Tag Archives: unschooling

Year 2019 — Volume 13 — Issue 25

decolonizing syntax: an indigenous dissertation
Pages: 1-14

abstract
this article highlights and discusses the protocols/processes followed in pursuing a doctoral dissertation that broke with the traditional tone and conventions of english academic writing while decolonizing its syntax using examples from his own culture and language the author privileges indigenous knowledge that illustrates the limitations of current thought about academic freedom from abstracts international to a university research ethics board there is much work to be done in opening up freedom of expression when it comes to the english language the positive news comes from the dissertation usage statistics that shows a worldwide interest
Dr. Patrick STEWART

v13251

Impact Of British Colonialism On The Education System In Bangladesh
Pages: 15-22

Abstract
This paper contextualizes the problem of the colonial legacy of British rule over India to some of the current problems Bangladesh is facing in its education, management and corruption issues. It looks to highlight these issues from a management, organization theory, epistemological and educational perspective.
Dr. Meinhaj HOSSAIN

v13252

Trusting Children: Lifelong Learning And Autonomy Within The Unschooling Movement
Pages: 23-40

Abstract
The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of autonomy in the context of education and analyse the complex features of unschooling, a particular movement within the home- based education paradigm. This study will aim to link the significance of autonomy and unschooling and place them within the wider discourse of contemporary lifelong learning (LLL) theories. Under the tenets of humanistic education theories that underline self-driven and intrinsic motivations for learning, this article will highlight the unschooling movement as an example of a subaltern pedagogical approach that is deeply rooted in institutional and ideological autonomy. More importantly, this study intends to challenge the way LLL is conceptualised and propel the international discourse surrounding it beyond the boundaries of institutional education.
Lorena SÁNCHEZ TYSON

v13253

The Salt Of Ignorance: Education And The Wounded Child
Pages: 41-59

Abstract
Childhood trauma has widespread implications on individuals across the length of a lifetime, impacting physical, mental, and emotional health. The author uses narrative to explore the past schooling experiences of an educator in public education, who was being abused at home throughout childhood. Through past-to-present storytelling, the author examines the ways in which practices and policies within public education systems have had, and may continue to have negative impacts on students living with complex (childhood) trauma. The author draws upon the work of Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz and their “The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook, emphasizing their research in relational health and connectedness to support the healing of children with complex trauma. She considers the challenges in creating authentic, healing spaces in mainstream schools for traumatized students, and how the embodiment of holistic education values, beliefs, and practices can offer the love and nurturance needed to support the healing of children living with trauma.
Kaley RECOSKIE

v13254

 

Year 2018 — Volume 12 — Issue 24

Exploring Unschoolers’ Experiences In Learning To Read: How Reading Happens Within The Self-Directed Learning Environment
Pages: 1-33

Abstract
Unschooling is a form of homeschooling where learning occurs not through the following of a set curricula, but instead through real life experiences. Unschooling parents do not try to replicate school or school-like activities at home. Instead, children are in charge of their own education, and that education usually naturally fits with their own intrinsic motivations, preferences, and learning styles. This is quite different from what we may see or experience in the public school classroom, where curriculum is strictly adhered to, and testing is the way a student’s learning is assessed. In this study, how and when unschoolers learn to read without a set curriculum will be explored. Twenty eight unschooled adults (age 18 and older) were interviewed and asked to recall their experiences with reading and learning to read. Through these interviews, the author sought to explore how reading can be learned naturally, without adult intervention; and how this may effect later motivation for reading, writing, and other academic endeavors.
Gina RILEY

v12241

The Experiences Of Progressive School Students
Pages: 34-61

Abstract
Progressive schools have shown a remarkable resiliency in recent decades, continuing to operate as an alternative to the public schooling system. This study draws upon interviews with graduates of one small progressive school in Upstate New York to investigate how their schooling affected their subsequent lives. Alumni were asked to describe their educational experiences and the advantages and disadvantages they provided them with as they went on with their lives. The former students’ comments were overwhelmingly positive. Four advantages are described here—Community, Small Setting, Freedom, and Trust, along with two disadvantages– -Limited Extra-Curricular Opportunities and Limited Socialization The author draws upon the work of Mollie Gambone and her, “ Trusted to Teach: An Ethnographic Account of’ Artisanal Teachers’ in a Progressive High School,” to frame the results. Connections between her work and the interviews of these alumni are provided.
Dean Kloss

v12242

Thinking Skills, Academic Intrinsic Motivation, Academic Self-Concept, And Academic Independence In Homeschooled Children
Pages: 62-90

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine thinking skills, academic intrinsic motivation, academic self-concept, and academic independence in homeschooled children. Homeschooled children ages 6-12 years old (N=46) completed the Test of Problem Solving 3: Elementary (TOPS), which measured the following thinking skills: making inferences, sequencing, answering negative questions, problem solving, predicting, and determining causes. The Homeschool Motivation Scale measured academic intrinsic motivation, academic self-concept, and academic independence. Parents completed a brief questionnaire. The results showed that homeschooled children’s TOPS scores were significantly higher than those of the test standardization sample for all six subscales and for the total test. There were significant positive correlations between TOPS total test scores and both academic intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept scores. TOPS total test scores were not consistently related to parental teaching techniques. This research suggests that thinking skills may be more advanced in homeschooled children than in children attending public schools.
Richard G. MEDLIN and Jessica L. BUTLER

v12243

Unexpected Path To Free Range Learning
Pages: 91-108

Abstract
This is a condensed version of an interview with Laura Grace Weldon, author of Free Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything, by Rebecca Bohnman on The Luminous Mind podcast. Weldon discusses her family’s shift from schooling to homeschooling to unschooling. She also describes using research to shake off a conventional school mindset, the benefits of diversity in homeschooling/unschooling groups, recognizing knowledge networks, and more.
Laura Grace WELDON

v12244

 

Year 2018 — Volume 12 — Issue 23

Dreaming Of Dissent: Rochdale College And The Failed Dream Of Communal Education
Pages: 1-18

Abstract
The paper looks at experimental alternative education systems to explore different approaches to pedagogical theories of post-secondary education. The paper focuses on the story of Rochdale College, an experimental free-form college and communal housing project associated with the University of Toronto between 1968 and 1975. The aims, theories and methods of Rochdale College are contextualized by an examination of two theorists on alternative education: John Dewey and Paul Goodman. The theories of Dewey and Goodman are explored through a brief examination of two experimental colleges that preceded Rochdale: The Experimental College (at Tufts University from 1927-32) and Black Mountain College in North Carolina (active from 1933- 57). Ideas regarding alternative forms of education were integrated into socio-political ideas from the 1960s counterculture movement in America and Canada, and a major test site for a form of counterculture education was the controversial experiment called Rochdale College. The paper explores ideas of what an alternative post-secondary education system has looked like in the past, in order to pose questions about the ways it could take shape in the future.
Sean STEELE

v12231

A/R/Tography Of Life Learning: A Historical Perspective On Children’s Lived Experience And Eco-Cultural Sustainability Of Childhood Before The Advent Of Compulsory Schooling In Tibet
Pages: 19-55

Abstract
In this paper, I describe and explore a cultural and historical context of children’s lived experience prior to the advent of compulsory schooling in Tibet. Specifically, I focus on how children had been learning without schools, and what these life learning experiences meant to them. In doing so, I engage unschooling (Holt, 1972, 1974, 1976 1983; Holt & Farenga, 2003; Ricci, 2012) as my culturally responsive theoretical framework in order to acknowledge and recognize the historical significance of these unique learning contexts. In addition, I choose a/r/tography (Irwin, 2004; Leavy, 2012) as my methodological framework in order to respect and acknowledge the arts-based cultural heritage of local communities. Therefore, I celebrate the success and challenges of local children’s life learning experiences, as well as promote an eco-cultural understanding of how these historical learning experiences can inform educational policy, teachers, and the general public. This multi-modal arts-based study found that children’s ways of life learning included creative playfulness, gender equal games, intergenerational learning; and the overall context of subsistence as eco-cultural sustainability. Through these ways of life learning, children have experienced their existential happiness in childhood and ontological freedom, as well as developed a sense of eco-cultural sustainability.
Olga SHUGUROVA

v12232

Toward A Critical Unschooling Pedagogy
Pages: 56-71

Abstract
This paper outlines the theoretical, pedagogical, and philosophical framework for critical unschooling. Critical Unschooling is a student-centered and autonomous teaching and learning praxis rooted in decolonizing human rights education. Unlike homeschool, unschooling de-centers the hegemonic power dynamics inherent to essentialist and traditionalist approaches to formal education in favor of a student-led educational milieu in which learning is decompartmentalized and can occur at any place and time. Critical unschooling draws upon literature rooted in ethnic studies, postcolonial feminism, and human rights education, to propose conceptions of self- directed and community-based learning that develops students’ radical agency and critical consciousness.
Noah ROMERO

v12233

Book Review – Cooperative Games For A Cooperative World: Facilitating Trust, Communication, And Spiritual Connection
Pages: 72-76

By: Dada Maheshvarananda InnerWorld Publications 2017
Reviewed by: Kathleen KESSON, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Leadership in the School of Education at LIU- Brooklyn
Note: This piece is a book review and as such was not subject to blind peer review. It was accepted by the editorial team

v12234

 

Year 2017 — Volume 11 — Issue 22

‘Unschooling’ In The Context Of Growing Mental Health Concerns Among Indian Students: The Journey Of 3 Middle-Class Unschooling Families
Pages: 1-33

Abstract
India’s education system has often been critiqued for aspects of rigidness, competition, work overload, hierarchic power, and lack of creativity, resulting in feelings of stress and anxiety in students. Interestingly, alternative education approaches have come up in the past few decades in response to formal education, including the rise of unschooling. In this article the self-reported journeys of three unschooling parents are analyzed to bring insights into 1) what role stress and anxiety might play in the decisions of Indian parents to choose unschooling, 2) how key advantages and disadvantages of unschooling are shaped and recognised by unschooling parents, 3) how personal experiences of ‘stress’ are appreciated and experienced in Indian unschooling family contexts, and 4) what distinctively different processes are evident in the upbringing process of unschooled children, compared with those existing in formal education systems. Results reveal that a sense of tedium in formal classrooms, as well as a problematisation of stress, motivates parents’decision for unschooling. Social pressures and challenges are experienced, yet also welcomed by parents as part of the unschooling journey. ‘Stress’ is differently framed and experienced in the stories of unschooling parents, emphasizing the stress which is evoked through unrestricted self-governed learning processes, as opposed to ‘distress’ experienced in systems of directive and sometimes coercive learning. Finally, this article reflects on aspects of ‘trust’ and ‘self-agency’ which were found meaningful in unschooling and how to potentially encourage such notions in formal education settings to prevent mental health issues in children and youth.
Emma Emily DE WIT, Daniel EAGLES, Barbara REGEER

v11221

Home-Schooled Students And Their Teachers: Provoking Curriculum Together Through Child-Driven Learning
Pages: 34-52

Abstract
Child-centered and child-driven learning can provoke the creation of curriculum that is responsive to students’ particular learning needs, is engaging and meaningful, and promotes learner agency. Homeschool settings provide opportunities for parent/educators cognizant of child-centered and child-driven curriculum to meet students’ interests, readiness, growth, and educational drive with responses tailored for each unique situation. This learning space can allow for the relationship between the parent/educator and the student to continually revisit and revitalize learning, expanding on shared experience and potentially spanning the developmental years of the student. The lines between educator and student become blurred as the educator is directed by the unique interests and educational needs of each student. Research into the field of homeschooling curriculum can inspire discussion and innovation in more traditional educational settings. In this paper presentation, the authors will discuss the literature on child-centered and child-driven learning. Next, stories from real homeschools illustrating the co-creation of child- centered curriculum by both the educator/parent and student will be shared. Finally, the presenters will kindle a lively conversation with all participants about the role of students and teachers in curriculum creation, student-centered and student-driven learning in homeschools and in public schools, and imagining the possibilities of both contexts.
Karen E. EFFORD & Dr. Katherine BECKER

v11222

Designing A Space For Thoughtul Voices: Aligning The Ethos Of Zines With Youth-Driven Philosophical Inquiry
Pages: 53-75

Abstract
This article strives to lay some necessary theoretical groundwork for justifying an alliance between zining and youth-driven “philosophical inquiry” (Lipman, 2004)—two important practices that operate outside the mainstream yet can shed light on conventional (mis)understandings of youth by illustrating innovative ways of designing space for young voices to emerge and thrive in their educational experiences and beyond. By highlighting the shared ethos between zining and philosophical inquiry as practices that foster meaning-making, this article aims to emphasize their common participatory, do-it-yourself, experimental, politicizing and transformative features, while noting the challenges involved in extending them to the context of childhood. Further, it illustrates how aligning zining and philosophical inquiry can contribute to a re-envisioning of children by portraying them as capable cultural producers and social historians of their own discourse communities. Lastly, it explores issues of adult authority, suggesting conditions that may help to authenticate the philosophical use of zines with youth.
Natalie M. FLETCHER

v11223

Framing Unschooling Using Theories Of Motivation
Pages: 76-99

Abstract
As more families consider alternative learning approaches such as unschooling, little is known about the role motivation plays in self-directed education. Synthesizing major concepts of several theories of motivation (transformative experience, self-efficacy, self-regulation, expectancy-value theory, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation), the research demonstrates that unschooling is a viable approach to learning. Motivation requires goals, activity and commitment to achieve outcomes (Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008) and within the context of unschooling, the literature demonstrates that individuals sustain motivation so they can achieve certain tasks. The findings demonstrate a need to invoke students to follow their aptitudes and curiosity outside of the rigid structures of conventional schooling, potentially altering the current landscape of education.
Dr. Whitney SHERMAN

v11224

 

Year 2017 — Volume 11 — Issue 21

Unschooling and How I Became Liberated: The Teenage Liberation Handbook, Quitting School and Getting a Real Life and Education
Pages: 1-7

Abstract
Twenty-five years ago, Grace Llewellyn, a school teacher from Colorado, published The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get A Real Life and Education. As a teenager struggling with many issues, including bullying, social isolation and poverty, I concluded that school was largely contributing to my misery — thanks to this book, I finally had the clarity and courage to leave school. This is a retrospective and narrative inquiry on my experiences growing up and the book that has helped transform my life and the lives of other unschoolers.
Michael JODAH

v11211

The Experiences of New Home Educators
Pages: 8-28

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of new home educators. Two main research questions guided the study: 1) How do new home educators describe their homeschooling experience? 2) What do new home educators value about homeschooling? To investigate these questions a phenomenological approach was used to examine the shared experiences of 10 educators who had homeschooled for less than three years. The data from the participants revealed three major themes: (a) Anyone can, and should, homeschool b) The time spent with their children was valued, and (c) The flexibility and adaptability that homeschooling afforded was prized.
Sarah PANNONE

v11212

A Non-Linear Model for Career Development in Academia
Pages: 29-50

Abstract
Since the arrival of modern science, many of the professionals who wish to attain an academic career follow a track we call the linear model of accomplishment. Essentially, the model displays a number of sequential steps that each candidate, with minor variations, ought to take. In contrast, the non-linear model deals with professionals who are not able to follow the traditional model to achieve a full-fledged academic life, but that, with an evident scientific vocation, resume an academic career after a number of years dedicated to other professional activities. This paper shows that the systems principle of equifinality applies to career development in academia, by describing examples of linear and non- linear development that take place in traditional and non-traditional institutions in Mexico, respectively.
Jaime JIMÉNEZ & Juan C. ESCALANTE

v11213

‘The Holy Grail,’ Trying to Define Alternative Education: A Book Reviewé of the Palgrave International Handbook of Alternative Education
Pages: 51-56

Abstract
The Palgrave International Handbook of Education is an accessible text allowing the reader to discover for themselves their own definition of alternative education. The three key sections; Thinking differently, doing differently and acting differently allow the reader to find the chapters that refer directly to their situation and culture. I highly recommend the handbook to those interested in alternative education as it fills a much needed hole of cutting edge research into educational alternatives.
Alys MENDUS

v11214

 

Year 2016 — Volume 10 — Issue 20

Unschooling In Hong Kong: A Case Study
Pages: 1-15

Abstract
Although homeschooling, and more recently, unschooling, is slowly gaining acceptance in the United States; unschooling in Hong Kong is rare and considered risky. The Educational Bureau of Hong Kong (EDB) tends to discourage alternative forms of education, believing that traditional schooling is the best way to educate students. This case study focuses on the unschooling experience of Karen Chow and her family. Karen is one of the first individuals to choose to unschool her children in Hong Kong. She is also the founder and executive member of EDiversity.org, an organization focused on rethinking education and educational alternatives in Hong Kong.
Gina RILEY

v10201

Evaluation Of A Temporary, Immersive Learning Community Based On Worldschooling
Pages: 16-27

Abstract
Learning communities are a proven method for engaging groups of people who share common goals for personal growth and knowledge acquisition (Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews, & Smith, 1990; Taylor, Moore, MacGregor, & Lindblad, 2003). However, little is known about the usefulness of this approach in the context of alternative education. This article describes the evaluation of a temporary, immersive learning community for self-directed teen learners, Project World School (PWS), which was based on a new, pedagogical approach to learning called worldschooling. Findings indicate that regardless of demographic characteristics and personal interests, PWS attendees experienced learning and progress in three main areas: social development, personal development, and experiential academics. The PWS model shows evidence of the benefits of worldschooling and has potential to be successfully replicated and translated to other international settings.
Aimee FERRARO

v10202

Pedagogy Out Of Fear Of Philosophy As A Way Of Pathologizing Children
Pages: 28-47

Abstract
The article conceptualizes the term Pedagogy of Fear as the master narrative of educational systems around the world. Pedagogy of Fear stunts the active and vital educational growth of the young person, making him/her passive and dependent upon external disciplinary sources. It is motivated by fear that prevents young students—as well as teachers—from dealing with the great existential questions that relate to the essence of human beings. One of the techniques of the Pedagogy of Fear is the internalization of the view that without evaluation and assessment we cannot know a child’s level or “worth”—and therefore are unable to help him/her if he is “slow in learning.”

In contrast, Philosophy for/with Children offers a space for addressing existential questions, some of which deal with urgent social issues. The willingness to make philosophy inquiry an alternative already from an early age seeks to allow the child to challenge him/herself with new and fresh questions. Philosophy for/with Children does not regard children as a “space of lack” (experience, knowledge, values, etc.) The new and fresh philosophical perspective of children demands the presence of a willingness to engage in dialogue and rejection of the fear of the innocent and deep questions of philosophy. Shaking free of the Pedagogy of Fear and restoring honor to children’s questions demands a fundamental conceptual change within education. The replacement of existential certainty as it is depicted by adults in the existing education system with an existential question is a heavy intellectual task that in most cases is viewed as subversive—primarily on the part of the adult. It demands a return to starting points and a willingness to allow children a free and safe educational space in which to ground preliminary and fertile questions about themselves, their lives, their environment, and, most of all, the changing world they discover with the form of originality that is right for them.
Arie KIZEL

v10203

“Whatever It Takes” A Case Study Of Our Child’s Alternative Path To Literacy
Pages: 48-66

Abstract
As public school educators, my husband and I struggled with making alternative academic choices for our child with learning differences. Choosing the alternative path was not easy or clear cut for us. This is a reflective record of the journey toward getting my son “Whatever it Takes” to help him learn. The article chronicles intuition about the early warning signs of learning differences. The article discusses the merits of the private school experience, the homeschooling experience and ultimately a modified and personalized learning plan that made learning natural, while preserving my son’s confidence, self-esteem and integrity. Detailed in the article are the discussions concerning the many educational, instructional and sociological decisions that are necessary to individualize instruction to meet an individual’s needs.
Shelly HUGGINS

v10204

Year 2016 — Volume 10 — Issue 19

Children’s Integration Into Community Life: Opportunities For Meaningful Participation And For Developing Multi-Age Relationships
Pages: 1-27

Abstract
The integration of children into the daily lives of their communities, and engagement with adults in productive activities and shared endeavours, are two positive elements which have been previ- ously overlooked in discussions of alternative educational approaches. Children, families and communities all benefit when children have regular opportunities to be embedded in the daily social fabric of family and community life, interacting across ages and generations. Interviews with families enrolled in British Columbia’s SelfDesign Learning program demonstrate how the opportunities possible for children who learn outside of school are broad, powerful and should be recognized as legitimate by anyone involved with children.
Kristina LEIDUMS

v10191

The History Of Youth Academy Within The Context And History Of Alternative Schooling
Pages: 28-47

Abstract
Alternative education in America has existed for several decades. Born from egalitarian ideology and calls for social progressivity during the Civil Rights Movement, alternative education has assumed many forms including institutions specifically established to assist students with disciplinary issues, attendance troubles, substance abuse problems, and learning difficulties. Through an in-depth analysis of one such alternative education institution (Youth Academy in West Virginia), this article aims to explain what alternative education is, what it has become, and why alternative education institutions are necessary to help combat problematic social and educational issues in America. The philosophy of re-education is discussed as a theoretical teaching tool and the significance of Youth Academy as a model alternative education institution within its state and nationally is stressed. It was concluded that those entrusted with decision- making power within America’s school systems would be wise to consider the potential benefits of establishing alternative education institutions by using Youth Academy as a possible blueprint.
Matthew HODGMAN

v10192

“The Courage To Let Them Play”: Factors Influencing And Limiting Feelings Of Self-Efficacy In Unschooling Mothers
Pages: 48-81

Abstract
Work and play are dichotomized in society and the conventional education system. Stepping outside of society’s educational norms and allowing children more free play/choice is not easy, but more parents are doing it by engaging their children in a homeschooling pedagogy called unschooling. What gives these parents the courage to walk down an unconventional educational path? This article will explore factors influencing and limiting feelings of self-efficacy in mothers who unschool. This paper provides an overview of homeschooling, focuses in on unschooling and its connections to play, provides an overview of Bandura’s (1977) theory on self-efficacy, and then interweaves this theory with the experiences of unschooling mothers.
Kristan MORRISON

v10193

Cracking The Code On The “Hidden Curriculum” In The Medical Education Pipeline And Its Contribution To Attrition
Pages: 82-99

Abstract
Physicians withstand one of the longest and most complicated educational processes in existence. There are a multitude of personal and professional developmental steps along the way that contribute to physician burnout and career dissatisfaction. This article is the first attempt of its kind to conceptualize these various influences into a series of five phases that each physician-in-training experiences, beginning before medical school even starts. The five phases are: 1. The Pre-Med Syndrome, 2. Adaptation, 3. Assimilation, 4. The Let Down, and 5. Reemerging Priorities. Three of the five phases described here can negatively influence the physician’s psychological well-being, while two of the phases are quite positive and encouraging. The phases don’t necessarily have to occur in sequential order and may be repeated cyclically within each of the formal academic steps (i.e., undergraduate, basic science years of medical school, and the clinical science years). Hopefully, this perspective paper will contribute further to the active discussion of how to make medical education more effective and palatable.
Daniel WILLIAMS

v10194