Home education is the fastest growing educational movement in the world, yet the research remains limited on why and how it has become so popular. As more and more families seek to homeschool, it is imperative that further studies are undertaken to understand how students’ lives are impacted, as well as the challenges and opportunities that arise from this method of schooling. Global Perspectives on Home Education in the 21st Century is an edited collection that focuses on the major factors behind the global rise of the home education movement and explores many of the current issues faced in relation to homeschooling. The book examines key themes that include parents’ and children’s experiences of home education, how and why families choose to home educate, and what happens to home educated children once they are finished. Including topics such as unschooling, self-directed learning, willed learning, and holistic education, this book is primarily intended for home educators, school administrators, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.

Education began on the most intimate levels: the family and the community. With industrialization, education became professionalized and bureaucratized, typically conducted in schools rather than homes. Over the past half century, however, schooling has increasingly returned home, both in the United States and across the globe. This reflects several trends, including greater affluence and smaller family size leading parents to focus more on child well-being; declining faith in professionals (including educators); and the Internet, whose resources facilitate home education. In the United States, students who are homeschooled for at least part of their childhood outnumber those in charter schools. Yet remarkably little research addresses homeschooling. This book brings together work from 20 researchers, addressing a range of homeschooling topics, including the evolving legal and institutional frameworks behind home education; why some parents make this choice; home education educational environments; special education; and outcomes regarding both academic achievement and political tolerance. In short, this book offers the most up-to-date research to guide policy makers and home educators, a matter of great importance given the agenda of the current presidential administration. The chapters in this book were originally published as articles in the Journal of School Choice.

The world has transformed on an epic scale, but education has barely budged. How can you incorporate all the creativity technology has to offer into your learning experiences, even if your technological abilities are limited? How can online tools help students, especially gifted and twice-exceptional students, connect with others from around the block or around the world to collaborate on projects? Ben Curran and Neil Wetherbee of Engaging Educators give you step-by-step instructions to get you started using technology in your learning experiences. Discover new online tools geared toward collaborating and creating. Try out projects specifically designed with these tools in mind. Create a positive and interesting online portfolio to share with college recruiters and potential employers. Regardless of educational choice, "Learning in the 21st Century: How to Connect, Collaborate, and Create" will fill you with ideas and inspiration that will revolutionize how you approach learning. **As of July 1, 2013, Google has discontinued Google Reader. In the interest of keeping our readers up-to-date with the best options, Ben and Neil recommend Bloglines as a replacement service. Please go to http: //giftedhomeschoolers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Google-Reader-addendum-6-21-2013.pdf to download instructions on how to transfer your Google Reader subscriptions to Bloglines.**

Quiet the voices of "not good enough" and step courageously into guilt-free homeschooling Many homeschool parents have a long-term relationship with self-doubt. "Did I make the right decision?" "Could someone else do this better?" "Am I robbing my kids of something by not sending them to ‘regular school’?" What if there’s a better way? Not a 3-step technique or a shiny, new curriculum, but a change in perspective that transforms the way you plan, teach, and homeschool? Homeschool Bravely teaches you to see homeschooling as a calling, helps you overthrow the tyranny of impossible expectations, and guides you through the common bumps in the road, including how to: juggle school and parenting with toddlers at home teach a struggling learner plan with the end in mind accept your own limitations without feeling guilty stay the course even in the face of criticism Reclaim your hope, renew your purpose, and transform your homeschool. Because the truth is: God will use every part of your homeschool, even your fears, faults, and failures, to weave good plans for your kids.

Although the percentage of homeschooled U.S. students is 2% and growing, widespread misconceptions persist. Neighbors and relatives wonder if homeschoolers will be properly socialized and learn to live in the real world, teachers and administrators doubt that quality education can be achieved, and parents fear that homeschooling would be too hard. This book explains why homeschooling can be a great path for socializing a child and for excelling academically in a 21st century world, why homeschooling is easier than most people think, and how homeschooling can lead to the tranquil close family life many people seek. The book is written in a rational non-confrontational manner, ideally suited for homeschoolers to give to family and friends to inform them of the rationale for choosing this path of raising a child. It is also well-suited for teachers, administrators, journalists, and government officials who wish to learn more about this important educational approach.

Do you need parenting advice on how to inspire your child to love learning? Whether you homeschool or send your kids to public or private school, this is essential reading for your situation. Why? Because schooling has become a disaster. Your child's interests and uniqueness are disregarded, and structured curriculum and standards like Common Core place them on a conveyor belt that treats all children the same. This system crushes a child's curiosity. Your child deserves better! There is a better way: one that ensures your child sees learning as a joy and provides you, the parent, with a much less stressful way to educate and empower your son or daughter. In this book, Connor Boyack shares the exciting philosophy and empowering day-to-day steps involved in passion-driven education. A child's curiosity and natural desire to learn are like a tiny flame, easily extinguished unless it's protected and given fuel. This book will help you as a parent both protect that flame of curiosity and supply it with the fuel necessary to make it burn bright throughout your child's life. Let's ignite our children's natural love of learning! Five Things Discussed in the Book What's the problem with schools? Whether public, private, or "home," schooling is structured in a way that has significant negative outcomes for children academically, psychologically, and emotionally. To understand the solutions, you first need to review these problems.What's your goal? Too many parents simply send their children to school out of ritual and expectation, without thinking about the end result. Caring parents must ponder the outcomes of education and what they want their children to become. Once goals are established, we can make a plan.I need solutions! It's easy to point out problems with schooling. It's more important that we review serious and attainable solutions that can help you educate your child and preserve (or restore) their natural love of learning.What are the alternatives? If schools are inherently problematic and crush a child's curiosity, what can be done? We'll review several differing approaches to education that incorporate some of the solutions listed earlier.Passion-driven education The best way to educate a child is to speak to them in a language they already understand, using their personal interests as a "hook" to make other subjects interesting and relevant. We'll review some examples and then give you an action plan.

Teacher turned home-educator Anna Dusseau explores the purpose of education, how children learn and the benefits of home education. She addresses key questions and suggests activities and ways to start homeschooling.