Homeschooling in America

Joseph F. Murphy is the Frank W. Mayborn Chair and associate dean at Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. He has also been a faculty member at the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University, where he was the William Ray Flesher Professor of Education. In the public schools, he has served as an administrator at the school, district, and state levels, including an appointment as the executive assistant to the chief deputy superintendent of public instruction in California. His most recent appointment was as the founding president of the Ohio Principals Leadership Academy. At the university level, he has served as department chair and associate dean. He is past vice president of the American Educational Research Association and was the founding chair of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). He is co-editor of the AERA Handbook on Educational Administration (1999) and editor of the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) yearbook, The Educational Leadership Challenge (2002). His work is in the area of school improvement, with special emphasis on leadership and policy. He has authored or co-authored 18 books in this area and edited another 12. His most recent authored volumes include Understanding and Assessing the Charter School Movement (2002), Leadership for Literacy: Research-Based Practice, PreK-3 (2003), Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement (2005), Preparing School Leaders: Defining a Research and Action Agenda (2006), and Turning Around Failing Schools: Lessons From the Organizational Sciences.

About the Author 1. Staying Home: Definitions and Estimates 2. A Portrait: The Demographics of Homeschooling 3. Riding History: The Origins and Development of Homeschooling 4. Seismic Shifts: Exploring Environmental Conditions That Foster Homeschooling 5. The Calculus of Departure: Parent Motivations for Homeschooling 6. A Ball in Play: Homeschooling in Action 7. The End Game: The Impact of Homeschooling 8. Hunches: Explanations for Positive Effects References Index

"Despite its vast expansion in recent years to two million students, homeschooling is the least understood component of American education. Joseph Murphy has produced the most comprehensive review of the homeschooling movement in this must-read book for both the curious and the expert. His findings will astonish the reader with a display of the wide diversity of homeschooling situations, students, and outcomes." -- Henry M. Levin, William H. Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University "A much-needed book that chronicles homeschooling's emergence from a small fringe movement only decades ago to its stature today as a legitimate alternative to the traditional public schooling model in the United States. Joseph Murphy provides an overarching interpretive framework to help the reader understand why homeschooling is expanding, who participates, what happens in homeschooling instruction, and what research tells us about educational impacts of those who are homeschooled. A balanced analysis that is both wide in scope and deep in the insights it offers." -- James Cibulka, President "Though homeschooling has been growing rapidly as a form of school choice, it is not well understood or well studied. This comprehensive book stands in the gap. It examines the history of homeschooling in the United States and the forces behind its dramatic growth. It offers a thorough description of homeschoolers and their families. And it takes a serious look at instructional programs, teaching methods, and academic and social outcomes. Homeschooling in America not only makes a significant contribution to the bank of homeschooling research, but it provides direction to where further research is badly needed." -- Mark Berends, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity