The purpose of this study was to present an in-depth look at Canadian home education by surveying adults in Canada who were home educated, specifically first generation homeschool graduates who had been surveyed already in 1994 about their experience. This study addresses formal educational attainment, occupations, civic engagement, religious affiliation and participation, physical activities, leisure activities, family life, and more. Many charts and graphs are provided to succinctly and clearly display information collected from the surveys.

Participants

Participants for this study were chosen from families who completed the survey in 1994 and had indicated they were willing to be contacted down the road for a follow up. 281 families agreed to pass the survey on to their adult children and those results came in from 128 of those families. In total, 226 surveys were received from adults who were formerly home education graduates. 

Those who responded ranged in age from 15 – 34, with a median age of 23, and represented all provinces making up Canadian home education, except Prince Edward Island and the three territories. More than half (57%) of these respondents had completed some form of postsecondary education, which is more than the non-homeschooled population. The majority of the families were caucasian, Christian, and English speaking.

Respondents reported that they were very happy to have been home educated, and for the most part felt that it had given them an advantage in life and in future education.

Drawbacks stated included stigmatization and social prejudice, curriculum limitations and, for some, fewer opportunities to participate in group activities such as sports. The benefits mentioned included rich relationships, opportunity for extensive curricular enrichment, flexibility, individualized pace and program, development of independence and confidence, and superior academic education.

Findings

Looking at this study, the results speak for themselves and give a bright picture of home education here in Canada.

“Overall, homeschooling graduates appear to be very content with the education they received, as well as being happier and more satisfied with their work and life than similarly aged Canadians, and, indeed, young citizens of other countries.” (page 21)

“In summary, it was these six features — relationships, enrichment, flexibility, individualization, independence, and superior academics — that home-educated adults found best about their education.” (page 37) 

The adults who were home educated are engaged at a much higher rate in religious activities than the general population. “… [T]hree-quarters (76%) of our respondents said that religious beliefs were very important in their lives, compared with only one-quarter (26%) of similarly aged Canadians” (p. 15), and 95% of the respondents reported they were “Christians.” “These findings are consistent with those Ray (2004) found in his study of 5,254 Americans (home educated for seven or more years of their K-12 education) in terms of the demographic characteristics of the adults such as education achieved and civic engagement. 

He summarized his findings thus: “The home-educated adults in this study were very positive about having been homeschooled and toward homeschooling in general, actively engaged in their local communities, keeping abreast of current affairs, highly civically involved, tolerant of others expressing their viewpoints, attaining relatively high levels of formal education, religiously active and wide-ranging in their worldview beliefs, holding worldview beliefs similar to those of their parents, and largely home educating their own children”” (p. 44). 

“In terms of their highest level of education attained when compared to the general population, the formerly home-educated students attain higher levels. Their occupations are more oriented to health, to social services such as education, religion, and government, to arts and culture, and to participation in trades and transportation than the comparable population, and less oriented to sales and service, and natural and applied sciences. They are equally engaged in business, finance, and administration. 

They are much more likely to be civically engaged and to vote in federal, provincial, and municipal elections.

Their income tends to be slightly higher than that of their peers and none rely on government payments as their main source of income. Their life satisfaction is higher than that of their peers. They are more physically and recreationally active, and more engaged in culture and the arts than their peers. 

“When pushed for the single most important reason that they were home educated, they claimed first most frequently, educational reasons, second, religious reasons, third, family reasons and fourth, other, largely idiosyncratic, reasons. This can then be compared with what the respondents said was the best part about being home educated. They claim that rich relationships, extensive enrichment, schedule flexibility, individualization of pace and program, development of independence and superior academics were the best aspects of home education.” 

While this study did not include a diverse sampling of people, it does still give you a sense of how homeschooled children grow up into adults who contribute well to their communities and have a strong sense of self. For a more thorough look at the results, read the article in its entirety.

Van Pelt, Deani A. Neven, Allison, Patricia A., & Allison, Derek J. (2009). Fifteen years later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults. London, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Centre for Home Education.