The Influence of K-12 Education on Collegiate Matriculation and Wellbeing

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 13: Equity, Engagement, and Global Perspectives in the Evolving Learning Landscape

Abstract

The American educational landscape has broadened over the past few decades from traditional public and private school education formats to encompass online schooling, traditional homeschooling and homeschooling co-ops, hybrid schooling, unschooling, and more. Much of the long-term debate on education methods has centered on the efficacy of these various educational approaches with a specific focus on contrasting public, private, and homeschooling education. Building on this research, the current study takes the next step by examining the impact of K-12 education background on college students’ academic, social, and emotional well-being. In particular, it uses a holistic approach to study homeschooling effects, with a comparison to public, private, and online schooling, while also controlling for important demographic and socioeconomic factors, such as gender, race, familial income, and general mental well-being on collegiate matriculation, among others. The results underscore the profound impact of K-12 educational choices on college students’ collegiate success and well-being, suggesting that homeschooling may offer socioemotional advantages in preparing students for higher education.

Authors

• Pema Sherpa, South Dakota State University

• Isaiah Fink Avraham Cohen, University of South Dakota

• Justin Berg, University of North Dakota