmgC95JsHtbIRzSzxiheJSIeeTOLmc5D3xou8EaHdXtsIvg%3D%3D&crl=f&casa_token=1wcmYJt70JwAAAAA:YTSR71Bzm4NZEm0J3RBEVMrNe3wzfMVVFsGuQLd6cEZj-NnwUm3yACbqT2X1NeFHvAH9Ja8">homeschooling</a> or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-30/pandemic-drives-surge-in-enrolments-at-qld-independent-schools/100413048">private</a>, often Christian, distance education offerings instead of going back to in-person learning at school. </p>
<h2>Homeschooling enrolments have been rising</h2>
<p>Mainstream school has been losing enrolments for a number of years – even before COVID. Home education/homeschooling is the <a href="https://breakthrough.neliti.com/homeschoolers-were-the-forgotten-group-during-covid-19-lockdowns/">fastest-growing</a> <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED556234#:%7E:text=Ray%2C%20Brian%20D.&text=Homeschooling%2D%2Dthat%20is%2C%20parent,education%20in%20the%20United%20States.">education cohort</a> in the world. </p>
<p>A recent study found that, <a href="https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=26b58831-66b7-4132-9022-00e705119c6b%40redis">in Australia</a>, it’s grown 53% compared with the next closest alternative, independent schools. There were around <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">26,000 young people</a> home educating in Australia in 2021 out of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release">about four million</a> school students overall, and that number has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/queensland-home-school-registrations-soar-during-covid-19-/100778840">grown since then</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">Homeschooling boomed last year. But these 4 charts show it was on the rise before COVID</a>
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<p>But at-home learning is not limited to home educators, nor is it new. Distance education, particularly by choice and among those in city or regional areas, has also seen <a href="https://theconversation.com/traditional-school-doesnt-suit-everyone-australia-needs-more-flexible-options-177608">significant growth</a> in the past few years.</p>
<p>There is some <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED588847.pdf">evidence</a> that many parents would like to keep their children home, at least some of the time, if they could. Some parents <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15582159.2019.1616992">report</a> they wanted more time with their children, or they want more control over they way their children learn.</p>
<p>The issues faced by many young people in mainstream schools, as well as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/21/mental-health-issues-more-common-among-young-australians-national-survey-suggests">high rates</a> of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823">anxiety</a> diagnosed among young people, suggests there is a market for more flexibility at school. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1077722918300737?casa_token=buIyxGERVScAAAAA:9AZG-eJU0VNQHavpq1m7d7ogtA9Jgx8N8Z-ZJUs0LqTE2BRTNPk_iUQuBDiO4i7wJxWL_ze7">School refusal</a> also <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/lockdowns-are-over-but-anxiety-lingers-as-more-victorian-students-refuse-school-20220519-p5amrj.html">appears to be on the rise</a>. </p>
<p>While it requires a lot of parental support, those families who can find the flexibility in their lives to support this school enrolment might find it suits their child, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118926895.ch14">even for a limited period of time</a>.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2018.1532955?casa_token=lAVRTXmkziMAAAAA%3AeyTbu52ZxxTUmRATklBWG_9oVBVtyHQ1Om0XHAs3T2-ASh0lJi7Eajpc_V9FlGMgL5uqsFexZoF7">studies suggest</a> this approach is effective because it allows parents and educators to better meet the child’s learning needs.</p>
<h2>What options do you have?</h2>
<p>Most parents and students prefer the mainstream system, but for some, it doesn’t meet their needs or they want something different. </p>
<p>If you would like to enrol your child in an online-only school, but don’t have the time to supervise your child all day or $18,000, there are some alternatives. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/home/Pages/hscombine.aspx">Victoria</a>, parents can enrol their child part-time in school and keep their child home the rest of the time. This option is at the principal’s discretion and needs to be negotiated with the school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-you-support-kids-with-adhd-to-learn-parents-said-these-3-things-help-187012">How can you support kids with ADHD to learn? Parents said these 3 things help</a>
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<p>There are also other, private distance education schools that <a href="https://accelerate.edu.au/fees/">do not charge</a> as much as this Victorian school. These include some <a href="https://www.pinnacleacademiccollege.com.au/fee-schedule">secular options</a>.</p>
<p>If your child is around 15 or older, <a href="https://tafeqld.edu.au/course/17/17691/certificate-iv-in-adult-tertiary-preparation">TAFE</a> might be an option and it may also provide avenues into higher education.</p>
<p>And there is always homeschooling, in which parents take full responsibility for their child’s learning, independent of a formal educational institution. </p>
<p>Whatever parents decide, if in-person, mainstream school is not working for your child, the chances are, if you look around, you’ll find something that might work better. Your options might be a lot cheaper than $18,000, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A Melbourne private school is opening online-only enrolments. Headlines have focussed on the $18,000 fees. But there are many reasons why in-person schooling may not work.Rebecca English, Senior Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1689112021-10-06T12:27:40Z2021-10-06T12:27:40Z4 trends in public school enrollment due to COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424557/original/file-20211004-19-qw9r9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. public school enrollment overall decreased by 3% in the fall of 2020, but kindergarten enrollment dropped 9%.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kindergarten-student-natalia-bayoumi-holds-the-hand-of-her-news-photo/1234722046">Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When schools began the fall semester of 2020 – six months after the <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">World Health Organization declared</a> COVID-19 a pandemic – many of them reported a significant <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/920316481/enrollment-is-dropping-in-public-schools-around-the-country">decline in student enrollment</a>. </p>
<p>Federal education data shows that public school enrollment dropped <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/new-data-reveal-public-school-enrollment-decreased-3-percent-in-2020-21-school-year">3% compared to the previous year</a>. That means roughly <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.20.asp">1.5 million students</a> exited the U.S. public education system.</p>
<p>To better understand these enrollment declines, we analyzed school enrollment records for every student in the state of Michigan. This deep dive focused not only on how the pandemic affected the number of kids enrolled in public schools – both traditional and charter – but also whether families decided to home-school or enroll in private school. We compared these student-level records from Michigan with national data from the <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html">Household Pulse Survey</a> conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 and 2021.</p>
<p><a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">Our research</a> uncovered four major trends in school enrollment during the first year of the pandemic.</p>
<h2>1. Kindergarten experienced a big drop</h2>
<p>In Michigan, overall public school enrollment decreased by 3% in the fall of 2020. The largest decline was in kindergarten, where enrollment dropped 10%. The national data follow a similar pattern, showing a 3% drop in overall enrollment and a <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/06_28_2021.asp">9% drop</a> among kindergartners.</p>
<p>These enrollment drops are a big deal for several reasons.</p>
<p>For starters, if the families who pulled their kids out of public schools during the pandemic never come back, it means fewer students and less money for public schools.</p>
<p>However, if most students ultimately reenroll in public schools, there will be sharp – and possibly unplanned – increases in the overall size of the student body at many schools.</p>
<p>If schools are not able to quickly adapt by hiring more qualified teachers, this could result in a range of challenges, including above-average class sizes, which <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/class-size-what-research-says-and-what-it-means-for-state-policy/">directly affect students’ learning</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Homeschooling became more popular</h2>
<p>In February 2020, <a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">4.5% of U.S. households</a> with school-aged children reported home-schooling at least one child. By the fall of 2020, that rate <a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">jumped to 7.3%</a>. This was driven largely by families with children in elementary school.</p>
<p>In Michigan, we found that among students who left the public school system for an alternative education sector, the majority elected to enroll in homeschooling, though there were also increases in private school enrollment. For rising first graders, for example, exits to homeschooling accounted for 56% of the total number of students not returning to public schools.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman and young girl sit at home table talking expressively" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2982%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Homeschooling became more popular during the pandemic, particularly for elementary school kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/teacher-maria-magallanes-r-homeschools-zola-west-a-child-news-photo/1212478865">Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>3. Parents based decisions on how schools held class</h2>
<p>Both in Michigan and nationally, school systems that offered in-person instruction in the fall of 2020 had larger increases in homeschooling rates than school systems that offered remote instruction. On the other hand, school systems that offered remote instruction in the fall of 2020 saw relatively larger increases in private school enrollment.</p>
<p>These patterns suggest that no matter what public schools chose – in-person or remote instruction – many parents were going to send their children elsewhere.</p>
<p>The disproportionate increase in homeschooling rates in districts offering in-person instruction suggests that some families pulled their children from public school due to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/26/1017864066/how-some-districts-are-trying-to-get-anxious-families-back-into-school-buildings">health concerns related to in-person instruction</a> during a pandemic.</p>
<p>However, the disproportionate increase in private sector enrollment in districts offering remote instruction suggests that other parents were eager to seek out in-person learning opportunities, possibly due to concerns about the quality of instruction and learning in a remote setting. </p>
<h2>4. Age, income and race all factored into schooling decisions</h2>
<p>Changes in school enrollment patterns varied substantially by students’ grade, family income and race. In Michigan, we found that the drops in kindergarten enrollment were largest among low-income and Black students. However, the smaller enrollment declines in other grades were disproportionately among higher-income and white students. </p>
<p>These patterns highlight important differences in how families make schooling decisions. Black and lower-income families appear to be more likely to enroll in alternative sectors at the time of initial public school enrollment, specifically kindergarten. Meanwhile, white and higher-income families appear more open to alternative options after their child has already been enrolled in the public school system.</p>
<p>This finding adds an additional layer to evidence that race and income were not only important factors in <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai212-374.pdf">access to in-person instruction</a>, but also how families responded when offered either in-person or remote instruction.</p>
<p>Whether students who were pulled from the public school system fare better or worse academically remains to be seen. Much of it depends on the quality of the instruction being offered at their new schools.</p>
<p>But given the <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/07/how-pandemic-affected-black-and-white-households.html">disproportionate economic, health and social effects</a> that the pandemic has already had on historically disadvantaged communities, these enrollment trends may widen <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.20437">existing achievement gaps</a> in years to come. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/politics-weekly-74/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=politics-important">Get The Conversation’s most important politics headlines, in our Politics Weekly newsletter</a>.</em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fewer students enrolled in public school and more were home-schooled during the 2020-21 school year. Researchers analyzed records in Michigan to understand what drove parents to make these decisions.Tareena Musaddiq, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of MichiganAndrew Bacher-Hicks, Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1573092021-04-15T19:52:07Z2021-04-15T19:52:07ZHomeschooling boomed last year. But these 4 charts show it was on the rise before COVID<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395182/original/file-20210415-13-17p7g2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hardworking-school-kid-boy-making-homework-1929800849">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-homeschooling-and-should-i-be-doing-that-with-my-kid-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown-135027">Home education</a>, sometimes called homeschooling, is when children are educated outside a formal institution like a school.</p>
<p>Parents of home-educated children are wholly responsible for facilitating their child’s learning. This is different to <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">distance education</a>, where a student is enrolled in a school and taught by a teacher, but the lessons are delivered remotely (similar to what happened during lockdown when schools were closed).</p>
<p>Home education is legal across Australia. Each state or territory education department requires parents to register. There have been reports <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/brisbane-mum-of-seven-on-why-covid-lockdown-inspired-her-to-homeschool-for-good-c-1053198">more students have registered for home education</a> due to the pandemic. But home education was actually on the rise in Australia well before COVID.</p>
<h2>Growth in homeschooling during 2020</h2>
<p>The numbers of families registering for home education in 2020 — the year of school lockdowns – was particularly strong in the heavily populated eastern states.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/426e1f11-5752-4c1c-bdcc-68b880c0e0b3/home-schooling-data-reports-to-2020.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=%2031">New South Wales</a> and <a href="https://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/aboutus/Pages/homeschoolingstatistics2020.aspx">Victoria</a>, the number of students being home educated increased by 20% in 2020 (1,224 extra children) compared with 2019. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/home-education-registrations">Queensland</a>, there was a 26% jump in students registered for home education.</p>
<p>The number of registered home-educated students in NSW, Victoria and Queensland is larger than any one school in those states. For example, <a href="https://varsitycollege.eq.edu.au/">Varisty College</a> on Queensland’s Gold Coast is one of Queensland’s largest schools with over 3,000 students. But home education registrations account for 800 more students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-switching-to-homeschooling-permanently-after-lockdown-here-are-5-things-to-consider-155381">Thinking of switching to homeschooling permanently after lockdown? Here are 5 things to consider</a>
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<p>Over the last ten years, there has been a steady increase in the number of home-educated students across the country. </p>
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<p>There are now more than 26,000 registered home-educated students in Australia, around a third of the ACT’s total school-aged population.</p>
<p>This number may underestimate how many students are actually being home educated. Some states and territories limit registration to the compulsory school ages (usually six to 17), so they don’t count younger and older students. </p>
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<p>It is also well recognised a proportion of home-educated students <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008">are not registered</a>.</p>
<p>However, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT all allow children to be registered for part-time home education and part-time school attendance — so these students are counted twice.</p>
<h2>The proportion of homeschooled kids has grown, too</h2>
<p>It is not just the overall numbers of home-educated students that has grown. The percentage of home-educated students as a proportion of the total student population has also risen. </p>
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<p>New South Wales and Victoria have the highest population of school students in the country — at 1,248,994 and 1,013,768 in 2020 respectively. The proportion of home-educated students in these states are 6 per 1,000 school students in NSW and 7 in Victoria. </p>
<p>And while Tasmania only had 83,175 school students in 2020 (the second lowest population of school students after the Northern Territory), its proportion of home-educated students is the highest in the country — 14 per 1,000. This is in comparison to the average of 6 home-educated students per 1,000 school students across Australia.</p>
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<p>While these proportions are still relatively small, they are almost double what they were six years ago. </p>
<p>We don’t know precisely why the proportion of home-educated students varies so much between states and territories. It may be that a limited school choice in regional and remote areas of sparsely populated states, like Western Australia, may encourage home education. Or remote living in states like the Northern Territory may make it easier to “fly under the radar” and not register. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">Homeschooling is on the rise in Australia. Who is doing it and why?</a>
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<p>The availability of support for students with special needs and the ease of access to distance education schools may also play a role. </p>
<p>Another factor could be the way different states and territories manage their registration systems.</p>
<p>Unlike most other states, <a href="https://oer.tas.gov.au/news/blog/">Tasmania has a history of proactive engagement</a> with the home education community. The assessors have extensive knowledge of home education, which may instil confidence in the assessments. </p>
<p>It also means assessors can give some support, providing a direct benefit to being registered. </p>
<h2>We don’t know enough about homeschooling</h2>
<p>Families who are home educating are an under-researched group. </p>
<p>There’s evidence an increasing number of students with special educational needs are being home educated. About <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2416#tab-submissions">20% of parents who made a submission</a> to the recent NSW inquiry into students with disabilities were home educating due to mainstream schools having failed to meet their children’s needs. However, these students are not counted in the government’s <a href="https://www.nccd.edu.au/">Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on Students with a Disability</a>. </p>
<p>Although research suggests mental health conditions such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220671.2015.1116055?casa_token=obRG4hcyWcEAAAAA%3AHX6ReV7rwed8T3GGju_LekKFn8EjCzyDRg8XT8RKkKLJUeZmE_PgQ1jeVup-7h1ZqUorEwEy229J8Q">anxiety</a> or <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41887517?seq=1">depression</a> can be catalysts for parents removing children from school, this too has not been quantified. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-want-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school-why-not-try-unschooling-at-home-136256">Don't want to send the kids back to school? Why not try unschooling at home?</a>
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<p>We also need to better understand how to help students who may have a series of needs that are more complex than schools could meet.</p>
<p>Similarly, the benefits, drawbacks and best practice of part-time schooling along with part-time home education in Australia have not been researched. Flexibility might be a solution that may bridge the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2018.1509786?casa_token=zjPV04hIT3UAAAAA%3A56k1rgBpyIvrdNnK5G4raoN7hjuCs-TbR5gxzENa66oXGavT1z6Z-r8x8hh2_XshhBmr1BnhOg9ntQ">divide</a> between schools and home education to best meet children’s needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157309/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English is a member of the Home Education Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karleen Gribble is a member of the Home Education Association</span></em></p>In New South Wales and Victoria the number of students being home educated increased by 20% in 2020 (1,224 extra children) compared with 2019. But the rise has been evidenced for a decade.Rebecca English, Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyKarleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1558622021-03-25T13:48:29Z2021-03-25T13:48:29ZCOVID-19 stress toll is a family affair: 4 ways to support mothers’ mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391405/original/file-20210324-23-xo6d1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C40%2C4562%2C3587&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The challenges of the pandemic have been especially hard on mothers, who are most likely to shoulder the burden of increased home-schooling and household demands.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we pass the one-year <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic</a>, its impact on the mental health and well-being of children is undeniable. Indeed, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7615078/ontario-children-mental-health-coronavirus-covid-19/">news headlines</a> on whether “the kids are alright” have frequently surfaced, bringing to light the immense challenges for kids, and their families, as they cope with ongoing changes during COVID-19, including online schooling and social distancing from friends. </p>
<p>While the lives and routines of children and youth have certainly been turned upside down over the last year, it is increasingly clear that the mental health impact of the pandemic is a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000660">family affair</a>. Parents have lost child care, taken on home-school responsibilities, shifted to working from home and suffered from several additional stressors, such as job loss and changes in employment. </p>
<p>These COVID-19-related challenges have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113801">especially hard on mothers</a>, who are most likely to shoulder the burden of increased home-schooling and household demands. Our research team sought to find out if these stressors are linked to elevated rates of maternal mental health difficulties during the pandemic. </p>
<h2>Parent mental health during COVID-19</h2>
<p>Early reports during the pandemic pointed towards <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.081">elevated rates of depression and anxiety</a>, especially for mothers. What wasn’t known was whether these rates truly demonstrated a shift in mothers’ anxiety and depression symptoms, compared to how they were doing before the pandemic. To find answers to this question, we used data from mothers who have been taking part in long-term research, and compared their pandemic mental health to previous periods. </p>
<p>Over the past 12 years, the <a href="http://allourfamiliesstudy.com">All Our Families Study</a> has been following nearly 3,000 Canadian mothers and their children to better understand their health and well-being. Mothers were recruited into the study when they were pregnant, and their children are now nine to 11 years old. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00074-2/fulltext">recent study</a>, we showed that between May and July of 2020, mothers in our study reported higher rates of depression and anxiety than they reported previously. Specifically, rates of depressive symptoms increased to 35 per cent during COVID-19 from 19 per cent before the pandemic, and rates of anxiety symptoms also jumped to 31 per cent from 18 per cent. </p>
<h2>Maternal mental health difficulties are increasing</h2>
<p>Increases in maternal mental health difficulties are not experienced uniformly by all mothers. In our study we saw especially high increases in mental health difficulties for mothers who reported losing their job or family income. </p>
<p>We also saw higher increases in anxiety and depression in mothers who had difficulty accessing child care, and who reported that they were struggling with balancing home-schooling with work responsibilities, regardless of income.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman and child working in front of a laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391406/original/file-20210324-15-z08shp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mothers who had difficulty accessing child care, and were struggling to balance home-schooling with work responsibilities, were more likely to have mental health difficulties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequalities that were deeply entrenched before the pandemic even happened. Specifically, women are more likely to be precariously employed, earn less income and take on the majority of household tasks and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0003122411427673">child care responsibilities</a>. These <a href="https://leanin.org/article/the-coronavirus-is-a-financial-crisis-for-women">gaps are even larger</a> for low-income women and women of colour. A sustainable recovery plan following the pandemic needs to consider how families, but especially mothers, can be better supported in order to ensure optimal mental health for children and youth. </p>
<h2>Strategies that promote family well-being</h2>
<p>It is clear that the strain of the pandemic is taking a toll on mothers’ mental health. This is concerning because we know that when mothers aren’t doing well, their children are often struggling too. To ensure mothers are alright — knowing this will help their children be alright too — they need access to resources and support to help get through this difficult time. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.2910">Decades of research</a> have shown that the well-being of mothers is critical for children and youth to flourish, which suggests maternal mental health and well-being should be a priority for COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. We’ve identified four important ingredients for a successful pandemic recovery for mothers and families.</p>
<p><strong>1. Mental health supports for mothers</strong></p>
<p>Maternal mental health was a national concern <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190624/dq190624b-eng.htm">before the pandemic</a> and our data demonstrate that there has been nearly a two-fold increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms in women with children under the age of 12. </p>
<p>Increased availability of mental health services that are easily and widely accessible are needed. An increase in uptake of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000259">tele-mental health services</a> (mental health support that is provided online or by phone) has the potential to provide mothers with the opportunity to obtain mental health support while reducing barriers that often limit accessibility, such as location or time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman video chatting with a health professional." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391420/original/file-20210324-13-2793f4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mental health services that are easily and widely accessible — such as tele-mental health — may provide more opportunities for mothers to get help.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><strong>2. Ongoing support for family incomes</strong></p>
<p>A major stressor that was associated with increases in mental health symptoms in our study was the loss or disruption of family income as a result of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-077">maternal employment</a> was hit harder during the pandemic than paternal employment. Recovery plans that include the support and provision of resources during a time of crisis will be critical in curtailing mental health difficulties that could ensue within families. </p>
<p><strong>3. Shared responsibilities for home-schooling, child care and household tasks</strong></p>
<p>Our findings showed that mothers who were having difficulties balancing multiple roles had higher rates of depression and anxiety. Although fathers have increased their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12315">participation in unpaid labour</a> over the course of the pandemic, including child care and domestic tasks, there remains a deficit in these contributions between mothers and fathers. </p>
<p>As COVID-19 rages on, it is critical for policy-makers to invest in universal supports for child care and out-of-school care, and focus on providing flexible leave policies that allow both mothers and fathers to adequately care for and home-school their children.</p>
<p><strong>4. Stable, safe, and affordable child care and schooling for children</strong></p>
<p>Mothers in our study reported on their mental health at the outset of the pandemic, when schools and daycares were closed. The pandemic has highlighted that both our economy and the mental health and well-being of those who participate in it are dependent on high quality care and education for children. </p>
<p>Our study underscores that there is a devastating impact on families when child care and schooling are unavailable. To the extent possible, these services need to remain open for parents and children alike. </p>
<h2>The pandemic’s ongoing toll on families</h2>
<p>One year on, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the well-being of families. The toll this has taken on mothers in terms of loss of jobs and increased child care and schooling responsibilities has had a marked effect on mental health. </p>
<p>Many traditional support networks have changed from in-person to virtual, due to physical distancing requirements. This can result in a loss of access to practical help. Support from friends, family and community are essential, but so is institutional support. </p>
<p>In times of crisis, families need access to stable supports including financial assistance and predictable child care and schooling. When caregivers are well supported, the whole family benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Racine receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Alberta Innovates. She is affiliated with Strong Minds, Strong Kids, Psychology Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Hetherington receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheri Madigan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, the Canada Research Chairs program, and Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Tough has received funding for the All Our Families Cohort from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Alberta Innovates, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, MaxBell Foundation, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.</span></em></p>Mothers’ well-being is crucial for children to flourish, but maternal mental health has suffered during COVID-19. Successful pandemic recovery for mothers and families depends on four factors.Nicole Racine, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Psychology, University of CalgaryErin Hetherington, Postdoctoral fellow, Epidemiology, McGill UniversitySheri Madigan, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of CalgarySuzanne Tough, Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Max Bell Burns Policy Fellow, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1553812021-03-24T18:51:08Z2021-03-24T18:51:08ZThinking of switching to homeschooling permanently after lockdown? Here are 5 things to consider<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391302/original/file-20210324-13-1p93sac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-student-doing-homework-home-school-1536666791">https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-student-doing-homework-home-school-1536666791</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Homeschooling registrations for <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-the-pandemic-spurred-a-home-schooling-boom-20210129-p56xx6.html">children in Victoria</a> in 2020 grew by almost four times the rate of the previous year, recent reports show.</p>
<p>Some families who had children learning from home during lockdown discovered they enjoyed spending more time together and some children found they learnt better at home. Parents may have recognised academic or social challenges for their child at school and decided to continue with homeschooling. </p>
<p>But even <a href="https://hslda.org/post/why-is-homeschooling-growing-in-australia">before COVID-19</a>, homeschooling was on the rise. If you’re considering homeschooling because your child seems to do better at home, but are unsure if it’s the right thing to do, here are five things to take into account.</p>
<h2>1. Homeschooling is different to remote learning</h2>
<p>Homeschooling is different from remote learning. Remote learning is the experience of teachers delivering the school curriculum to children at home, as was done during the recent school closures. This is more like distance education, which some families do if they live remotely, for instance.</p>
<p>In homeschooling, parents have elected to meet their child’s educational needs themselves, rather than using government or other school options. </p>
<p>Homeschooling is legal in all states and territories in Australia but there are <a href="https://www.hea.edu.au/state-information">differing registration and monitoring</a> requirements. </p>
<h2>2. It takes a lot of time and effort</h2>
<p>Some parents put together a school structure at home with lesson plans and routine break times. They may employ a tutor to help with their child’s education or do this themselves. </p>
<p>Others choose to use an unstructured or “unschooling” learning method. This is an informal way of learning that advocates student-chosen activities rather than teacher-directed lessons.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-want-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school-why-not-try-unschooling-at-home-136256">Don't want to send the kids back to school? Why not try unschooling at home?</a>
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<p>The process of developing a homeschooling routine takes time, effort and patience. Parents may be <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">required to submit a plan</a> to their state education department, which, in most cases, should show an alignment between their child’s learning and the national curriculum. </p>
<p>Parents may have to develop or implement a full school curriculum at home without the resources available in schools. </p>
<p>Even if parents decide to teach children in an informal way, they will need to put in significant time and effort. For example, a parent may use a trip to the shops to cover geography (the child navigating), mathematics (the child calculating the cost of items), or economics (supply and demand factors), but this may add hours to a routine shop.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mother and daughter looking at something in supermarket aisle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391304/original/file-20210324-23-11tshcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A trip to the shops can be a learning experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/outgoing-child-beaming-mother-buying-products-700891060">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>So, parents will need to consider their ability and desire to take on this leading role in their child’s education. For some parents it can also take an <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-020-01706-1">emotional toll</a> and feel isolating if there isn’t a plan or enough support. </p>
<h2>3. Consider social and other difficulties at school</h2>
<p>Some families homeschool on religious or ideological grounds; others are motivated by <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/why-homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia">practical limitations</a> to school access — such as if the school is too far from home or their child has a disability.</p>
<p>Many individual children can face difficulties <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-18/homeschooling-child-based-decision-improve-education-outcomes/12853622">going to school</a>, such as the separation of leaving their carer or parent. Other children may be bullied at school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-your-child-anxious-about-starting-school-for-the-first-time-heres-how-you-can-help-153297">Is your child anxious about starting school for the first time? Here's how you can help</a>
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<p>There is <a href="https://www.iier.org.au/iier17/jackson.html">very little research</a> into the effects on children who are experiencing difficulties at traditional schools and change to homeschooling. </p>
<p>But parents should know schools <a href="https://www.lawhandbook.org.au/2019_04_08_03_bullying_and_assault/">have a legal obligation</a> to provide a safe environment for children. They must address bullying behaviour and provide support for both the victim and the perpetrator. When there are difficult interactions parents, teachers, the school and children (where appropriate) should collaborate to improve the situation. </p>
<p>Children <a href="https://headspace.org.au/young-people/what-is-bullying-and-the-effects-on-mental-health/">often need support</a> from teachers and parents to navigate exposure to bullying. But if the behaviour is allowed to continue with options exhausted, students will be more likely to experience negative psychological health from ongoing bullying. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/justice-and-safety/bullying">Data from 2016 show</a> around 70% of children aged 12–13 experienced at least one bullying-like behaviour within a year. All forms of bullying have the potential to create long-term and disastrous psychological as well as physical effects. Some <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/dolly-everetts-parents-reveal-what-led-to-their-daughters-death/news-story/b7984758aa1ce96def787ad0c20cde93">young people</a> who have died by suicide were found to have done so after <a href="https://www.northernstar.com.au/news/anti-bullying-policies-failed-alex-wildman-suicide/560228/">persistent bullying</a>. </p>
<p>Evidence <a href="https://americanaddictioncenters.org/trauma-stressor-related-disorders/effects-being-bullied-harassed">suggests bullying</a> constitutes a traumatic experience for students who are bullied. How teachers and schools respond to bullying and the frequency of bullying can also result in mental distress for students. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young sad girl sitting against a wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391303/original/file-20210324-19-k3iby2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Bullying can have long-lasting psychological consequences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-lonely-teenager-portrait-city-street-551772445">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Not all schools can and do <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-is-not-always-a-safe-place-for-students-with-disability-this-has-to-change-63107">adequately manage</a> bullying and other unsafe situations children may be in. In these instances, parents may decide to remove their child from school and homeschool their child.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-is-not-always-a-safe-place-for-students-with-disability-this-has-to-change-63107">School is not always a safe place for students with disability – this has to change</a>
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<p>Parents can consider whether their <a href="https://headspace.org.au/young-people/what-is-mental-health/">child is showing ongoing signs</a> of psychological distress such as changes in behaviour, withdrawal from others, irritability or problems concentrating.</p>
<p>Specialist support from a psychologist may help parents and students to understand the benefits and limitations of changing schools and homeschooling. If there are underlying social or separation anxieties involved, these issues should be addressed as they are likely to linger at home too.</p>
<h2>4. Children can thrive academically</h2>
<p>Children’s academic outcomes need to be considered in the context of the parents’ motivation for choosing homeschooling. For example, if a parent’s primary concern is religious education their focus may not be on their child gaining the highest year 12 results possible. </p>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191491X16300566">academic results of children</a> who are home educated are mixed. This is partly because there are diverse parental motivations which may or may not prioritise academic pursuits.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">Homeschooling is on the rise in Australia. Who is doing it and why?</a>
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<p>In Australia, some studies have focused on <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/8b9170fe-c90e-49d0-b62b-7cc18fe222cc/home-schooling-outcomes-review.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=">NAPLAN results</a>. These suggest home-educated students score higher than state averages across every measure. The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/homeschooled-kids-perform-better-in-naplan-report-20160204-gmlgu9.html">effect continues</a> even if the child returns to school. </p>
<p>Children who are homeschooled may be doing well because they receive <a href="https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/issues/the-homeschool-revolution/">one-on-one attention</a>. Or it could be because the child’s learning is <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/homeschooling-smartest-way-to-teach-kids-a7652796.html">personalised</a> and the child has <a href="https://great-ideas.org/Encounter/Ricci243.pdf">agency over their learning</a>. </p>
<h2>5. Children can be socialised in both environments</h2>
<p>Socialisation is again influenced by parental motivations and the education methods employed.</p>
<p>Homeschooled young people can have a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10212-018-0398-5">diverse range of social interactions</a> with people of different ages, including adults. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooled-children-are-far-more-socially-engaged-than-you-might-think-111353">Australian survey</a> of homeschooling families showed nearly 50% of children participated in at least one club activity. This included 24 different sports — from AFL to aerial silks and yoga — and clubs including lego and chess. Around 40% attended at least one regular learning group. Classes included new languages, gardening, Shakespeare and archaeology.</p>
<p>The majority of research participants regularly had “play dates” with homeschooling and/or non-homeschooling families. Children actively participated in their community through the arts, including community theatre, bands, choirs, dance and visual arts classes.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooled-children-are-far-more-socially-engaged-than-you-might-think-111353">Homeschooled children are far more socially engaged than you might think</a>
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<p>Parents should consider the reasons behind their choice to homeschool and seek advice to ensure the best outcomes for their child socially, emotionally and academically.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article previously said registrations for homeschooling in Victoria in 2020 were four times that of the previous year. This has now been updated to clarify the rate of increase was four times higher.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Gamble is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Grové is a fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists, a member of the Australian Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association, and a member of The United Nations Association of Australia Academic Network.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly-Ann Allen is an honorary Fellow of the Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Kelly-Ann is an international affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a member of APA D15 (Educational Psychology) and APA D16 (School Psychology). Kelly-Ann is the Editor-in-Chief of the Educational and Developmental Psychologist and Journal of Belonging and Human Connection.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Berger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you’re considering homeschooling because your child seems to do better at home, but are unsure if it’s the right thing to do, here are five things to take into account.Nicholas Gamble, Lecturer, Monash UniversityChristine Grové, Senior Lecturer and Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Monash UniversityEmily Berger, Lecturer, Monash UniversityKelly-Ann Allen, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1542152021-03-04T16:38:12Z2021-03-04T16:38:12ZPandemic shows how ‘digital by default’ government services exclude those who need them most<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387766/original/file-20210304-15-juixv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C77%2C7293%2C4825&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID-19 has intensified the UK's digital divide.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/distance-learning-online-education-schoolboy-boy-1678820161">Juliya Shangarey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet and other digital technologies have helped many of us cope with lockdown, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=c4862a54-0701-4890-841b-32c7694e08c9&sp=1&sr=1&url=%2Fwork-life-balance-in-a-pandemic-a-public-health-issue-we-cannot-ignore-155492">new ways of working</a> have quickly become commonplace. But the pandemic has also exposed the “<a href="https://post.parliament.uk/covid-19-and-the-digital-divide/">digital divide</a>” across the UK – and the fact that <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/blog/coronavirus-response-must-include-digital-access-connect-us-all">not everyone has access</a> to a computer, tablet, laptop or smartphone – or has an internet connection in their home. </p>
<p>And with many pupils still having to <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=ae4cbe98-38ad-4ff1-813d-a09d85f5282b&sp=1&sr=3&url=%2Fhomeschooling-links-with-inequality-are-far-from-new-154406">study at home</a>, for families that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/digital-divide-isolates-and-endangers-millions-of-uk-poorest">rely on mobile phones</a> for an internet connection, online learning comes at a high price. </p>
<p>There is a significant overlap between groups at high risk of COVID-19 and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-digital-divide-internet-data-broadband-mobbile/">homes without internet access</a>. A recent <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/cmr/cmr-2020">report</a> from Ofcom found that in the UK 43% of people age 75 and over do not have any kind of home internet connection. Nor do 26% of people age 65-74, or the 24% of people who work in semi-skilled and unskilled manual jobs.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.gov.uk/local-library-services">with libraries closed</a> many are more cut off than ever before. Indeed, people rely on libraries for online access – a place to search for jobs, answer emails, access educational resources and stay in touch with the outside world. </p>
<h2>Cut off</h2>
<p>Yet even though not everyone has equal access to technology or the internet, the UK government has continued to push forward with its plans for “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-transformation-strategy-2017-to-2020">digital by default</a>”. This sidelines the most <a href="http://www.social-policy.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/39_yates-et-al.pdf">vulnerable members of society</a> – including the elderly, sick and poor – and forces everyone to use IT for everyday tasks. Examples include patients having to order their medication online, unemployed people needing to apply for social benefits (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit">universal credit</a>) over the internet and homeless people unable to access basic help and support. </p>
<p>In this sense, COVID-19 has significantly increased demand on many online services, including the already troubled <a href="https://www.aspire.org.uk/blog/digital-by-default">universal credit</a> system – with many new claimants experiencing significant delays. The alternative option, to apply over the phone, has also been severely disrupted during this time. This has resulted in people <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/fsa-food-insecurity-2020_-report-v5.pdf">not having enough money</a> to buy food, while others have been forced to home-educate their children without access to computers or the internet. </p>
<p>According to the Good Things Foundation, a social change charity that uses digital tools to help vulnerable people, in some areas, initiatives in the community – such as help with shopping for vulnerable people – have only been advertised on websites and via social media platforms. This means that large groups of people have been unable to access, or have been unaware of, the available help.</p>
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<img alt="Child Learning over mobile phone using internet connection and smart application during self isolation at home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387757/original/file-20210304-17-ypbz5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many children have had to rely on smartphones for their homeschooling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-learning-over-mobile-phone-using-1676536099">Pearl PhotoPix/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The House of Lords Public Services Committee inquiry into the <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/430/public-services-committee/news/123559/lessons-from-covid19-major-report-on-public-services-launched/">impact of COVID-19</a> found a number of inequalities in terms of access to critical public services. In the inquiry, Sarah Mann, director of Friends, Families and Travellers, a charity that works with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups, highlighted how the pandemic has led to the exclusion of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people from public services.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It took a long time for any guidance to get out to local authorities to remind them that they may have a duty to support Gypsy and Traveller families as they would other families in this situation.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Connect us all</h2>
<p>According to a 2019 survey by <a href="https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news/releases/new-survey-finds-majority-of-internet-users-have-a-positive-experience-online-but-potential-for-digital-divide-to-widen/">Oxford Internet Institute</a>, 20% of British people do not use the internet. And much of this 20% is made up of people on low incomes and with lower levels of education.</p>
<p>In this sense, COVID-19 has revealed the problematic nature of the government’s plan to make everything “digital by default”. Indeed, this is an idea born out of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/10/disastrous-roll-out-uks-digital-welfare-system-harming-those-most-need">austerity</a> and an approach that transfers the cost of public functions from the public sector to individuals or business. And the cost of supporting those to charities, families, volunteers or local government. Underlying many internet-based systems are also <a href="https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology/designing-for-different-browsers-and-devices">design choices</a> that further exclude already marginalised members of society – particularly disabled people.</p>
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<img alt="Sad frustrated senior woman holding hand on her face, sitting at kitchen counter with laptop and papers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387773/original/file-20210304-15-1q94w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online systems can be difficult to navigate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-frustrated-senior-woman-pensioner-having-1494190919">shurkin_son/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Serving only online customers may be a perfectly reasonable and sustainable business model in the private sector. But the public sector needs to administer statutory obligations, entitlements and duties of care – including welfare, healthcare and justice – for us all as equals under the law. </p>
<p>Digitising government for “efficiency” under the guise of “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/launch-of-gov-uk-a-key-milestone-in-making-public-service-delivery-digital-by-default">improving services</a>” compromises this principle. And, ultimately, if a public service is not reaching everyone, then it’s failing in its duty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vishanth Weerakkody does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Internet access should be a basic human right.Vishanth Weerakkody, Dean of Faculty (Management, Law and Social Sciences) and Professor of Digital Governance, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1544062021-02-15T13:59:53Z2021-02-15T13:59:53ZHomeschooling: links with inequality are far from new<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383792/original/file-20210211-17-uktqdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5483%2C3589&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mom-teaching-her-son-doing-homework-589559405">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, the pandemic has made homeschooling a fact of life. Even before this, though, what was once the obscure choice of a few families has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42624220">grown in popularity</a> over the past decade. In 2019, the Children’s Commissioner for England estimated that around <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/2019/02/04/huge-increase-in-children-disappearing-from-schools-to-be-educated-at-home-childrens-commissioner-for-england-calls-for-a-compulsory-register-of-off-the-grid-children/">60,000</a> children were homeschooled. </p>
<p>A persistent concern over homeschooling as a result of COVID-19 has been that it is causing new inequalities in <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14976">children’s education</a>. The closure of schools means children’s learning has relied increasingly on their family’s social and domestic circumstances. The pandemic has shown that the poorest families in the UK do not have access to the <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-laptops-dfe-digital-divide-dfe-delivers-49000-devices-colleges">resources necessary</a> to educate children at home.</p>
<p>But focusing on the effects of the pandemic overlooks two important – and interconnected – points. The first is that persistent educational inequalities are a feature of schools, too. The second is that schools and homeschooling operate in close relation to each other. My research has found that inequality has long been a feature of homeschooling, and this often stems from inequalities in schools. </p>
<h2>Out of the classroom</h2>
<p>One of the clearest examples of the links between inequalities in school and homeschooling is “off-rolling” – when schools informally persuade parents to homeschool their children. Off-rolling can be attractive to schools because, in principle, it means limited resources, such as teacher time, are not squandered on “difficult” individual pupils. </p>
<p>It is difficult to identify the number of pupils who have been off-rolled, but research by the education inspection body Ofsted suggests that is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/off-rolling-exploring-the-issue">on the rise</a>. The Ofsted findings also indicate that off-rolling was mostly initiated by senior leaders in secondary schools to remove children with behavioural problems, poor attendance records or special educational needs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Boy stressed over learning at home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383797/original/file-20210211-23-cb11w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inequalities at schools are replicated in homeschooling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/banner-concept-design-distance-learning-online-1735713737">Ekaterina_Goncharova/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Home-Schooling-and-Home-Education-Race-Class-and-Inequality/Bhopal-Myers/p/book/9780367487744">My research</a> has found that the children most likely to be off-rolled were from ethnic minority and poorer backgrounds. They are a mirror image of the children who always seem to be let down in schools.</p>
<p>Racist stereotypes about Gypsy and Traveller children, for example, often identify them as difficult, problematic pupils unlikely to succeed academically. As the children most likely to be excluded from schools, their educational outcomes are very poor. The evidence of poor results is itself cited to justify racist beliefs. Similar patterns emerge around other ethnic groups and working-class pupils. These biases, held by senior school leaders, inform decisions to off-roll some pupils to protect the academic performance of the whole school.</p>
<p>Off-rolling is an example of how educational inequalities within schools lead to some poorer, ethnic minority pupils becoming homeschooled. Their limited access to money and other resources compromises their education both in, and out of, schools. </p>
<h2>Difficult choices</h2>
<p>Before the pandemic, media accounts of parents making the choice to homeschool often emphasised <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/aug/14/my-kids-dont-go-to-school-but-they-do-go-to-circus-classes">positive stories</a>. Typically these portray affluent families embarking on an exciting adventure and taking back control of their children’s education. Unlike the families of children who are off-rolled, these families have greater financial security and other resources that make such life-changing decisions possible.</p>
<p>For many families, though, the choice to take their children out of school is no choice at all. Instead, it is a response to problems over which they have no control. <a href="https://theconversation.com/record-numbers-of-children-are-now-homeschooled-but-whos-keeping-an-eye-on-the-parents-88449">Commonplace examples</a> include the families of children who experience <a href="https://gal-dem.com/i-felt-totally-alone-students-are-speaking-up-about-anti-blackness-at-school/">racism in schools</a> that refuse to acknowledge that racism exists in their classrooms, and those of children with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-48955493">special educational needs</a> that are not matched by school support.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Adult teaching child with special educational needs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383794/original/file-20210211-18-q7x33z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Families of children with special educational needs may turn to homeschooling when schools cannot cater adequately for their child’s needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-disabled-child-on-wheelchair-learning-1805782696">AnnGaysorn/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These families describe home schooling as a better option for their children – but not the best option. They often struggle with limited access to resources and identify the best option as mainstream schooling that could meet their children’s educational needs. This brings us to the nub of the problems facing families in lockdown: many families have limited resources. </p>
<p>In 2020, during the first lockdown and after the closure of schools and cancellation of exams, I was involved in research conducted by the universities of Nottingham and Birmingham to carry out a survey of more than 500 A-level students studying at home. We also interviewed 53 students about their experiences. </p>
<p><a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/j2nqb/">Our preliminary analysis</a> – new research which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal – suggests that students from ethnic minorities, poorer backgrounds and state schools were most fearful that the cancellation of exams would negatively affect their grades. They pointed out that inequalities associated with race and ethnicity as well as family income affected their experience of schooling in the past as well as home schooling in the present.</p>
<p>This research pre-dated the A-level grade moderation scandal, in which students from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic minorities tended to receive <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/14/gavin-williamson-under-pressure-to-resign-over-a-level-results-fiasco">worse results</a> while students at private schools benefited from the moderation process. It was striking that the students in our research anticipated and predicted the unfairness of this process.</p>
<p>If nothing else, COVID-19 has demonstrated that homeschooling does not exist in isolation. It is enmeshed in broader educational practice, social life and all their associated inequalities. It is too easy to view inequalities that have materialised for homeschooled children now as an unfortunate and unforeseen consequence of the pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Myers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Persistent educational inequalities are a feature of schools, too – and schools and homeschooling operate in close relation to each other.Martin Myers, Assistant Professor in Education, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543962021-02-02T11:27:54Z2021-02-02T11:27:54ZHow to help your children with maths you don’t understand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381727/original/file-20210201-17-1bdyjod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7014%2C4084&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-learning-her-daughter-calculate-elementary-383236585">Flamingo Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>School closures have left many parents in charge of overseeing their children’s education at home. If you are one of them, you might be struggling with maths in particular – not least due to having to grapple with topics and techniques you are unfamiliar with, such as <a href="https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/number-sense/number-bonds">number bonds</a>, <a href="https://nrich.maths.org/1011">abundant numbers</a>, <a href="https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-chunking">chunking</a> and more. </p>
<p>But this is where a positive mindset, and the ability to accept that you are also on a learning path, can help. Here are some tips on the best way to tackle teaching maths you don’t know.</p>
<h2>Work together</h2>
<p>Think of yourself as accompanying your child towards understanding a new concept, rather than explaining it to them. As a parent, there is a natural desire to provide for and support your child with your experience, but this is impossible when you do not know what you want to explain. </p>
<p>What you are able to do is to tap into is your past experiences of having solved problems and managed challenges. So simply be honest and say to your child that this method is new to you, too, but that you will work to understand it together.</p>
<h2>Start small and use props</h2>
<p>New concepts can be overwhelming. Start as small as you can, and play around with something concrete – such as buttons or pennies or pieces of Lego – to help you both understand. For instance, your child might be working on number bonds: learning the pairs of numbers that add together to make a particular total. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Child writing diagrams with pencil on paper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381657/original/file-20210201-23-16a360q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A child working on number bonds for 10.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boy-writing-number-bond-another-way-651914917">Phil's Mommy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To give an example, the number bonds of seven are two plus five and three plus four. Physically laying out seven buttons and splitting them into two and five, and then three and four, can help both you and your child familiarise yourselves with the concept and then understand how it works.</p>
<h2>Think about why it’s useful</h2>
<p>Learning maths may seem pointless, and this can lead to frustration. After all, there is not much need to know how to divide 155,252,188 by 19,838 when the calculator on your phone will do it for you. </p>
<p>But this does not mean that you don’t need to do any mental computation at all in life. Perhaps you have a budget of £50 and want to know quickly if buying three items priced £13, £20 and £17 will push you over this total. Your knowledge of number bonds tells you that three plus seven is ten – so 13 plus 17 is 30, which plus the additional 20 puts you perfectly at your budget. </p>
<p>Since the 1980s, theories about the best methods of education have moved away from rote learning, which can cause pupils to <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01411920301852">disengage from maths</a>. Instead, education experts have championed more engaging methods, based on learning through experience. The maths national curriculum was lagging behind these ideas until the <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100224411">national numeracy strategy</a> was launched in 1999. A further revamp of the national curriculum followed in 2013.</p>
<p>The focus is now on teaching pupils to become problem solvers: fluent in maths with the ability to reason and apply what they have learned. In teaching number bonds, you are helping your child develop a numerical tool that can allow them to effectively process simple computations, which in turn make them more capable of dealing with problems in life or at work.</p>
<h2>Avoid the fear factor</h2>
<p>It is easy, especially if you have had bad experiences with maths in your past, to give way to panic. Teaching unknown concepts could make what is known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-overcome-a-fear-of-maths-115646">maths anxiety</a> – the irrational fear of anything mathematical – resurface. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Father and son looking stressed doing homework" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381731/original/file-20210201-21-1ya2icu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people suffer from maths anxiety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-father-tired-about-sons-failure-782571799">sakkmesterke/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The risk is that this fear can be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797615592630?casa_token=RKpThwKXXi0AAAAA%3ADcJ0zS9017k-nCdNDm6opwCcCeduPCd5omhQUYXJIJEVWPNruVBskzUvOVZNElmOXWoxyneddwa0">passed to your child</a>. This can have consequences for their enjoyment of school – and even for the decisions <a href="https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-9081-10-31">they make in life</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-fear-of-maths-does-to-children-new-research-150108">What a fear of maths does to children – new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A simple trick is to not think that you are doing maths, but that you helping your child to learn useful life tools. Giving maths a more friendly name, such as “problem-solving tricks” or “calculation tools” – that better reflects your own abilities – can boost confidence and keep <a href="https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/jprp.2020.2.5.226">maths anxiety at bay</a>.</p>
<h2>Keep it real</h2>
<p>Once you and your child have learned a mathematical concept, try to make it more real and use it in everyday life. Make number bonds with biscuits or pieces of fruit. Add up prices of supermarket items. Be creative and make colourful number bond patterns with building blocks or objects such as sticks and leaves you find on a stroll.</p>
<p>Finally, don’t be discouraged if you sometimes struggle. And allow yourself and your child plenty of time to learn a new idea. Some mathematical concepts can be counter-intuitive or hard, and it is fine to sometimes let go, do something else, and come back to it at another time. Try to reward yourself for your successes, and remember that learning in a more positive, playful way will help make homeschooling a positive experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154396/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Davide Penazzi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Think of yourself as learning alongside your child.Davide Penazzi, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1498232021-01-18T19:02:37Z2021-01-18T19:02:37ZTo learn at home, kids need more than just teaching materials. Their brain must also adapt to the context<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379162/original/file-20210118-23-1akratj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-boy-sitting-home-classroom-lying-1465198202">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/department/covid-19/experience-of-remote-and-flexible-learning-report.pdf">during the first phase of remote teaching</a> in Victoria reported some students found the workload “too high”, missed interactions with peers, felt their thinking ability was impaired, and reported a difficulty coping with study and life more generally. </p>
<p>All these factors impact on students’ sense of well-being. While learning remotely, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/everyone-s-struggling-lockdown-drives-spike-in-mental-health-treatment-for-children-20200917-p55wjq.html">some children</a> experienced heightened anxiety, stress and other emotional reactions such as depression. </p>
<p>These reactions are not always a response to the teaching itself. Generally, schools and teachers took care to prepare relevant, appropriate learning and teaching materials. Issues like a lack of focus and heightened anxiety could also be the result of a difficulty learning in an alternative setting. </p>
<p>These issues are consistent with students lacking the autobiographical episodic memory needed to guide successful learning in the remote context. Their autobiographic memory, which contains the association that school is a place of learning, may not apply to the home. However, we can train it to. </p>
<h2>What is autobiographical memory?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/0471264385.wei0417">autobiographical episodic memory</a> is the brain’s record of our experiences. It includes what we’ve done, the contexts in which we did it and how we did it. It also contains the feelings we link with events and how motivated we were.</p>
<p>We use this memory continually in our lives. It tells us what to expect when we go into a new bar or coffee shop for the first time, how to cope when an appliance at home breaks down and how to organise ourselves in a social interaction.</p>
<p>Students who have attended school have an autobiographical episodic memory of what happens in a classroom. Their experiences include interacting with peers, responding to directions from their teachers about how to direct their learning activity, following routines and schedules such as doing particular activities at specific times, and behaving in particular ways. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-capable-of-infinite-memory-but-where-in-the-brain-is-it-stored-and-what-parts-help-retrieve-it-63386">We're capable of infinite memory, but where in the brain is it stored, and what parts help retrieve it?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>The experiences also include a range of signals, supports and interactions such as the body language, eye contact, and speaking tones used by teachers and peers — as well as the overall classroom atmosphere.</p>
<p>These experiences are stored in students’ autobiographical episodic memory. They are recalled whenever the student is in the classroom context and direct and focus the learning activity. They operate in addition to, and in parallel with, the the actual teaching and the content.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A girl inserting memory chip into her brain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379163/original/file-20210118-15-6qga9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Autobiographical memory is our record of experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kid-inserting-memory-card-her-head-1447151975">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Students also have stored, in their episodic memory, their experiences at home. This is their record of how they live with their family, what to do and how to behave acceptably at home, how to be organised in the home, how to get around obstacles and solve problems in the home situation and also what to expect. </p>
<p>During the period of remote learning, students, for the large part, had teaching materials prepared for them. But many still needed the systems and supports provided in the classroom context. These students knew what was missing but were likely unable to compensate for it by spontaneously adapting their episodic memory to match the changed context. </p>
<p>Other students found remote teaching a valuable experience. It’s possible these students had more adaptable episodic memories at home. They likely valued being able to self-organise and manage their learning schedules. They may have enjoyed having the opportunity to plan their day and work at their own pace. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/studying-for-exams-heres-how-to-make-your-memory-work-for-you-124586">Studying for exams? Here's how to make your memory work for you</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>We don’t know for sure the differences between the learning profiles of those who were and weren’t able to adapt to the changed context; but we can assume episodic memory could play a part in the different experiences students had.</p>
<h2>So, why does this matter?</h2>
<p>Teachers and schools have put a lot of work into designing teaching and learning materials students could use in their homes. Students’ reports suggest these materials weren’t adequate for all students to adapt their classroom experiences to fit the home environment.</p>
<p>As a result, many students would not have formed positive or successful episodic memories of learning at home.</p>
<p>The current phase of remote teaching has come to an end for Australia. However, we may see more students studying from home periodically, as schools shut due to outbreaks in the future. Or it <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-25/coronavirus-preparing-for-the-third-wave/12802070">could be necessary</a> in Australia in the event of a third wave.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Girl learning at home with computer in front of her, and teacher showing something." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379165/original/file-20210118-15-1myovai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More students could be learning from home if outbreaks occur.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concept-homeschooling-elearning-young-girl-busy-1718669179">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Remote teaching could help students build the episodic memory they need for remote learning. Teachers can do this by helping students recognise the learning supports in the classroom and form matching ones in the home. It is also useful to put in place the conditions for successful learning experiences at home. </p>
<p>Here are some ways they could do this:</p>
<p>Teachers can guide students to recognise what helps them learn in the classroom. They can do this by</p>
<ul>
<li><p>becoming aware of supports such as having regular designated times for doing particular activities</p></li>
<li><p>having a learning task broken into smaller steps</p></li>
<li><p>avoiding distractors or working on a task to completion. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>They can then ask the students to suggest how they could have matching supports in their home context. For example, they can encourage students to</p>
<ul>
<li><p>prepare a study schedule</p></li>
<li><p>break a task into small steps and work on each</p></li>
<li><p>identify possible distractors at home and suggest how they can manage them. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>When starting a task remotely, teachers can ask students to recall how they did similar activities in the classroom. Students can learn to ask themselves: How did I do similar tasks in the past? What will the outcome look like? What will I do first and then second and last? This could help students transfer their classroom experiences to their home.</p>
<p>Students often have more successful home learning experiences <a href="https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/pandemic-metacognition">when they have been taught to monitor their progress</a> as they work through a task. These experiences add to their episodic memory. Teachers can encourage them to say what they know now that they didn’t know earlier. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-with-autism-may-use-memory-differently-understanding-this-could-help-us-teach-them-114987">Children with autism may use memory differently. Understanding this could help us teach them</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>Experiences that record what happened in a certain place and time are <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180731104224.htm">stored in images</a>. When given a learning task during remote teaching, students can also be encouraged to visualise how they will complete it. </p>
<p>For example, if they need to write a paragraph about a character in a novel, the teacher can ask students to visualise the character in particular contexts, recall words that describe the character’s attributes, compose sentences about them and organise their understanding around main ideas. This gives students a “virtual experience” of the learning activity that includes a pathway to task completion. </p>
<p>Many students will, from now on, need to have the ability to learn remotely. This is even true independent of COVID, and applies to studying for exams at home or doing homework. Teachers and parents should be sensitive to the fact autobiographic episodic memory has a role to play in successful learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Munro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Issues like a lack of focus and heightened anxiety when learning at home could be due to students lacking the autobiographical memory they need to learn in an alternative context.John Munro, Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1441472020-09-14T19:53:37Z2020-09-14T19:53:37Z5 ways to support online homeschooling through the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357542/original/file-20200910-19-6zgh93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C272%2C2883%2C1651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Six-year-old Peyton Denette works remotely from her home in Mississauga, Ont., on March 30, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This fall, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-ontario-school-reopening-online-remote-home-1.5675026">some elementary and high school students</a> <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-parents-want-more-online-learning-options-for-students-without-fear-of-losing-their-spots-1.5099195">will continue with online learning</a> due to COVID-19.</p>
<p>When classrooms <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/03/20/ontario-launches-learn-at-home-online-program-for-students-during-school-shutdown.html">went online due to COVID-19</a>, this marked not only a major transformation in kindergarten to Grade 12 education, but a shift in parents’ involvement in their children’s education. Schools communicated primarily online via email and social media (or sometimes the phone) to keep in touch with parents, and every family had to determine to what extent supporting remote learning was possible. </p>
<p>This shift built upon changing patterns which emerged years ago, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22040552.2016.1227255">as parental “e-nvolvement” is now in many schools today</a>. Now, there is greater reliance on technology not only for teacher-parent communication, but technology has also become embedded within projects and homework.</p>
<p>Students are increasingly likely to become engaged in online or hybrid (both in class and online) learning, and this is not only due to the pandemic — there has been a <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontarios-high-school-e-learning-still-hasnt-addressed-students-with-special-needs-121612">rise of online learning in school systems</a>. Researchers’ understanding of how parent involvement supports students <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-368720150000027005">when students are engaged in hybrid and in fully online educational environments is developing</a>. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-race-income-and-opportunity-hoarding-will-shape-canadas-back">parents who chose remote learning for their children</a> this fall could also be facing work schedules or family circumstances that make supporting remote learning difficult. Fortunately, small acts of parental support and encouragement can have big impacts on student success. Amid <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-school-closures-could-widen-inequities-for-our-youngest-students-136669">the varied constraints and barriers families face</a>, there are myriad ways parents can and do support their children’s education. </p>
<h2>1. Motivate by taking an interest</h2>
<p>Parents can be an important source of motivation for their children, but not only in terms of reprimands and rewards. Parent involvement, which gently motivates students through encouragement and support <a href="https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/StrageA-BrandtT_1999_Authoritative_parenting_and_college_students_academic_adjustment_and_success..pdf">has been shown to be effective in promoting student success.</a></p>
<p>Research suggests motivation to persist is particularly important for online education. Studies of university learners find that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2013.847363">virtual learners can experience higher drop-out rates than those in traditional face-to-face environments.</a> </p>
<p>Some students may require a parent to physically sit with them when engaged in online learning, while others benefit more from periodic parental check-ins. Casual opportunities to verbally share learning outcomes and activities with their family members can also benefit students. </p>
<p>Even nuanced parent involvement, such as conveying a belief that students will succeed, or spending quality time expressing interest and care, can help motivate learners to persevere through challenges. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child wearing headphones at a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357547/original/file-20200910-14-q1esx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Planning household spaces for learning, technology resources and routines can go a long way towards reducing household stress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Help students organize the home learning environment</h2>
<p>Some students may struggle when tasked to complete their schoolwork online, because home environments are typically less structured than school. A little planning in the management of household spaces for learning, technology resources and routines can go a long way in terms of proactively reducing household stress and supporting students when learning from home.</p>
<p>Creating space for remote learning within the home may involve establishing new family routines. Both students and parents might reflect on previous remote learning experiences to understand what kind of environment and routines allow everyone to be productive while at home. </p>
<p>The whole family can strive to organize the home environment to be as supportive as possible to the needs of online learners. Through <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000125451">fostering family routines</a> that are complimentary to students’ online learning responsibilities, preferences, needs for recreation, physical activity and non-screen time, parents can promote student success. </p>
<h2>3. Encourage children and youth’s self-regulation</h2>
<p>When engaged in online learning, <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1095976">students’ self-regulation can be a challenge</a>.</p>
<p>Online learners who are still building their self-regulation skills may need additional parental support. For example, some students may benefit from having their learning device set up in a communal area of the home. By being accessible to students — for example, working at the same table or nearby — parents can provide online learners with another level of accountability and support. </p>
<p>For other students, their self-regulation may thrive with just an occasional physical or virtual parental check-in from time to time. Check-ins can also benefit parents too, by providing a glimpse of their online learner’s engagement levels and learning patterns.</p>
<h2>4. Maintain home-school communication</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Hands on a smartphone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357900/original/file-20200914-16-1xi89cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping up with two-way communication between home and school is one way to support online learners.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With information about school operations and policies changing rapidly, communication between home and school is essential this fall. Thus, engaging in regular and ongoing two-way communication between home and school is another way parents can support online learners.</p>
<p>Parents who stay abreast of happenings in the school community can be an additional source of information for students and can help online learners to understand, prepare and adjust to the expectations of their evolving learning environment. Establishing specific times to read school emails, check social media feeds, review classroom communications or news may help. </p>
<p>Two-way communication is important in supporting hybrid and online education, because teachers may rely on parents when seeking to understand student learning outside of class time and beyond the viewpoint of the screen. </p>
<p>Home and school communications shouldn’t be reserved for only when there is a problem. Establishing regular communication and two-way feedback between students, families and teachers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00048-0">can go a long way to establish the trust and rapport needed to create a learning community, online or otherwise, in which all members feel supported and included</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Offer instructional support</h2>
<p>Although parents or primary caregivers are not always subject matter experts, they’re likely to be called upon for help with homework or for academic assistance.</p>
<p>Parental instructional support in the form of reviewing assignment instructions with students or encouraging children to review their school materials when stuck can be much appreciated by both struggling learners and their teachers. There is also helping students navigate online applications or troubleshooting technical issues. </p>
<p>Through informal learning opportunities, parents can help students to develop skills and deepen their understandings of concepts explored in class. For example, family conversations and teachable moments <a href="https://www.eduhk.hk/apfslt/v13_issue2/anlee/index.htm">between parents and children can help students to make connections between their class work and real world experiences.</a> </p>
<p>By motivating students, encouraging their self-regulation, helping them to organize the home learning environment, maintaining home-school communication and offering instructional support, parent involvement has the potential to positively influence the learning outcomes and success of students both in-class and online this fall.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Sparks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Motivating students, encouraging their self-regulation and maintaining home-school communication are ways parents have the potential to positively influence learning outcomes.Jennifer Sparks, PhD Candidate, Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1431952020-07-23T19:50:34Z2020-07-23T19:50:34ZOnly one fifth of school students with disability had enough support during the remote learning period<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349052/original/file-20200723-24-11j5s6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-boy-have-hearing-aids-452916241">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Only 22% of family members and carers of students with a disability agreed they had received adequate educational support during the pandemic. Many respondents in our <a href="https://www.cyda.org.au/resources/details/172/not-even-remotely-fair-experiences-of-students-with-disability-during-covid-19-full-report">new research</a>, and survey, on behalf of Children and Young People with Disability Australia (<a href="https://www.cyda.org.au/">CYDA</a>) reported being forgotten in the shift to remote learning, or being the last group to be considered after arrangements had been made for the rest of the class.</p>
<p>A number of parents and carers said the pandemic period gave them an insight into the level their child was working at. This occasionally came as a surprise, as parents discovered with adequate support their child could complete work at a much higher level than the school had recorded. </p>
<p>For others, this period illustrated how little progress their child had been making and the lack of support they were receiving at school. Several respondents said they were considering changing schools or home schooling their children as a result.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-homeschooling-and-should-i-be-doing-that-with-my-kid-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown-135027">What is homeschooling? And should I be doing that with my kid during the coronavirus lockdown?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Still left behind</h2>
<p>Our survey was launched on April 28, 2020 and remained open until the June 14, 2020 (nearly seven weeks). It asked questions on the experiences of students with disabilities and their families when schools across Australia had mostly closed. </p>
<p>It also covered the period of transition back to face-to-face teaching for the majority of students. </p>
<p>We received more than 700 responses and 1,145 text comments. The responses mainly came from family members of children with disability. Around 5% of respondents were students with disability, and of those most were high school or university age. </p>
<p>Nearly 80% of respondents said responsibility for education shifted from teachers and schools and onto parents during the survey period.</p>
<p>More than half of respondents said the curriculum and learning materials didn’t come in accessible formats. Parents reported having to do significant work to translate learning materials into a useful format for their children. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/excluded-and-refused-enrolment-report-shows-illegal-practices-against-students-with-disabilities-in-australian-schools-125812">Excluded and refused enrolment: report shows illegal practices against students with disabilities in Australian schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some reported receiving exactly the same materials and support as those provided to students without disability, with the onus entirely on parents to make the necessary adjustments. </p>
<p>This caused some family members to feel they were letting students with disability down because they did not have the skills required to adjust the materials appropriately.</p>
<p>One young person said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Only one special education teacher was modifying learning material and in regular contact and encouragement from the special education department in high school.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some children were unable to engage online and so missed out on being part of a learning community. Others felt schools had not done enough to facilitate access to this. Many respondents said the usual supports they received dropped off, most notably in terms of supervision, social supports and individual support workers. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349050/original/file-20200723-22-1jkums2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CYDA education report (screenshot)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Nearly three quarters of respondents said students with disability felt socially isolated from their peers. Many said this and other consequences of the pandemic were having a significant impact on their mental health. </p>
<p>Just over half of respondents indicated a negative impact on the mental health and well-being on either themselves or the child or young person with disability under their care. </p>
<h2>Cracks in the system</h2>
<p>Some families used funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to help support remote learning. They redeployed support workers from personal care into helping children engage in learning, risking they may not have enough support worker hours left at the end of their plans. </p>
<p>Others had requests for more funding turned down by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) on the basis education supports should be covered through mainstream services. Overall there was a lack of clarity about how the NDIS could be used to support remote learning.</p>
<p>As one parent reported:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was lucky enough to have had funding to support in-home supports, which I used to assist with schooling during COVID-19. I am the sole parent of two children with disability, plus an essential worker. Without this support my children would have received no quality schooling at all during the school-closures.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others felt the support was no worse during the pandemic, but this was mostly because they had not been well supported beforehand. Where support had been received, it was often in response to advocacy work done by parents who had contacted schools (sometimes repeatedly) and requested the materials and adjustments their children required.</p>
<h2>What have we learnt?</h2>
<p>We found children who received one form of support were 24% more likely to feel part of a learning community and 36% more likely to say they received adequate support in their education. </p>
<p>And the more support received, the better. For those who received two or more types of support, they or their parents were </p>
<ul>
<li><p>88% more likely to say they felt part of a learning community</p></li>
<li><p>more than twice as likely to report adequate support in their education </p></li>
<li><p>48% more likely to say report engagement in their learning</p></li>
<li><p>18% less likely to report feelings of social isolation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Social supports had the strongest association with students feeling supported, part of a learning community, engaged in learning and feeling less socially isolated. </p>
<p>Our research shows that, with careful planning and effort by education systems and teachers, students with disability can thrive through the pandemic. </p>
<p>But the support should</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ensure students are made to feel part of a learning community through connecting them with their peers </p></li>
<li><p>ensure learning materials are accessible and specific to the needs of students</p></li>
<li><p>teachers provide reasonable supports in partnership with children and families – it should not be left to families or students to navigate</p></li>
<li><p>ensure the support from the NDIS and the education system are complementary.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-in-melbourne-will-go-back-to-remote-schooling-heres-what-we-learnt-last-time-and-how-to-make-it-better-142550">Students in Melbourne will go back to remote schooling. Here's what we learnt last time and how to make it better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Dickinson receives funding from the ARC, NHMRC and federal and state government agencies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Smith and Sophie Yates do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A seven week survey asked questions on the experiences of students with disabilities and their families when schools across Australia had mostly closed, and children learnt remotely.Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW SydneyCatherine Smith, Lecturer, The University of MelbourneSophie Yates, Postdoctoral Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1375542020-06-01T12:31:55Z2020-06-01T12:31:55ZBlack Americans homeschool for different reasons than whites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338354/original/file-20200528-51496-1eh2h3q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5109%2C3398&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black children face harsher discipline in public schools.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-boy-doing-homework-next-mother-on-computer-royalty-free-image/87416735?adppopup=true">JGI/Tom Grill/Getty</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Michelle, a white stay-at-home mom, decided to homeschool her 8-year-old daughter, Emily, the decision was driven by what she saw as the lack of individualized attention at school.</p>
<p>“We wound up feeling frustrated that the school wasn’t following the child,” Michelle, a former communications specialist, explained of the decision by she and her husband, a software engineer, to homeschool their daughter.</p>
<p>She described her daughter as “exceptionally gifted” and said after repeated attempts to get her daughter’s school to provide advanced coursework, “it just felt like so much energy that I might as well do this thing myself.”</p>
<p>Michelle’s decision to homeschool stands in stark contrast to that of Lynette, a black mother who told me her son, Trevor, was seven when he started having a hard time in school.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to say that it was bullying but that’s what it kind of ended up being and it wasn’t from students,” Lynette explained. “It was from teachers.”</p>
<p>“He’s seven but he looks like he’s 10,” Lynette continued. “And they kind of acted like they were afraid of him. He’s never acted out violently but they made it sound like he was going to.”</p>
<p>Like Michelle, Lynette grew tired of making visits to her child’s school, but for a different reason.</p>
<p>“I just didn’t want to have to keep going to the principal’s office,” Lynette recalled during an interview at a cafe in the suburbs of a Northeastern city. “I’m like ‘you’re really targeting my kid for no reason because he’s the second biggest kid in the school.’”</p>
<h2>Motives differ</h2>
<p>The sharp contrast between Michelle and Lynette’s reason for homeschooling their children is common.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=x2MaD1wAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F5ksHYx2Jf9aEWYsWR-EC_Sv3o0Qfu-qeWoFe7KGBw9ymOS2LtvKW3wujDY3Z-IB9FF8HAs7gPDihtAJWYVsRk2iGVPA7Gk0rtcENxUTaNgm-_CS3c">sociologist</a> who has interviewed dozens of homeschooling parents, I’ve <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2332649219901130">found</a> that whereas most white parents homeschool to make sure their children get an education more tailored to their needs and talents, most black parents homeschool to remove their children from what they see as a racially hostile environment.</p>
<p>Now that schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families of all racial, ethnic and class backgrounds have been forced to spend more time educating their children at home, or at least making sure their children do whatever work the school has assigned. </p>
<p>It is unclear as to <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/12/21256193/reopen-schools-in-fall-fauci-testifies-answer-will-vary">whether schools will reopen</a> in the fall. It is also unclear how homeschooling – or at least the ability to oversee at-home learning – will be impacted by the pandemic. Based on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021934712457042">existing research</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013124504274190?journalCode=eusa">data</a>, I don’t see why reasons that parents previously decided to homeschool – whether they are black or white – will change or disappear. However, concerns about sending their children back to school amid the pandemic could become an additional reason.</p>
<h2>Black students disciplined more</h2>
<p>There is no shortage of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038040714555434?casa_token=ZS_LJ6NyEvoAAAAA%3AEdKfR0uO08U1ZfyhsYprMfjdDQgN08oKVL6J2FrGXSNtgjdyl0rSnu9VBMeIT1--CiIYRuYmctGx">research</a> to support the view that America’s public schools <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/003804070407700401">treat black students</a> <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/16797/bad_boys">more harshly</a> than their white peers.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/63/1/68/1844875">a study</a> by sociologists Edward Morris and Brea Perry found black boys are twice as likely as white boys to receive disciplinary action such as office referral, detention, suspension or expulsion. The same study found black girls are three times as likely as white girls to be disciplined for less serious and arguably more ambiguous behavior, such as disruptive behavior, dress code violations or disobedience.</p>
<p>The middle-class black mothers I interviewed say that despite their college education, salaries and advocacy on behalf of their children, they were unable to protect their children from the racial hostilities at school. The black families I spoke with told me they chose to homeschool only after they tried in vain to address discriminatory discipline practices at their children’s schools.</p>
<h2>Money matters</h2>
<p>Though the reasons why families chose to homeschool varies by race, other researchers and I have found that homeschooling is <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_206.10.asp">more common</a> among two-parent households where one parent is the breadwinner and the other – <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814752517/home-is-where-the-school-is/">most often the mother</a> – educates the children. Homeschooling parents are also most often college-educated. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0161956X.2013.796823?journalCode=hpje20">One 2013 study</a> found that among the 54 black homeschooling families interviewed, 42 of the families had one parent with at least a college degree, while many (19) also had graduate degrees. </p>
<p>If the ability to work from home makes it possible to homeschool, although <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-child-care-work-and-family-are-impossible-137340">incredibly challenging</a>, data also suggest that homeschooling is more likely among families with higher incomes. That’s because the ability to work from home is largely tied to income. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/flex2.pdf">Federal labor data</a> show that in 2017 and 2018, 61.5% of workers in the top income quartile could work from home. For workers in the second highest quartile, 37.3% could work from home. But for those in third and fourth highest income quartiles, only 20.1% and 9.1%, respectively, could work from home.</p>
<iframe title="The connection between income and telework" aria-label="Bar Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-0Rcw3" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0Rcw3/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="225"></iframe>
<p>If reducing the risk of exposing their children to COVID-19 becomes a reason to homeschool this fall, these data would suggest that more well-to-do families are in a better position to see that their children are educated at home. By contrast, low-wage workers are less likely to easily exercise this choice. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerrymcdonald/2020/03/11/the-worlds-homeschooling-moment/#6d3a5478550c">Some scholars</a> <a href="https://www.redefinedonline.org/2020/03/how-covid-19-could-fuel-school-choice/">speculate</a> that this will lead to more well-off families deciding to continue their children’s learning at-home as a way to avoid virus exposure.</p>
<h2>Future growth?</h2>
<p>The percentage of U.S. children who are homeschooled rather than attending public and private schools was <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/a-fresh-look-at-homeschooling-in-the-u-s">rising before the pandemic</a>. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_206.10.asp">Between 1999 and 2016</a>, the percentage of the school age population who were homeschooled doubled from 1.7% to 3.3%, or close to 1.7 million students.</p>
<p><iframe id="vThO3" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/vThO3/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Black homeschoolers account for roughly 8% of this population, up from an estimated <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_206.10.asp">4% in 2007</a>. The 8% in 2016 represents 132,000 black homeschooling kids, according to the NCES data.</p>
<p>In 2017, black kids made up 15% of public school students, or <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cge.pdf">7.7 million kids</a> of the roughly 50.7 million public school kids that year. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020001.pdf">2019 federal report</a> shows parents homeschool for a variety of reasons. Just 16% of homeschool families report moral or religious instruction as the primary reason for homeschooling, while 34% report their primary reason is concern with school environment. This report does not document how reasons vary by race. Yet my study would suggest that black parents, like Lynette, may be dissatisfied with school environment in very different ways than white parents, like Michelle.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mahala Dyer Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When white parents decide to homeschool, usually it’s to provide individualized education to their child. Research shows black parents homeschool for an entirely different reason.Mahala Dyer Stewart, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology, Hamilton CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362562020-05-19T20:00:59Z2020-05-19T20:00:59ZDon’t want to send the kids back to school? Why not try unschooling at home?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335913/original/file-20200519-83384-lmy9vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=252%2C344%2C4371%2C3362&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">bokan/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As schools resume for most Australian students, a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-11/coronavirus-education-homeschool-after-pandemic/12228762">new group of parents</a> have emerged. </p>
<p>These parents have decided to give home education a longer term try, finding their children have improved academically and benefited from the calmer home learning environment.</p>
<p>This change may mean some families move to a more child-led way of learning. This approach can be described as unschooling – an informal way of learning that advocates student-chosen activities rather than teacher-directed lessons.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">Homeschooling is on the rise in Australia. Who is doing it and why?</a>
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<p>Unschoolers <a href="https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/480/" title="Grown Unschoolers’ Evaluations of Their Unschooling Experiences: Report I on a Survey of 75 Unschooled Adults">learn through living</a> and are in charge of their own education. Students have the freedom to learn through a variety of means including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY" title="TED: Do schools kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson">play</a>, household tasks and <a href="https://www.salon.com/2013/08/26/school_is_a_prison_and_damaging_our_kids/">personal interests</a>, as well as work experience, travel, books, elective classes, mentors and social interactions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1226&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335285/original/file-20200515-138644-2zm2so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1226&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A parent sent this to her child’s teacher during the lockdown to show how he had learnt fractions while cooking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Sometimes the name unschooling leads people to believe children aren’t being educated or taught anything at all. But unschooling allows children to explore and learn <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2136/" title="Producing Unschoolers: Learning Through Living in a US Education Movement">in their own way</a>. It’s a different form of education to that of schools, but it can work extremely well. </p>
<p>During the coronavirus shutdown, schools were providing schoolwork for children to do at home. Some suggested they just <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/focus-on-maths-and-literacy-and-don-t-beat-yourself-up-says-minister-20200401-p54g65.html">focus on the basics</a>, which left <a href="https://qed.qld.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/novel-coronavirus">plenty of time</a> spare. </p>
<p>Some families found online learning wasn’t working for their children and negotiated with teachers about alternate ways of meeting learning outcomes.</p>
<p>Many parents <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/freedom-learn/202003/coronavirus-school-closures-educational-opportunity">improvised</a> their children’s education. And so they were unschooling, even if they didn’t know it by name.</p>
<h2>Who invented unschooling?</h2>
<p>Unschooling is an educational philosophy developed in the 1960s by theorists including <a href="https://www.johnholtgws.com/who-was-john-holt">John Holt</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Illich">Ivan Illich</a>. </p>
<p>Their ideas, particularly around children exercising the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41177842?seq=1" title="IVAN ILLICH AND CULTURAL REVOLUTION">liberty</a> to choose the direction of their <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/freedom-learn/201712/the-joy-and-sorrow-rereading-holt-s-how-children-learn">learning</a>, are becoming increasingly popular in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306396819889294" title="Deschooling from above">educational research</a>. </p>
<p>Illich and Holt said <a href="https://journal.abolitionjournal.org/index.php/abolition/article/view/35/13" title="We Don’t Need No Education: Deschooling as an Abolitionist Practice">traditional schooling could confuse</a> the creation of a product – such as a test result – with learning. They argued learning is a process, not an end point. </p>
<p>While such ideas may seem radical, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518082.pdf">Holt</a> was building on a well recognised foundation of educational philosophy: that children learn best when the learning is <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030187255" title="John Holt: The Philosophy of Unschooling">meaningful</a> and <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/505a620584ae16fcf130a3f6/t/5c1d0b2faa4a9972c12920d9/1545407279520/Unschooling+and+Creativity+by+Pat+Farenga.pdf">accessible</a> to them. </p>
<h2>A typical day unschooling</h2>
<p>In unschooling, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/freedom-learn/201902/children-s-freedom-human-rights-perspective">parents work</a> with their children to meet their educational goals. </p>
<p>This means they support their children’s interests and associated learning. They recognise the learning inherent in life activities and may enrich it via conversation or direction to other sources.</p>
<p>At the heart of unschooling is a <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/john-holt/how-children-learn-50th-anniversary-edition">belief</a> that, in a rich and stimulating environment, children cannot <em>not</em> learn.</p>
<p>There’s actually no typical unschooling day, as what happens depends on the family and child. In unschooling families, any interest may form the basis of learning.</p>
<p>For example, an interest in dinosaurs may trigger a series of activities, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>children read books and write stories about dinosaurs (Literacy)</p></li>
<li><p>they measure the size of lizards and compare them to dinosaurs (Numeracy)</p></li>
<li><p>they explore how dinosaurs died out (Science)</p></li>
<li><p>they consider how dinosaurs may have influenced our culture, such as with dragons (Humanities and Social Sciences)</p></li>
<li><p>they watch Jurassic Park to see how dinosaurs are represented in film (the Arts). </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Children may talk with their peers about their love of dinosaurs and use this as an opportunity for socialisation. They may need a lot of assistance from a parent to do this or may explore on their own.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-you-dont-always-need-to-entertain-your-kids-boredom-is-good-for-them-136383">Parents, you don't always need to entertain your kids – boredom is good for them</a>
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<p>Everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, gardening and shopping can also be learning opportunities. Benign neglect, leading to boredom, provides an opportunity for children to discover new interests and activities (and for parents to get some of their own work done).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335947/original/file-20200519-83363-9kez4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cooking involves lessons in weights and measure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alena Ozerova/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do students get assessed?</h2>
<p>Unlike in school, <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1144/74d4e89d3b218909e4989c71d1efe6e5b77e.pdf" title="Unschooling, Then and Now">unschooling assessment</a> happens on a daily basis, through observing the children’s experiences. Parents may compile photographs or scrap books of their children’s learning experiences and keep them as records.</p>
<p>But many unschooolers will <a href="https://jual.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2017/12/v11224.pdf">do formal assessment</a> for careers that need certification. They may also do tests in line with university aspirants who do not come straight from school. Or they may go straight to TAFE or study via Open University, both of which don’t need formal test results for entry. </p>
<p>Unschooled students often do <a href="https://www.oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejae/article/view/1482/4113">very well</a> at university. For example, in the US, unschoolers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904806296856">sought after</a> by prestigious institutions including Brown, Cornell and <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=e_onDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA179&dq=Homeschooled+students+and+the+Ivy+League:+Gaining+admission+to+highly-selective+universities+in+the+United+States&ots=B1jSPl8SLL&sig=zvbIBd3zx10icAhQIzkZA7ml9Tg#v=onepage&q=Homeschooled%20students%20and%20the%20Ivy%20League%3A%20Gaining%20admission%20to%20highly-selective%20universities%20in%20the%20United%20States&f=false">Columbia</a>.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://othereducation.org/index.php/OE/article/view/105" title="Grown Unschoolers’ Experiences with Higher Education and Employment: Report II on a Survey of 75 Unschooled Adults">study of 75 unschooled adults found</a> 83% had gone on to some form of formal education after school, and most were “gainfully employed and financially independent”.</p>
<p>Research suggests unschoolers’ success may come down to an <a href="https://jual.nipissingu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/06/v91173.pdf" title="MOTIVATION: KEPT ALIVE THROUGH UNSCHOOLING">intrinsic motivation</a> to learn that’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1163651" title="The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education">been fostered</a> through their unschooling experiences.</p>
<h2>Evidence of unschooling in the lockdown</h2>
<p>During the coronavirus crisis, if your children alternated their schoolwork with other study based on their needs and interests, they were unschooling.</p>
<p>If you went for a walk and identified plants or animals, and discussed them, that was unschooling. Cooking and decorating a sibling’s birthday cake was unschooling.</p>
<p>Discovering your children’s interest in Ancient Egypt and then watching documentaries about the subject was unschooling.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-reading-and-better-nutrition-all-the-reasons-to-cook-with-your-kids-135813">Maths, reading and better nutrition: all the reasons to cook with your kids</a>
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<p>If your child decided to read the whole Harry Potter series in a week, that was unschooling.</p>
<p>It’s entirely possible to unschool and still meet the government curriculum requirements.</p>
<p>In fact, the Singaporean education minister, Ong Ye Kung, effectively recommended unschooling <a href="https://youtu.be/bvxB5bIK9v0?t=655">when he said</a> students should take advantage of their time away from school to “learn outside the syllabus, read widely, be curious, find your passions”.</p>
<p>Children following this advice <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/will-missing-school-due-to-covid-19-matter-for-school-students/12154266">may have benefited</a>, rather than been disadvantaged, from their break from formal learning. For some, continuing home-based learning may be advantageous.</p>
<p>Each state and territory has a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-homeschooling-and-should-i-be-doing-that-with-my-kid-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown-135027">legislative framework</a> which allows parents to home educate their children. Support is available from experienced home educators <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/574376575956927/">online</a> and through home education <a href="https://home-ed.vic.edu.au/">support</a> <a href="https://www.hea.edu.au/support/get-support/">groups</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136256/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English is a member of the Home Education Association (HEA) and the Home Education Network (HEN).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karleen Gribble is a member of the Home Education Association</span></em></p>Some schools are starting to open up after the coronavirus lockdown. But what if you’re worried about sending you kids back too soon. Unschooling might be one solution, so how does it work?Rebecca English, Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyKarleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1376572020-05-07T11:40:43Z2020-05-07T11:40:43ZHow to help with school at home: don’t talk like a teacher<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333052/original/file-20200506-49573-1pvm1l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4857%2C3145&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-afro-family-father-daughter-reading-1633018669">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In many countries schools remain closed and the dinner table now serves as the school desk. This crisis has given us all new respect for the work that teachers do, but it has also given us an extraordinary moment to break the strictures of classroom learning. </p>
<p>While there’s been much interest in digital tools and resources to help parents support learning, we shouldn’t overlook the most flexible and practical precision tool we have at our disposal – talk. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-oracy-and-why-should-every-child-be-taught-it-31817">Explainer: what is oracy and why should every child be taught it?</a>
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<p>In the classroom, talk is typically used by teachers to marshal a diverse group of students through a sequence of activities in an allotted time. Some students may struggle to keep up with the pace of teaching, while others may find it grindingly slow. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333053/original/file-20200506-49556-1bmt9vo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers ask questions to gauge the understanding of the whole class.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/preschool-kid-raise-arm-answer-teacher-691219450">weedezign/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But now we find ourselves in a unique moment. One-to-one conversations can unfold at a pace that reflects your child’s needs and interests. This is the magic formula that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2017.1377600">private tutoring</a> bottles and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681366.2019.1629993">sells</a> for a hefty price. </p>
<h2>Talk the talk</h2>
<p>Here are some tips on how to help your child learn through talk. </p>
<p><strong>Take your time:</strong> There is now no urgency to meet an arbitrary deadline or timetable. Teachers are often having to hurry students up and shift them on to the next scheduled activity. While we adults often complain that children have limited concentration spans, in fact it’s often us who get restless and want to move on to the next thing. Let your child stay on task till they are finished. </p>
<p><strong>Ask questions:</strong> Teachers often ask “pseudo” questions they already know the answer to as a way to check student understanding and attention. Once the teacher achieves the desired answer, the whole class can move on with the assumption that everyone else is on the same page. Again, teachers have had to develop this to manage the student-teacher ratio. </p>
<p>But at home these questions can be used to check and explore the understanding of the individual child. Even better, prompts such as “tell me about…” and “think out loud” can invite longer, more thoughtful responses. </p>
<p><strong>Allow them time to think:</strong> In class, time pressures can rob students of time to think over their answers. At home, we can give thinking the time it needs. It’s very tempting as a restless adult to interrupt thinking time with new more complex versions of the same question, but try to resist this urge. If you need to ask again, don’t change the question, just repeat it – then let the thinking happen.</p>
<p><strong>Discuss together:</strong> In the pressure of the classroom, students rarely ask questions about <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2014.934087">curriculum content</a>.
You can turn this pattern on its head. If the school materials suggest a topic, then start with a shared discussion about the questions you’d both like to answer about that topic. Make a note of these questions, and then talk about how you might tackle each question. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333055/original/file-20200506-49556-1snza32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ask genuine questions and learn together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/focused-mom-helping-teenage-daughter-doing-1701862639">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Do some speculative thinking together – hypothesise or make some guesses together that you can later test. Stop and explore their understanding and application of ideas. Ask genuine questions that you don’t know the answer to, and share the process of wondering and enquiring. Diversions and detours are all part of the fun in exploring ideas.</p>
<h2>Keep children involved</h2>
<p><strong>Read out loud:</strong> We tend to associate school reading with students reading texts out loud. Instead, use this lockdown to read out loud to your child. Take on a book that is a bit beyond their capacity, and stop after each chapter to reflect on what’s happened – and what might happen next. </p>
<p>Maybe alternate reading paragraphs out loud to each other, mimicking character voices for fun. Sneak in an occasional nonsensical error to check your co-reader is following closely. When big sister, brother or another carer come in, ask your co-reader to update them on the story while you get a cup of tea. You can support them with “and what about when…?”</p>
<p><strong>Use your own language:</strong> Teachers tend to speak the official language of instruction, but this may be your child’s second language, or a dialect that is not used at home. Bilingualism is a valuable asset, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2167/le643.0">not an impediment</a>.
This moment is a great opportunity for you and your child to use your shared home language to explore and enrich their school learning. </p>
<p><strong>Encourage children to speak up:</strong> Some of us were educated in times when children were expected to be seen and not heard. Nowadays interactive talk is understood to be an indicator of active learning and an important <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VnlYPW8rOuMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA197&ots=iiJ_Zug0nT&sig=beuW9H_MKx_O3vwljF1GAZkTpa0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">part of building knowledge</a>. Talk is an extraordinary tool for making meaning and building relationships. </p>
<p>Enriched talk doesn’t cost anything, and you can start immediately. If schools resume under socially distanced arrangements we can expect that talk in classrooms will become more constrained. Our differently textured interactions at home can continue to provide a contrast to teachers’ talk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Doherty receives funding from the Scottish Government's Scottish Attainment Challenge for a collaborative project on teacher education; and from the Australian Research Council for a project on private tutoring. </span></em></p>One-to-one talk is a great tool for learning.Catherine Doherty, Professor of Pedagogy and Social Justice, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1351142020-05-05T13:43:05Z2020-05-05T13:43:05Z4 things we’ve learned about math success that might surprise parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332066/original/file-20200501-42942-go7fsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C228%2C5272%2C3133&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The good news: your child can use their fingers and you can too. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>School <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/coronavirus-scientists-caution-against-reopening-schools">closures due to conronavirus</a> have put parents in the challenging position of home-schooling their children.</p>
<p>In mathematics education programs for future math teachers, we often discuss the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10857-012-9208-1">traditional classroom</a> that those studying to become teachers are familiar with. We’re interested in how their own experiences as students can influence their teaching.</p>
<p>Traditional modes of instruction have emphasized that math is best learned through <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40247978">studying and memorizing alone, with the teacher demonstrating procedures and then checking students’ answers</a>.</p>
<p>If parents grew up with this style of instruction, their ideal home-math classroom might look like strict scheduling, workbooks, a child working alone in silence and parents telling children how to solve problems. But if parents enforce this approach, there could be conflicts and maybe even some crying. </p>
<p>But parents, like future educators, can also learn from newer approaches. Here are some practical tips for a different form of home learning. </p>
<h2>1. Talking about math</h2>
<p>Gone are the days of students sitting quietly while the math teacher does all the talking at the chalkboard. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/749877">Discussion</a> is important in the mathematics classroom. </p>
<p>Parents should be explicit. Tell your child “we learn by sharing ideas and listening to each other.”</p>
<p>Model active listening skills. Show your child that you are listening by asking questions about what they said to clarify your understanding of their idea. Try saying “tell me more …” or asking “how do you know that?”</p>
<p>Try setting aside your own idea(s) so you can listen and build on their ideas. Instead of saying “yes, but …,” use “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-78928-6_3">yes, and …</a>” to help children feel that they’re not being judged and their ideas are important.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332071/original/file-20200501-42942-wr4tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In today’s mathematics classrooms, discussion is important.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Attitude</h2>
<p>Researchers have identified <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10857-009-9134-z?shared-article-renderer">three underlying interconnected aspects of childrens’ relationships</a> with math that impact how they engage with math: emotional disposition (“I like math”), perceived competence (“I am good at math”) and their vision of math: whether math is about problem solving and understanding or math is about memorization and regurgitation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mathematics-is-about-wonder-creativity-and-fun-so-lets-teach-it-that-way-120133">Mathematics is about wonder, creativity and fun, so let's teach it that way</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Parents can set a positive attitude for children by being mindful not to say things like “I don’t like math” or “I’m not a math person.” Your child might think they don’t have a chance because <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249054114_A_Quantitative_and_Qualitative_Study_of_Math_Anxiety_Among_Preservice_Teachers">you didn’t pass on a math mind</a>. </p>
<p>Academics have debunked common beliefs about the “<a href="https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/200102/rev-devlin.pdf">math gene</a>” and explain that there’s <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K1Ld7FgOdtoC&oi=fnd&pg=PT17&dq=%22math+gene%22+parent&ots=Bxk5UApbwY&sig=dMLYhCKH%20K7mHhHOvfy8SOEc_es&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22math%20gene%22%20parent&f=false">lots involved in being good at math</a>. Celebrate the process and not just the final answer. Give high fives for sharing solution strategies, developing a plan to tackle the problem and for not giving up.</p>
<p>Make it clear that <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bOGHDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=dweck+mindset+mistakes&ots=YMX--knDci&sig=y07leb0VLednZ4ZhScAAYsKCkyE#v=onepage&q=dweck%20mindset%20mistakes&f=false">making mistakes</a> is OK and can even be a good thing. Many highly successful people see mistakes as learning opportunities and an indication that learning is happening.</p>
<h2>3. Working in partnership</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher">A partnership</a> is about working together and can include seeing the <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/We-are-the-Process%3A-Reflections-on-the-of-Power-in-Kehler-Verwoord/aeecc3e2e8e352474a24ce4ccd407f62629d6f56">teacher as a learner and the student as a teacher</a>. It isn’t about the teacher being “all-knowing” and making all the decisions. </p>
<p>Traditional math teaching, where the teacher assumes an authoritative role, is a major cause of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480214521457">math anxiety</a>. Researchers have found that not all <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101784">math homework help</a> is beneficial. There is a difference between parents being controlling and being supportive.</p>
<p>With this in mind, wait for your child to ask for help. Try not to control everything. Focus on asking questions about their decisions that will help them figure out possible limitations and benefits of their decisions. </p>
<p>Let children fail. Failure can <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=q0VZwEZoniUC&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20Optimistic%20Child%3A%20A%20Proven%20Program%20to%20Safeguard%20Children%20Against%20Depression%20and%20Build%20Lifelong%20Resilience&lr&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false">build confidence</a>. Confidence can come from mastery; mastery can come from <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40248303">practice</a>. Good practice includes analyzing what went wrong and what went right.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about being the expert. Be honest and say “I’m not sure. Let’s figure it out together.” </p>
<p>Start with <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=Irq913lEZ1QC&lpg=PR13&lr&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false">what children already know</a>. When your child is stuck, ask them to talk through what they are doing.</p>
<p>Take turns doing questions and talking about solution strategies.</p>
<p>Follow your child’s interests <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-ways-to-keep-your-kids-smart-over-the-summer-break-100132">and ideas</a>. Let them take the lead, even if you think your approach is better.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332073/original/file-20200501-42951-pxpcn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Focus on asking your child questions that will help them figure out possible limitations and benefits of their decisions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Basic math skills</h2>
<p>If you grew up with traditional math instruction and haven’t thought about math since your school days, it might surprise you to learn that there are multiple ways to solve problems.</p>
<p>You could ask your child to share their way of solving the problem and also share your way. </p>
<p>For instance: What is 24 x 6? </p>
<p>It’s OK if you’re looking for a pencil to do this: </p>
<p> 24<br>
<u>x 6</u><br>
144</p>
<p>But what are some other ways you might you figure it out? </p>
<p>Multiply 20 x 6 to get 120. Now multiply 4 x 6 to get 24. Add the two figures: 120 + 24 = 144.</p>
<p>Another way would be to focus on 25 x 6 to get 150. Now subtract 6 and you’ve got 144. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-math-how-to-support-your-child-in-elementary-school-87479">The 'new math': How to support your child in elementary school</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In all math problems (including addition or subtraction), your child can use their fingers and you can too. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327316/original/file-20200412-10562-6mjs1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Author Tina Rapke finds an occasion for everyday math in making cookies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can also look for opportunities to highlight math in daily activities. </p>
<p>One fun way is through baking. Arrange three rows of cookie dough with four cookies in each row. Ask how many cookies per batch or how many each family member will get if they share equally. </p>
<p>Being successful at <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/mathteacher.108.7.0543?casa_token=53fYsdfs758AAAAA:iROqe6Bs17ufC1uUB1x_ToGBlxgh-LgCEmMqSXgYT9cfbcLkdq0BdhWUjkxEfmYM5aLT__nM3eJ2CBiRa7EIwNPcR9W5BhbYspgB1oC4YDJaM2LWdp4#metadata_info_tab_contents">mental math</a> (like the arithmetic you do at the store) happens gradually over time. </p>
<p>Try focusing on basic math skills with your child for 10 minutes or less, every other day. </p>
<h2>The takeaway</h2>
<p>Think of quality over quantity. </p>
<p>If you want to support math learning at home based on math research: talk with your child, see learning as a partnership and make sure to celebrate their ideas. Your child may teach you something new. </p>
<p>We’d love to hear about how math has provoked families to slow down, have fun, go with the flow and connect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tina Rapke received funding from SSHRC: Partnership Engage Grants. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina De Simone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your cheat sheet for best practices in teaching math at home. Keep it positive and mask your shock when your child tells you there are many ways to multiply numbers.Tina Rapke, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, York University, CanadaCristina De Simone, Middle School Teacher. PhD Mathematics Education Student, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1347382020-04-26T12:01:34Z2020-04-26T12:01:34ZHomeschooling math lessons: Think dice games, cooking fractions and ratios with chocolate milk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325124/original/file-20200402-74889-82n31c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C180%2C5655%2C3017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If you discuss ideal parts of cocoa to sugar, you've just discussed ratios. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the COVID-19 pandemic, children are just as concerned as their parents about what is happening. The closure of schools is a huge upset in children’s lives. As parents support children and consider their learning, this can be an opportunity for both parents and kids to question, explore, think and learn mathematics together through everyday activities.</p>
<p>Much of our experience and research has led us to become increasingly convinced that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2012.649055">changing people’s beliefs about mathematics has an impact on their confidence with mathematics and learning math</a>. </p>
<p>Regardless of whether you’re personally comfortable with math, or if you’d like to improve your child’s number sense, now could be a chance for both of you to enjoy mathematics and think of the mathematics all around you.</p>
<h2>Dice games</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325522/original/file-20200405-74202-rgs9ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning to automatically recognize what number is rolled is a valued skill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even simple games with dice are immensely powerful. </p>
<p>As experienced math teachers, we can tell you: Do not underestimate how much of a valued skill it is for children to automatically recognize what number they rolled without counting the dots! </p>
<p>Once children can automatically tell you the number of a single die, then adding single digit amounts on the dice (like four plus six) is really helpful for working on the next step.</p>
<h2>A game: Balloons and dice</h2>
<p>One of the authors of this story, Ann Kajander, has a book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21906386-big-ideas-for-growing-mathematicians"><em>Big Ideas for Growing Mathematicians</em></a> with lots of activities to do at home. One is “Balloons and Dice.” This game lets children practice being able to add numbers together.</p>
<p>In this game, older children can start to appreciate the probability that is embedded in the game by recording what sums are rolled and seeing what happens most often. At this point, strategy can be used to determine where to place the coins to have a higher likelihood of winning.</p>
<p>You need 24 pennies, two sets of dice and a game board that looks like sideways stalls with numbers one to 12. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=148&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329161/original/file-20200420-152567-uhzp16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can hand-draw your board game, which looks like sideways stalls with the numbers one to 12.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jennifer Holm)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instructions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Place the pennies (your balloons) under any numbers you choose in your stalls.</p></li>
<li><p>Each player takes turns rolling the two dice. You may “pop a balloon” if you have a penny/balloon in the stall that is the sum of your roll. (Some kids may enjoy shouting “pop!”) For instance, if you roll a three and a four, you can pop one balloon in stall No. 7.</p></li>
<li><p>The first player to pop 10 balloons is the winner.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Math baking or cooking</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327838/original/file-20200414-117593-8ml1d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How can you make a half cup with a quarter cup?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having your child bake or cook with you is also a powerful mathematical activity. In children’s early years, you can help them recognize the different fractional amounts and compare the sizes of the cups. As children get older, try removing some of the cups and see if they can build the fractions. For example, you only have a quarter cup, how can you make a half cup? </p>
<p>A great chance to practise fraction operations is to make the recipe bigger or smaller. Find a recipe for four people and figure out how much of each ingredient is needed for two people. Or, to make it more challenging, find a recipe for four people but make a batch that would feed six instead. </p>
<p>The practical applications might even help children forget they are doing mathematics (be sure not to tell them). But know you are building their <a href="https://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Fluency-Without-Fear-1.28.15.pdf">fluency with concepts</a>.</p>
<p>Other mathematical concepts can easily be brought into conversations so that children are using their mental math skills or reasoning, which is sometimes <a href="https://tapintoteenminds.com/are-math-facts-the-urgent-student-learning-need/">under-appreciated in mathematics</a>. </p>
<p>You can also discuss ratios, for example, while making chocolate milk. When mixing it, you can talk about how many parts chocolate syrup or powder to add to the milk in order to make it sweeter or less sweet. You can experiment and test mixtures to find the ideal ratio. </p>
<h2>Patterns, shapes, math stories</h2>
<p>When walking outside or wandering through the house, you can look for patterns and have your child talk about the pattern rule that tells them what comes next. Similarly, you can create a shape bingo card and have them hunt for an example of each shape in their environments.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/325523/original/file-20200405-74279-pnnrnr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Math Curse,’ by Jon Scieszka.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Penguin Random House)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This could be a great time to read mathematics-themed stories. One of our favourites is <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/328387/math-curse-by-jon-scieszka-illustrated-by-lane-smith/"><em>Math Curse</em></a> by Jon Scieszka. It contains many fun mathematics problems that you could try solving, or just enjoy the story and start a conversation about what mathematics problems children see around them. Another great book is the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91358.The_Number_Devil"><em>Number Devil</em></a> by Hans Magnus Enzensberger. </p>
<p>Board games like Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders have lots of math built into them. </p>
<h2>Math problems online</h2>
<p>You can visit the <a href="http://fractiontalks.com/">Fraction Talks</a> website, curated by Nat Banting, a math teacher, PhD student and lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan. We love the “Manipulatives” section of the website, which gives a concrete way to determine the fractional amount.</p>
<p>A simple exercise is talking about what fractions are shown in the diagrams: for instance, what fraction of an image is blue? </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324388/original/file-20200331-65495-1xrjqw2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sample question from the website Fraction Talks: What fraction of the image is blue?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Fraction Talks/Nat Banting)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The website <a href="https://www.coolmath4kids.com/manipulatives/pattern-blocks">Cool Math for Kids</a> also lets you use pattern blocks to explore the fractions pictured in the images on the site.</p>
<p>If you’re really looking for some fun math problems to work on communication and reasoning, try <a href="https://www.openmiddle.com/">Open Middle problems</a> where the problems have multiple correct answers and many different ways to solve them. </p>
<p>You can help your child see that there are different ways to solve and reason about problems. Most importantly — despite these stressful times, try to let yourself have fun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Improving a child’s sense of numbers, and their understanding of probability, fractions, ratios, shapes and patterns, can all be incorporated into daily life or with simple games.Jennifer Holm, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityAnn Kajander, Associate Professor of mathematics education, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1314112020-04-07T13:05:10Z2020-04-07T13:05:10ZHomeschooling during coronavirus: five ways to teach children about climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326080/original/file-20200407-74220-19z0uyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Discuss how flying less could help the planet.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/go-on-adventure-cute-child-girl-403903990">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Schools around the world have closed in reponse to the COVID-19 pandemic, so many families are finding themselves thrust into homeschooling. Parents are figuring out how to teach their children subjects like mathematics and grammar, while also juggling other commitments, all within the cramped spaces of self-isolation. </p>
<p>Climate change is an interdisciplinary subject that both <a href="https://www.greenschoolsproject.org.uk/nus-and-green-schools-project-pupil-environmental-attitude-survey-year-2/">school children</a> and <a href="https://cast.ac.uk/publications/briefings/">adults</a> think is important. And as we deal with the current crisis – which is also having its own effects <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-world-be-like-after-coronavirus-four-possible-futures-134085">on the environment</a> – there is perhaps no better time to think about how to avoid the next, potentially even greater one.</p>
<p>Despite this, a recent survey found that 75% of <a href="https://sustainability.nus.org.uk/resources/ukscn-oxfam-nus-sos-uk-teachers-and-climate-change-survey">teachers</a> don’t feel they have adequate training to educate students about climate change, so homeschooling parents might feel even more out of their depth. But the emerging field of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2019.1614532">climate change education</a> offers a few key lessons on how to teach learners of all ages. </p>
<h2>1. Talk about it</h2>
<p>According to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_hayhoe_the_most_important_thing_you_can_do_to_fight_climate_change_talk_about_it">talk about it</a>. As public awareness of climate change has grown – thanks in part to <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/">Greta Thunberg</a> and the school climate strikes – many children will have picked up some information from the news and in the classroom, and so a good place to start is by listening to what they already know and think, and hear their questions and concerns. You don’t have to be an expert to talk about this issue, and learn with your children. But by not talking about climate change, especially the powerful emotions it can provoke, misinformation and <a href="https://medium.com/rsa-journal/eco-anxiety-323056def77f">eco-anxiety</a> may take root.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326086/original/file-20200407-110267-h1r3do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Discuss the wider world outside.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/road-great-mountain-562801426">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Use age-appropriate materials</h2>
<p>Back in 1996, environmental educator David Sobel coined the term <a href="https://www.davidsobelauthor.com/beyond-ecophobia">ecophobia</a> to describe the fear and powerlessness of young children when faced with abstract, distant environmental problems such as the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. When teaching about climate change, don’t scare your children or share information that might overwhelm them. For example, a documentary that starkly presents the destructive power of climate change in terms of flooding and wildfires probably isn’t a good thing to share with someone in primary school.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-discover-the-wildlife-wonders-of-your-own-garden-134197">How to discover the wildlife wonders of your own garden</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are excellent <a href="https://www.thoughtboxeducation.com/climatecurriculum">educational resources</a> that incorporate both childhood development and the formal curriculum for different aged learners. As with any information online, always be sure that you are using reliable sources, such as <a href="https://climatekids.nasa.gov/">government agencies</a>, <a href="https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/">academic institutions</a>, and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/classroom-resources/learn-at-home/">trusted educational charities</a>. You don’t want to inadvertently spread misinformation.</p>
<h2>3. Focus on hope (but not optimism)</h2>
<p>Swedish researcher Maria Ojala has extensively studied the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.637157">role of hope</a> in climate change education. Parents naturally want to make sure their kids stay hopeful about the future, even when faced with serious threats such as climate change or a global pandemic.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-prepare-climate-strikers-for-the-future-we-need-to-rewrite-the-history-books-131857">To prepare climate strikers for the future, we need to rewrite the history books</a>
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<hr>
<p>But Ojala makes an important distinction between optimism – an uncritical, passive certainty that everything will be alright – and constructive hope, in which we all work together to shape a better future. Constructive hope is an invitation to learners to re-imagine the future and rise to the <a href="https://earthshotprize.org/">challenge of our time</a>.</p>
<p>The empowering lens of constructive hope allows us to move beyond climate science and engage with both <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg3/">mitigation</a> – the actions we can take individually and collectively to decrease global heating – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1196345">adaptation</a> – the creation of more resilient communities and societies in the face of a changing world.</p>
<h2>4. Good climate education is good education</h2>
<p>A recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1360842">systematic review</a> found that climate change education was most effective when it focused on personally relevant and meaningful information and used active and engaging teaching methods. In other words, climate change education works when it employs the strategies of good education, regardless of the subject.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326078/original/file-20200407-96658-bso4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Looking is learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/colorful-rainbow-on-glass-panel-door-1691911891">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This research also identified a few themes specific to climate education: engage in deliberative discussions, interact with scientists, address misconceptions, and implement community projects. So, when learning at home, you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/futuremakers">podcasts of scientists</a>, debunk <a href="https://www.skepticalscience.com/">climate myths</a>, and get your hands dirty with a project in your home or garden.</p>
<h2>5. Look outside</h2>
<p>One of the most important things you can do as a parent is go outside with your children – as long as the current COVID-19 guidance in your country allows it. Explore any patches of nature you can access, even if that’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-discover-the-wildlife-wonders-of-your-own-garden-134197">in your garden</a>, and if you are stuck inside, observe the signs of spring and listen to the birdsong outside your window.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-young-people-striking-from-school-see-it-for-the-life-threatening-issue-it-is-111159">Climate change: young people striking from school see it for the life-threatening issue it is</a>
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<p>Ecologists are concerned that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108420">“extinction of experience”</a> of a younger generation with little direct contact with nature will only exacerbate the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The antidote to eco-anxiety is spending time in nature, which has <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-210436">mental health benefits</a> for children and teenagers. </p>
<p>Research has found that parents play an important role in helping children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013916518763894">cope with climate change</a> and shift <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-210436">from victims to change agents</a>. If you are homeschooling because of coronavirus, you probably have your hands full getting through the day. But engaging positively with the subject of climate change, especially through the lens of constructive hope, is a way for you to teach science, geography, and many other <a href="https://mathsforplanetearth.ouce.ox.ac.uk/">subjects</a>, while shaping a more just, sustainable world after COVID-19.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Finnegan receives funding from EPSRC. </span></em></p>By not talking about climate change, especially the powerful emotions it can provoke, misinformation and eco-anxiety may take root.William Finnegan, PhD Candidate, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1350272020-03-31T05:50:22Z2020-03-31T05:50:22ZWhat is homeschooling? And should I be doing that with my kid during the coronavirus lockdown?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324192/original/file-20200331-65509-7cqau9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-student-doing-homework-home-school-1536666791">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“How to home school” has been trending on <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/ready-or-not-a-new-era-of-homeschooling-has-begun/">Google</a> for the past few weeks as more and more children stay home from school because of COVID-19.</p>
<p>So, what is homeschooling and is this what parents whose children are learning from home are now doing?</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1243526781438656512"}"></div></p>
<h2>What is home education?</h2>
<p>Home education is one of the world’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02568543.2019.1710628?casa_token=wxuTFeGGFXMAAAAA%3A4IGiICM4Oj5eaQAU6PbpwYI9BvsL3bXmFR0JDk6ceUMxzCUSDdTxQ-JOnSaRyAGsvZMzm9RIq_GN">fastest growing</a> educational movements.</p>
<p>In its broadest sense, home education can be understood as any form of <a href="https://www.parents.com/kids/education/home-schooling/homeschooling-101-what-is-homeschooling/">education</a> that occurs outside of a physical school. It includes the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">20,000 or so students</a> registered for home education in Australia, as well as distance education students – who are enrolled in a school but learn remotely. </p>
<p>There are a wide variety of home education approaches and they lie on a spectrum. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908104009.htm">Highly structured</a> approaches that mirror school, with a detailed curriculum and lots of book work, lie at one end. Most people can imagine what that looks like because it’s not that different from traditional schooling.</p>
<p>At the other end is <a href="https://theconversation.com/unschooling-education-fad-or-real-alternative-12548">unschooling</a>, where children choose the direction of their learning. In this approach, there may be no formal written work.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-is-on-the-rise-in-australia-who-is-doing-it-and-why-110268">Homeschooling is on the rise in Australia. Who is doing it and why?</a>
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<p>With unschooling, the choice is as much of a <a href="https://great-ideas.org/Encounter/Ricci243.pdf">lifestyle</a> as an education. Parents act as facilitators of their child’s learning, sourcing and providing access to resources and then getting out of the way. <a href="https://www.oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejae/article/view/1482">Research</a> suggests unschoolers are more likely to be satisfied with their education and have an intrinsic motivation to learn. </p>
<p>Most home educating families’ approaches fall somewhere in between and use a mix of parent-directed and child-directed learning.</p>
<h2>What are the legal requirements of home educators?</h2>
<p>Each state and territory in Australia has its own <a href="http://www.hea.edu.au/get-support/?fbclid=IwAR2Saj4UtbaTy3aXziVfNdH_ATN1qDs7d1OZEXQmo_osSgNomHKRZ_r8VVc">laws and requirements </a> around home education. In essence, parents need to apply to register their children. Some states such as the Northern Territory require you to follow any Australian approved curriculum (such as the Australian Curriculum, Montessori or Steiner). </p>
<p>Others, including Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT, stipulate you just need to cover key learning areas such as English, Maths, Science, Arts, Technology, Health, Humanities or Languages. </p>
<p>In New South Wales, parents need to follow the <a href="https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/k-6/">NSW Syllabus</a>, which is based on, but not the same as, the <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/">Australian Curriculum</a>.</p>
<p>Regardless of where they are located, parents indicate their intention to home educate by <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/other-education/home-education/preparing-applications">completing a form</a> from their state’s education department. They then need to develop a plan of their approach, and to show their plan will meet the child’s individual learning needs. </p>
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<p>Age levels and year levels are less important in home education – children’s work is targeted to where they are up to not their age.</p>
<p>Parents can buy a pre-packaged curriculum and resources or they can develop their own. They can use tutors and group classes, as well as activities like scouts and sporting teams, and everyday hands-on activities as a part of their learning. If they need to, parents can adapt to better meet their child’s needs.</p>
<p>At the end of the registration period, most states and territories require <a href="https://mediasite.eq.edu.au/mediasite/Play/adf77ad7cb2746f4bc21a45958698f011d">parents to report</a> on their child’s progress. </p>
<h2>Are we all homeschoolers now?</h2>
<p>To some extent, when it comes to educating your child at home, this situation is unique – in other respects it’s not.</p>
<p>Many homeschooling families have brought their child home to learn because of a <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/inquiries/2128/141203%20Final%20Report.pdf">crisis</a>, such as related to bullying, health, or a disability. </p>
<p>But families in this new wave of accidental home educators don’t have to register their children with their state or territory education department. The child’s enrolment is maintained with their school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-homeschool-because-of-coronavirus-here-are-5-tips-to-help-your-child-learn-133773">Trying to homeschool because of coronavirus? Here are 5 tips to help your child learn</a>
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<p>And, in most cases, the schools are sending work home. Reports on the ground suggest this is working well for many families.</p>
<p>But some parents are reporting difficulties implementing what they’re being asked to do at home. This is particularly so when they’re balancing their child’s education with their own work requirements, or where the schoolwork is worksheet heavy.</p>
<p>If this is your situation, you are not alone and schools are trying their best to make this work. Hopefully, with more time, things will run more smoothly.</p>
<h2>What new homeschoolers can learn from the old</h2>
<p>Many long established home education families work from home as well, so they empathise with parents’ new found juggle of work and schooling. There’s some things schools and parents can learn from how home educators manage things.</p>
<p>Think about other ways of learning apart from book work. Some children thrive on book work, but others need more hands on tasks. If your child is struggling, talk their teacher and see if he or she is open to you covering the content in a different way.</p>
<p>For example, an alternative to doing fractions through worksheets might be cooking a meal. Cooking allows you to introduce other concepts such as addition and mass (mathematics), following a procedural text (literacy), discussing your experience of learning to cook (humanities and social science), nutrition (health), and even the science of <a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-2-1">molecular gastronomy</a>. And everyone gets fed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-at-home-because-of-coronavirus-here-are-4-ways-to-keep-them-happy-without-resorting-to-netflix-133772">Kids at home because of coronavirus? Here are 4 ways to keep them happy (without resorting to Netflix)</a>
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<p>That’s something else to keep in mind – kids can sometimes help their parents with the things they need to do. Whether that’s cooking or helping you set up the technology for an online work meeting. Home educating families are used to seeing the learning happening in everyday activities, and doing so can help parents feel less stressed about what their child is missing out on.</p>
<p>If you’re struggling with working out how to do this, there’s support in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/574376575956927/">home education social media groups</a>, where experienced home educators are providing support to parents (and teachers). </p>
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<p>Keep in mind, much of this situation is new to home educators too. They’re not used to being at home so much either – much of their learning is normally in the community. </p>
<p>But organisations and groups are doing what they can to link families to the outside world. People are providing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notyouraveragehomeschooler/?__tn__=%2CdkCH-R-R&eid=ARCgYng2XLheZdInd-xHeLOzbNSHPeZvithM3xdDCk2GAaFhxccjhnPdpGpQrCeiQCqccsNMkD_Nd3BV&hc_ref=ARTKRNXtBt4UXdCKPdCkfexXN159suQl-VtynoiBGRTpfL_qqekjfUmr7dFDlFsOtMQ&hc_location=group">online storytime</a>, and <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/animal-house?utm_campaign=march-enews_multiple_march-2020&utm_source=email&utm_medium=marketingcloud">zoos</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/timswildlife/">wildlife parks</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YeFsx1rIw&feature=youtu.be">museums</a> and <a href="https://www.moma.org/collection/works/groups/PIBAbGen">galleries</a> are freely available online.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135027/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English is a member of the Home Education Association and the Home Education Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karleen Gribble is a member of the Home Education Association.</span></em></p>Around 20,000 students are homeschooling in Australia. It’s a different form of schooling to learning from home while schools are shut due to COVID-19. But homeschooling does provide some tips.Rebecca English, Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyKarleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1344802020-03-30T13:29:44Z2020-03-30T13:29:44ZCoronavirus: just letting children play will help them, and their parents, cope<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323590/original/file-20200327-146699-11humkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7337%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/funny-kid-cardboard-wings-talking-on-1322374190">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week the majority of children across the UK are not in school. Instead, they’re at home, many of them under the care of parents who are expected to work at the same time. </p>
<p>As soon as it was announced that schools would close, homeschool timetables and tips began to appear on social media. Google searches for “<a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=Home%20school%20timetable&geo=GB#TIMESERIES">homeschool timetable</a>” in the past week were almost 200 times higher than the average of the previous year. But should parents be expected to recreate school at home? The evidence shows that, at this uncertain time, supporting children’s play should be a vital part of the picture – for their own mental health and for the wellbeing of the entire family. </p>
<p>As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all confronted with uncertainty. Research tells us that uncertainty increases anxiety and worry in both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032717306584?via%3Dihub">children</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618516300469">adults</a>. We cannot remove much of the uncertainty we currently face, but what we can do is look for opportunities to feel some certainty and control. For this reason, following a normal routine where possible and having some structure to the day is likely to be useful for children and <a href="https://emergingminds.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID19_advice-for-parents-and-carers_20.3_.pdf">for parents</a>. Within this, though, everyone needs to be realistic about their expectations. </p>
<h2>Unusual circumstances</h2>
<p>In normal circumstances, homeschooling is a conscious, long-term choice made by parents who choose to take responsibility for their child’s <a href="https://www.familyeducation.com/school/concerns-about-homeschooling/definition-homeschooling">education</a>. If a child is home because their school has been closed due to a pandemic, this is not homeschooling. </p>
<p>Parents who homeschool don’t typically attempt to work from home while educating their children, and they rarely spend the whole day at home. The present situation is entirely different. Attempting to school children at home puts pressure on parents at a time when anxiety is high. This is not helpful for them or <a href="http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/28513/2/Creswell%20C.%20%282012%29%20Cognitive%2C%20affective%20and%20behavioural%20characteristics%20of%20mothers%20with%20anxiety%20disorders%20in%20the%20context%20of%20child%20anxiety%20disorder.pdf">their children</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324005/original/file-20200330-146689-1vsa7ju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Plastic bottles and boxes that might normally be recycled can be used for creative play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/siblings-having-fun-while-segregating-waste-1065450635">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>An alternative is to let children play. This is especially important for primary school aged children. During <a href="http://www.playengland.org.uk/media/120426/free-play-in-early-childhood.pdf">free play</a>, children decide what they want to do, how they want to do it and when they want to start and stop. </p>
<p>The benefits of free play are wide-ranging. When children have more opportunities for free play, they have better physical and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483710/">mental health</a>. It significantly decreases their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/11038128.2012.729087">stress levels</a> and, importantly, it <a href="https://theconversation.com/play-based-learning-can-set-your-child-up-for-success-at-school-and-beyond-91393">facilitates learning</a>. </p>
<h2>A sense of control</h2>
<p>The role of adults is to provide physical and psychological space, and resources that support the child’s play. They should only join in or interfere with the play if the child asks them to. Free play allows children to follow their interests and can provide a sense of control <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ985541.pdf">and independence</a>, which are particularly important at this time. It is absolutely fine to let children get on with things if they are safe and having fun. In fact, it is a win-win.</p>
<p>Examples of free-play activities include building dens inside, dressing up, play dough or messy play. Parents can help with <a href="https://www.pacey.org.uk/news-and-views/pacey-blog/march-2019/getting-to-grips-with-loose-parts-play/">creative play</a> by keeping boxes, bottles and card that would usually go in the recycling and letting children work out what they want to do with it. Inspiration can come from nature: send children on garden bug hunts or cloud watching. And be willing to let them get bored. Boredom <a href="https://time.com/5480002/benefits-of-boredom/">stimulates creativity</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323639/original/file-20200327-146662-h6j3sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Let children choose the direction of their play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-little-indianasian-girl-enjoying-painting-370654958">StockImageFactory.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Given the current guidance that everyone should stay at home wherever possible, children’s play will necessarily be restricted. The good news is that there are a lot of <a href="https://rethinkingchildhood.com/2020/03/18/children-play-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-playwork/">brilliant ideas online</a> about how to support children’s play. These include “I’m bored” activities from <a href="https://www.playscotland.org/parents-families/im-bored/">Play Scotland</a> and <a href="https://www.playfulchildhoods.wales/blog/im-boooored">Play Wales</a>. <a href="https://www.ltl.org.uk/">Learning through Landscapes</a> offers ideas for play linked to nature, for <a href="https://www.ltl.org.uk/resources/week-1-home-learning-early-years/?fbclid=IwAR0vmY5TCVzRMeRBhWLV5fJmiwSCFORsxAtgyl3EisAdqnEKfUdYSjHIMNg">both younger</a> and <a href="https://www.ltl.org.uk/resources/week-1-home-learning-upper-primary-copy/?fbclid=IwAR1_7NpdGRSD-kvd6_cA74Dx4-lVCHORvK8mzfgRddWNTTdbxdJqnO5xNTI">older children</a>.</p>
<p>Free play can also help children make sense of things they find hard to <a href="http://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/WarAndSuperheroPlay.pdf">understand</a>. In the current context, this means that parents might observe children playing coronavirus games or games where there is a theme of illness <a href="https://www.koopadventureplayground.com/single-post/2020/03/15/Playing-through-a-Pandemic">or death</a>. This is normal, and probably helpful for the child to understand what they are experiencing. There is no need to stop this kind of play, but parents could use it to stimulate later conversations if they are concerned about their child. </p>
<p>Parents know their children better than anyone. Some will be quite happy with maths, followed by English, followed by handwriting – but many others won’t. Regardless, play supports the emotional wellbeing of every child. It allows them some control, and relieves the pressure on parents to become a substitute teacher, improving the mental health of the whole family. All children need time and space for free play every day, now possibly more than ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Dodd receives funding from a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to research play and mental health in children. Play England, Play Wales, PlayboardNI, the Association of Play Industries and HAGS are named partners on this fellowship. In addition Learning Through Landscapes and Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) are collaborators. She does not receive any funding directly from these organisations. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Gill has received funding from the Bernard van Leer Foundation.</span></em></p>Instead of insisting on homeschooling primary-age kids, free play can help them learn and has benefits for physical and mental health.Helen Dodd, Professor of Child Psychology, University of ReadingTim Gill, Visiting research fellow in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.