School Racial Segregation and Homeschooling

• In Event: 523 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 12. School Context and Characteristics: Session III

Abstract

Homeschooling is an increasingly popular educational option, yet research linking this school choice to patterns of school racial segregation remains scarce. Research on “white flight” from public to private and charter schools has demonstrated parents’ racial concerns and preferences when selecting schools, and the present research seeks to explore the relationship between school racial segregation and homeschooling. Using data collected from 15 states primarily from the 2012-13 school year, I perform a series of ordinary least squares regressions and fixed effects regressions to estimate the effect of school segregation in a county upon a county’s homeschool student ratio. Results indicate that there is a statistically significant, negative relationship such that as school racial segregation increases, homeschooling decreases in that county. I discuss how these results support racial threat theory as well as how they can be used to further understand the theory of color-blind racism.

Author

• Melinda Joy Schultz, Pennsylvania State University