Knowles, J. Gary, & Muchmore, James A. (1995). Yep! We’re grown-up home-school kids–and we’re doing just fine, thank you. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 4(1), 35-56. (Use mailed surveys and life history interviews to study 53 adults who were home educated. Ten adults were purposively chosen for the interviews “… in order to represent as much diversity as possible across attributes such as age, sex, race, family background, formal school attendance, present and past residential locations (both geographically and on an urban/rural continuum), and vocation” [p. 39]. “We especially sought a representation of those with no formal education or with unstable employment records so as not to overlook what may represent the least productive and most occupationally unstable of this population … [who] would be more like the kinds of `products’ that the critics of home education have implied would be the `result’ of children being taught at home” [p. 40]. The 10 adults “… often expressed similar values, especially those regarding morality and society. Respect for individual differences and a concern for others, for instance, were values shared by all of them” [ p. 48-49]. “… they grew up with specific advantages that contributed to their independent views of society and their roles in it. … they were employed in a variety of professions and occupations, with many concentrated in occupations that allowed for independence, flexibility, and creativity. … the majority of the adults reflected a clearly positive attitude toward their home education and family experiences. Moreover, these adults did not appear to exhibit characteristics that imply that they were disadvantaged as a result of their home education experiences, as critics of home education suggest. ….. Even in a time of growing unemployment, these people were gainfully employed and productive members of their communities. Currently, no extensive and compelling evidence supports the fears that critics of home schools have consistently expressed over the two decades since 1970 …” [p. 52].) (Descriptors: home education, research, adults, older, success, social, policy, religion)

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