Unschooling in Hong Kong: A 10 Year Follow Up
Pages: 1-16
Abstract:
This is a follow-up article focused on Maddie Woods, daughter of Karen Chow, an unschooling parent in Hong Kong and co-founder of EDiversity.org, which is an organization focused on rethinking education. At the time of this writing, Maddie was a senior in high school, and shares her experience of being unschooled in her primary years, and then later entering a more traditional school environment. In this paper, Maddie discusses her memories of being unschooled in Hong Kong, the benefits and challenges of being unschooled, the power of intrinsic motivation, and her goals for the future.
Maddie Woods & Gina Riley, CUNY Hunter College
Homeschooling in Australia: the context, power and identity
Pages: 17-55
Abstract:
Recent years have seen a steady growth in homeschooling as an alternative form of schooling in Australia. One may argue that the pandemic is a reason for this increase, but the trend was noted well before it. Homeschooling is legal in Australia with a requirement of registration with the education department in the respective state or territory. The Department of Education websites of each state and territory provide information on the registration processes and resources for families and students. Through a discourse analysis of e-platforms owned by the Education Department of each state and territory, this paper compares their stance for supporting homeschooling. Some believe that strict regulations can lead to parents’ disengagement with the government, but we argue that the government should strategically support these parents and students through uniform policies and financial assistance.
Roopa Whiteville, Maya Gunawardena, and Jee Young Lee
The New Sail model: An innovative approach to educational change
Pages: 56-99
Abstract:
The norms of mass education have dominated public education globally since being developed in Western Europe in the early 19th century; nonetheless, they are dysfunctional and have generated serious problems. Many reform initiatives have failed while others, largely in the Global South, show promise. Based on the successful alternatives, our literature review, critical analysis, and lengthy consultation with key stakeholders, we propose the New Sail model which we have been developing since 2019 as a pedagogical innovation. The purpose of this research is to present this new student-centred model including its conceptual framework with six core components (student, teacher, content, pedagogy, assessment, local community) for the reform of mainstream schooling and alternative education.
Chunlei Lu, Ph.D, Wenting Rong, Ph.D, Olivia Lu, Ling Li, Xiaojian Xu, Ph.D, Michael O’Sullivan, Ph.D
Promoting Learner Autonomy in Blended Learning: Practices of English Language Educators in a Saudi University
Pages: 100-125
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a widespread shift towards blended learning in education, impacting universities in Saudi Arabia as well. This study investigated how English language educators in a Saudi university foster learner autonomy within a blended learning environment. The analysis, considering teaching modalities and experience levels, revealed variations in autonomy support practices. These findings, contextualized within the specific Saudi Arabian educational landscape, offer valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers to promote learner autonomy in this evolving context.
Dr. Israa Ahmed Y. Alhujayri
Using Personal Experience to Develop Unschooling Theory: A Book Review of Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work (2020, PM Press, Akilah Richards)
Pages: 126-131
Abstract:
Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work is a monograph that resists traditional academic classifications. Part memoir and part how-to book, unschooling parent, podcaster, and influencer Akilah Richards draws on her own lived experiences as a Black mother to write about her family’s journey into deschooling and unschooling, and to give practical advice relevant to people at various stages throughout that journey. Richards provides accessible vocabulary to theorize unschooling not merely as a practice of granting children autonomy, but also as a process of liberation and decolonization rooted in social justice. Released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this text still provides much needed interventions into the culture of unschooling, tackling head on issues of race and gender that remain marginal in mainstream discourses on unschooling. The book is presented chronologically, addressing concerns at each stage of the deschooling process, and introducing relevant vocabulary that may be unknown to a popular audience.
Komencanto Eterna