Effect of homeschooling in acadamic achievment on higher level of education (Research Paper Sample)

Student's Name Professor's Name Course Date Outline THESIS: Homeschooled students who are educated with the help of organized lesson plans are more successful in college and high school as compared to students who are homeschooled without an organized plan and traditionally schooled students. * A large number of children are homeschooled in North America. ¯ Since the number of homeschooled children are not reported by every state, the number of homeschooled children reported is only an estimate. ¯ Approximately more than 1.5 million children are homeschooled. ¯ This number is expected is expected to increase in the coming years. * The reasons for homeschooling children are various. Some of them are as follows. ¯ In order to maintain a particular set of beliefs and values, homeschooling is adopted. ¯ To provide a specific kind of education, homeschooling is also chosen. ¯ Some parents are also concerned about the quality of education in public schools. ¯ Bullying in schools is also a big reason that parents prefer homeschooling over traditional schooling. ¯ It may also be adopted for enhancing family relations and for safety purposes. * Studies show that homeschooled students perform better than traditionally schooled students. ¯ The performance of students who are homeschooled in an organized manner is better than traditionally schooled students. ¯ Traditionally schooled students perform better than students who are homeschooled without a proper plan and organization. * There are many other advantages of homeschooling when it comes to performance in college. ¯ Studies show that depression levels in homeschooled students are low. ¯ Homeschooled students adapt to situations in college in a much better manner than traditionally schooled students. * A number of factors contribute towards the better performance of homeschooled children on higher level of education. More creative and practical mind is one big reason for better performance. More time spent with parents is another big factor. * Stereotypes regarding homeschooled children are also wrong. Such students are as social as traditionally schooled students. Their behavior is also the same as other students. * Overall the performance of homeschooled students who are educated with an organized plan is better than traditionally schooled students. Effect of Homeschooling in Academic Achievement on Higher Level of Education Recent years have seen an increase in the number of people who prefer to educate their children at home. Studies have shown that the percentage of homeschooled children increased by 74% between the years 1999 and 2007 CITATION Rob12 \p 76 \l 1033 (Kunzman 76). This is a huge increase and it shows the increase in popularity of homeschooling in America. It is expected that the trend will continue in the coming years as well because the results that homeschooled children have shown are absolutely remarkable as compared to the students who were educated in a traditional school. According to the estimates of 2008, more than 1.5 million children in North America are homeschooled CITATION San11 \p 195 \l 1033 (Martin-Chang, Gould and Meuse 195). Considering the total number of children that go to a traditional school in North America, 1.5 million might seem like a small number. But that is a huge number on its own and this number continues to rise with each passing day. There are a number of reasons behind this trend. The biggest reason is that studies over the past few years have shown that homeschooled students are more diverse and perform well in high school and college as compared to traditionally schooled students. Furthermore, many Americans feel that traditional schools restrict the thinking capabilities of the children as they are restricted to a certain curriculum. When children get educated at home, they learn from experience and their creativity does not remain restricted to a specific curriculum. However, there are not enough substantial studies to support this notion. Bullying is common in all the schools across North America. Most of the schools' administration deny this fact but incidences regarding bullying are witnessed very often. Many surveys have been done by different organizations regarding this issue and the statistics that were revealed were quite shocking. Most of the studies show that one third of all the students experience bullying at school CITATION Ali95 \l 1033 (Charach). This is a very large ratio and it is one of the biggest reasons that parents prefer to homeschool their children. Many children in North America are homeschooled because of many other reasons. A number of African Americans prefer to educate their children at home because in their view, the traditional schools do not teach enough about the culture and history of the Blacks CITATION Bri15 \l 1033 (Ray). According to them, it is the job of the parents to impart a specific set of beliefs and values to their children. In addition to this, such students score higher on standardized test as compared to traditionally schooled students. Most of the studies have shown that their average score varies between 65th and 80th percentile CITATION San11 \l 1033 (Martin-Chang, Gould and Meuse). Basic reasons behind the higher scores as pointed out by various scholars are the lifestyle and philosophy of education that homeschooled students experience CITATION Bri15 \p 75 \l 1033 (Ray 75). But the accuracy of these studies is seriously questionable as many studies have sampling and other flaws. If an analysis of the homeschooled students who were not educated with organized plans is made, it can be noticed easily that their academic performance in colleges and high schools is not satisfactory CITATION San11 \l 1033 (Martin-Chang, Gould and Meuse). This is because such students lack the basic knowledge and skills that are necessary to perform well in a structured academic environment. It is necessary that the children who are homeschooled are educated with a proper plan. The state cannot check what is being taught to the children that are being homeschooled. It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their children acquire the basic knowledge and skills that are required to perform well in college. Studies have shown that students who are homeschooled, exhibit lower levels of depression in college CITATION Cyn12 \l 1033 (Drenovsky and Cohen). They are more practical and deal with pressure situations in a much better manner than the students who attended traditional schools. Better management skills and lower depression levels lead to better performance in academics at the college level. During the 1970s and the 1980s, many parents decided to educate their children at home CITATION Cyn12 \l 1033 (Drenovsky and Cohen). The main reasons behind their decision were to preserve their values and beliefs and to provide better education than the public schools. A number of parents during that era were concerned about the quality of education in public schools. Later on, when the lives of homeschooled students were analyzed, it was observed that they performed significantly well in college and even in professional life. The concerns regarding lack o...