Black Families Homeschooling in the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Rethinking "Learning Loss": Family, Community, and Educator Perspectives on Equity and Learning During COVID-19

Abstract

Nationwide trends before the COVID-19 pandemic showed that educating children at home was becoming a more popular option for Black people in the United States (Rachid, 2005). Various news outlets and studies documented this rise in homeschooling among Black families due to racially hostile school environments (Anderson, 2018; Fields-Smith & Kisura, 2013; Fields-Smith & Williams, 2009; Mazama & Lundy, 2012; Mazama & Musumunu, 2014). The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures and virtual/distant learning has also led to more families deciding to homeschool. There has been a dramatic increase among Black homeschoolers during the 2019-2020 school year (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Thus, it is paramount to give attention to Black homeschooling families and how they understand their learning experiences and academic progress in the context of perceived “learning loss” for students of color and students surviving poverty particularly during the pandemic.

Drawing on BlackCrit (Dumas & ross, 2016) to better interrogate the specificity of how Blackness and antiblackness matters, this paper explores the motivations and learning experiences of Black homeschooling families in the Midwest. I use a subset of data from a larger qualitative, comparative case study on Black homeschooling that includes Black families who homeschooled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as those who were pushed to homeschool due in part to the pandemic. Data include semi-structured interviews with Black parents and their children, focus groups with Black caregivers and document analysis of homeschooling laws and artifacts (e.g. curriculum, lesson plans, drawings, journals, photos) from focal Black homeschool families. While the pandemic acted as a catalyst for some families to start homeschooling, these parents also held critiques of the education system and the learning (or lack thereof) that their children were receiving in brick-and-mortar schools. I examine how Black homeschool parents consider what and how their children learn and how they understand academic goals and learning progress for their children. Preliminary findings from this study suggest that Black homeschooling parents shared a variety of learning goals related to academic progress, well-being, and positive racial identity. Many deemphasized standardized approaches to teaching and learning, pushing back against the notion of “falling behind” and instead emphasized learning taking place at various times in a myriad of ways. Opting to homeschool allowed them to continue as well as strengthen their children’s learning during the pandemic.

This paper highlights what meaningful education is for Black homeschooling families, an important consideration in discussions of “learning loss” prevalent in education policy discourse. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for school districts across the country to undergo a paradigm shift, in which educators and policymakers could reconsider what learning looks like and where it occurs. By centering the experiences of Black homeschooling families, this paper will illuminate learning contexts and approaches that families have been practicing outside of schools and the possibilities and challenges for reimagining education.

Author

• Rachel A Johnson, University of Wisconsin - Madison