An analysis of writing instruction in the home school
Abstract
"An Analysis of Writing Instruction in the Home School" is an empirical inquiry into alternative writing pedagogies, specifically home education, that unique instructional situation where families are primarily responsible for shaping the curriculum. It is a descriptive study that profiles the pedagogies contained in home school texts and actual practice. Beginning with a survey of research on home schooling in the United States, the study analyzes the major composition texts specifically designed for a home school audience by examining four crucial writing variables. These variables are then explored in both the texts, where emerging subvariables and their range of variation are noted, and through a case study component, where data are collected from a home school family who uses such texts. This study finds that those acts which have been isolated in previous studies as characterizing good writing pedagogy largely do not appear in home school texts. Nor are they represented in the pedagogy of the family that was studied. In addition, the numerous opportunities for teacher-student conferencing afforded by home instruction are seldom taken. In the case study, attitudes toward writing were found to be major factors in shaping home school instruction. The pedagogy was dominated by imitation, which overshadowed the writing variables. A final commentary examines the emerging variables, attitudes toward literacy, and criteria for choosing texts.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Lauer, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Educational evaluation|Language arts
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