Home-based learning appears to be a growing trend among Gen Z parents according to a latest study.
Education is a global topic with major debates globally about early childhood education and school curriculums.
However a recent study revealed that seven out of ten parents under the age of 26 would prefer to homeschool their children.
This choice is motivated in part by a desire for a “safer environment” with control at the parents hands
Moreover some parents wish to shield their kids from what they perceive as “toxic socialization.”
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Research on homeschooling
An April 2023 poll conducted by the edutech company Age of Learning shares a different picture for gen z parents.
The survey involved over 1,000 mothers, fathers, and parents-to-be to assess their interest in homeschooling.
The research found that younger parents who harbor these concerns are 74% more likely to opt for homeschooling.
According to the study more Gen Z parents compared to millennials and Gen Xers opted for homeschooling.
The study also noted a significant increase in online searches related to teaching childen at home.
Consequently the term “home-schooling” experienced a 150% increase in searches over the past year.
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Covid contibuted
The global covid pandemic, in part, contributed to this surge in interest in homeschooling.
The study’s authors suggested that many families who had never considered homeschooling explored it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However homeschooling may remain as much of a western option than an african one.
Homeschooling in Kenya however has remained as a reserve of the middle class with the rest having no option but traditional schooling.
Nevertheless, educational scholars such as Wandia Njoya stipulate that homeschooling is a “neoliberal ideology of choice, which ignores the reality”
Moreover her research stipulates “that options for choice are not equally available to all.” and that education is about a community.
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