The Canadian Centre for Home Education is excited to welcome our new Director of Research, Dr. Joseph Woodard. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Dr. Woodard holds exceptional educational and professional qualifications and experience, which he will utilize to direct and lead our organization forward as we continue to inform, influence, and inspire homeschoolers across Canada and around the globe.

As a supporter of CCHE’s mission, we want you to have the inside scoop on who Dr. Woodard is and why we are excited to have him join our team!

Dr. Woodard earned a B.A. in Political Philosophy at the University of Alberta, and M.A. degrees at both Dalhousie and St John’s with a focus on the Great Books. He holds Greek and Latin diplomas from Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from Claremont. His extensive career includes fifteen years as a faculty member and academic at Bethany College and Brock University, fifteen years in journalism working with Alberta Report and the Calgary Herald, as well as his most recent eleven-year tenure as a tribunal judge with Employment Insurance and Citizenship Canada.

Dr. Woodard is very passionate about parent-led education, and he and his wife Kathy have enjoyed their own homeschooling experience with their ten children. Anyone can do research, but we want someone who understands the world of home education, and Dr. Woodard definitely does!

In addition to his own educational background in the classics and the standards for the Great Books curriculum, Dr. Woodard has a particular interest in developing clarity and research on topics such as homeschool curriculum and standardized testing. He believes there is a great need for current research on home education for the purposes of greater public advocacy as well as a need for stronger internal communications within the home education community, particularly as the homeschooling world diversifies. Dr. Woodard plans to collaborate with the Home School Legal Defence Association in conducting some of this future research.

As Dr. Woodard’s bio shows, he has been writing for many years on the topic of education. We thought you might be interested in a couple of articles he has written in the past that will give you insight into his perspective on education as a whole.

Culture War Comes to Your School is a quick discussion of the two opposing philosophies of education.
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Lost Common Good of Education is an in depth discussion of the revolutionary seizure of public education which began in the 1970s.
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“Canada is on the front lines when it comes to preserving the rights of parents to educate their own children,” Dr. Woodard tells us, reminding us that there are some places in the western world where the home education battle has already been lost, including in Germany and the Nordic countries.

What can you expect from Dr. Woodard:

• He will scour the existing research and share key insights that make the case for home education as a highly valuable educational choice.
• He will conduct surveys to measure the success of current (and former) homeschooling families to document the progress of our movement.
• He will write articles for widespread publication on relevant educational topics to encourage the home education community.

Your ongoing support of CCHE has allowed us to take this big step forward in our mission, and we are thankful to have you as a partner as we continue to make certain the world knows just how amazing home education is!