Liberatory Refusal: Motivation and Choice Among Black Families Who Homeschool

• In Event: AERA Annual Meeting Social Justice Action Committee Session. No Hidden Figures: Black Women Exercising Their Social, Political, and Emotional Agency

Abstract

Homeschooling has long been considered a largely white and suburban phenomenon. In recent decades, Black families have begun homeschooling at increasing rates as an act of liberatory refusal against racial harms within traditional schools. Still, there is a dearth of literature exploring homeschooling among Black families, and none using nationally representative datasets. This paper fills this gap by investigating the relationship between urbanicity and a Black family’s decision to homeschool, and how these differ from non-Black families. Preliminary findings suggest that Black parents who homeschool were more likely to want to provide a non-traditional education for their children and were more likely to homeschool because they felt their child required special instructional needs. However, these motivations varied significantly when explored by locale type.

Author

• Carla Patrice Wellborn, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author