Reasons why Australian parents choose home schooling for their children: A qualitative investigation

Terry Harding and Rebekah Couper
Australian Christian Home Schooling, Australia

This research examines the reasons why parents choose home schooling - a growing educational phenomenon in Australia. A phenomenographic analysis of qualitative data gave a rich and detailed voice to those motivations. Six categories of description summarised the findings. Parents cited both push and pull factors that contributed to their decisions to reject traditional schooling for their children, in favour of this unconventional pedagogy. The findings demonstrated a juxtaposition of unwelcome influences on their children by non-familial institutions, with the vested interests of parents in meeting their children's formative needs. Our study presents important data and findings relevant to all stakeholders on the Australian educational landscape, as to what is important to parents when considering the validity of educational practice.
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Authors: Dr Terry Harding received his PhD from Queensland University of Technology, researching home schooling and parental roles. He is the head of Australian Christian Home Schooling, a division of Christian Education Ministries (1642 Anzac Ave, North Lakes Qld 4558, Australia). Dr Harding is a contributor to both and state and national education policy, with interests including home schooling pedagogies, distance education and explicit direct instruction. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9295-497X Email: terryharding@achs.edu.au Mrs Rebekah Couper graduated from Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast and teaches in the discipline of Psychology. She has worked in psychology related industries for over 20 years, including organisational psychology, training and education, research, pastoral care, and community services. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1972-2946 Email: rebekahcouper@icloud.com Please cite as: Harding, T. & Couper, R. (2025). Reasons why Australian parents choose home schooling for their children: A qualitative investigation. Issues in Educational Research, 35(2), 611-631. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/harding.pdf