“Everybody’s Homeschooled Differently” - A pilot qualitative study of the lived experience of homeschooled college students

There are preconceived notions that homeschooled students suffer both academically and socially, especially in the college setting. The purpose of this study is to explore the of academic and social transition from homeschooling to a public university in homeschooled students. A phenomenological approach is used, which addresses individuals’ unique experiences and interpretations of those experiences based on their upbringing. A qualitative design is used in this study with semi-structured interviews in which participants were asked to talk about their social and academic transition experiences. The sample group includes previously homeschooled students that currently or previously attended a public university. Each interview was based on an identical series of open-ended questions and participants were encouraged to expand on their background. The data were then analyzed and reduced based on patterns that best represent the academic and social transition from homeschooling to a public university. Analysis revealed common themes of academic excellence, changes in socialization, and maintaining connection with family support networks. These results may provide insight into the of homeschooled students and their of the transition, for family members, or academic staff-members that provide support to these young adults during transition. EVERYBODY’S HOMESCHOOLED DIFFERENTLY 3 Homeschooling is an increasingly prevalent practice, both in America and elsewhere, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan (Bunday, 2013). According to the National Home Education Research Institution (NHERI), more than two million children were home-educated in 2010, and NHERI estimates that the number will rise by 2 to 8% in subsequent years (Ray, 2015). Home education can provide a high-school degree, but for higher education, it is necessary for young men and women who were formerly homeschooled to transition from being taught by their own parents in their own homes to the traditional educational settings. Concerns affecting many traditionally-schooled students, such as separation anxiety and homesickness, may be exacerbated by anticipated social impairment from lack of exposure, a common societal expectation for students raised without daily exposure to peers. Increased stress and anxiety may have serious detrimental effects on the health, academic performance and life-quality of homeschooled students when they transition into higher education settings, including depression and even physical damaging disorders such as diabetes, gastrointestinal distress and chronic insomnia (Thurber and Walton, 2012). Although researchers have studied homeschooled college students, academic performance, proficiency, and confidence, few have used qualitative methods to explore the college experiences of students who were homeschooled. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the transitioning to college in homeschooled adults. The following research question is answered: What is the of transitioning to college in homeschooled adults? There are research-based findings and preconceived notions that homeschooled students struggle more both academically and socially, however this study aims to explore salient experiences of the young adults. EVERYBODY’S HOMESCHOOLED DIFFERENTLY 4 Review of Literature Researchers have used quantitative methods to compare academic performance in homeschooled students and traditional, non-homeschooled, students. Using high school seniors’ ACT composite scores, Wichers (2001) determined that ACT composite scores were reliable predictors of first-year college GPA. The researcher also found that homeschooled students performed as well or better on the ACT than traditional students (Wichers, 2001). Jones and Glockner (2004) found that homeschooled students did not have any more difficulty than traditional students when seeking admission into college. The average ACT composite test score for homeschooled individuals was 22.8 compared to the average of traditional students being 21.3 (Jones & Glockner, 2004). This does not only apply to public high schools, but for Catholic high schools as well. For example, Snyder (2011) found that students who were homeschooled had higher ACT scores than those in a private Catholic school. Cogan (2010) found that the mean GPA of 2.78 in homeschooled students’ first year of college was consistently higher than that of 2.59 for traditional students. Further, Cogan (2010) compared GPAs of homeschooled students versus non-homeschooled students through a four-year curriculum. Findings showed that the average fourth-year GPA of homeschooled students was 3.46, while non-homeschooled students showed an average of 3.16. The researchers did not take into account the personal feelings of comfort level regarding academics. These feelings could vary among homeschooled and non-homeschooled students and affect academic performance. Also, because this is a relatively new area of study, there is little known about the experiences of homeschooled students when they attend traditional colleges. This study will partly address that gap in knowledge. EVERYBODY’S HOMESCHOOLED DIFFERENTLY 5 In comparable studies of homeschooled and traditional college students, researchers have frequently studied social abilities, such as comfort and proficiency in social situations, emotional distress, self-esteem, depression, and loneliness (Cohen and Drenovsky, 2012). In a study for the Moore Homeschooling Foundation, Taylor studied homeschooling students’ self-worth on the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale and found that the self-concept of the students compared positively with that of publicly-schooled peers, with homeschooled students scoring higher than their publicly-schooled peers in every tested category. Cohen and Drenovsky (2012) studied self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, as well as depression with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). They found no significant difference in self-esteem in the two groups of students. However, they did find that homeschooled college students reported significantly lower depression scores than those who had never been homeschooled. Peyton (2013) found that college freshmen who were previously homeschooled experienced no more communication apprehension than their traditionally schooled peers. In addition, students of racial minorities were found to perceive themselves as confident students who fit into the college environment. Taj’ullah X (2014) explored the transitional experiences of homeschooled African American students into Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and found that students associated their feelings of not fitting in with being naturally shy and introverted. In reference to friendships, researchers have also found that homeschooled students are just as capable of having quality friendships and feel comfortable initiating friendships as well (Garofalo 2014). Few qualitative studies have been done to describe homeschooled students’ experiences of college. This study addresses that gap in knowledge and may increase understanding about homeschooled adults’ college experiences. EVERYBODY’S HOMESCHOOLED DIFFERENTLY 6 Theoretical Framework The study is guided by phenomenology, which describes the of individuals and their unique viewpoint of events and experiences in their lives (Smith, D.W., 2013). It is a perspective which assumes that each human being sees the world through an individualized “lens” of personal experience. That is, the of one individual may be far different from that of another individual. There is uniqueness to each person’s views. Regarding this type of study, the meaning of the events is looked at rather than the event itself. The situations these individuals were put in are assessed through an interviewing process in order to be understood. Each individual's perspective is different, but they may display similar themes throughout their answers. The goal of this theory is to describe the lived experience of a phenomenon. In this study, the “phenomenon” is the transition of homeschooled students from high school into a large, urban, public university. The co-investigators examine the personal experiences of students and their of the transition from a home-education environment to university-level schooling. According to the phenomenological theory, upbringing and personal play a central role in the development of personal worldview. Personal constructs vary among individuals, and in the case of homeschooled individuals, these constructs are part of a framework to view self in social and academic experiences. What homeschooled college students select to talk about during semi-structured interviews will be determined by the students, who may not talk about what the interviewers expect them to talk about; hence, the approach to truly “explore” worldviews with open minds and to construct the themes described in interviews with EVERYBODY’S HOMESCHOOLED DIFFERENTLY 7 many homeschooled persons in college. Based on the literature, it is expected that students attending the public university who were previously homeschooled will not have any more difficulty than traditional students when it came to getting admitted. Also, relating to academics, it is expected that homeschooled students excelled when it came to GPA. Another finding of a quantitative study based on previous findings if that there would be no difference between homeschooled students and traditional students in “social confidence,” self-esteem, and depression levels. However, this is a qualitative phenomenological study, so experiences of previously homeschooled college students will be explored.

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