Degrees of Power: Motivation and Choice for Black Parents Who Homeschool

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Bridging Education, Community, and Political Engagement: Collaborations Endeavored Toward Praxis (Table 19)

Abstract

Homeschooling has long been considered a largely white/suburban phenomenon. In recent decades, Black families have begun homeschooling at increasing rates. Recent scholarship reveals race and liberation from structural injustices within schools as major factors when deciding to home school their children. This study aims to understand the small, yet growing population of Black families who homeschool by exploring a national dataset of homeschool parents. I use linear probability models to understand how Black parental motivations to homeschool differ from non-Black parents and vary across levels of urbanicity. I find that Black parents are more likely to homeschool because they want to provide a non-traditional education and because they believe their child has special education needs compared to non-Black parents.

Author

• Carla Patrice Wellborn, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author