Imagine for a moment a group of mavericks supposedly following some scientific discipline but working entirely on their own, completely cut off from mainstream science. Let us say that they are physicists. Physicists though with this one vital difference; hardly any of them have actually studied physics. They do not keep in touch with modern research on physics and they refuse to read the scientific journals which would keep them in touch with the latest developments in the field. Most of them are attached to idea which were disproved in the 1960s. They have developed their own theory of physics, but refuse to cooperate with other physicists in trying to test this theory. They know that it is true and that their ideas work and that is all there is to it! Besides, many of them are hostile to orthodox physics and believe that the motives of most physicists are suspect and that they are perpetuating a system of physics which is corrupt and dangerous; largely because they are in the pay of the government.
If you simply substitute the word 'teaching' or 'education' in the above paragraph, you might get some idea of how conventional educationalists, as well as many ordinary people, view home educators. Home educators are, by and large, hopelessly out of touch with mainstream education and yet insist that they have made a marvellous discovery in the field, a discovery that other, orthodox educationalists reject, probably because they are in the pay of the government. Until home educators move a little closer to the centre and start learning more about the latest research on their chosen subject, that is to say education, and start cooperating in research and sharing their data; they will remain outsiders. Just imagine somebody who claimed to be a physicist and yet rejected the idea of quarks because he was stuck in the mindset of the 1960s, before experimental evidence emerged for the existence of quarks. This is just what many home educators are like with their clinging to the educational ideas which were all the rage in the sixties and seventies.
One thing education is renowned for is the paucity of reliability and validity in its research. Study after study is open to question because of its poor methodology. And poor research methodology makes the education sector very susceptible to fads.
ReplyDeleteHowever, home educators aren't 'clinging to the educational ideas which were all the rage in the sixties and seventies', they are using methods that work. And they are methods that teachers have found to work since the early days of the education system.
Is there any evidence that clinging to the educational ideas which are all the rage at the moment is more effective?
I don't think home educators cling to ideas from the 60's. I think they are talking about their own experiences. Most education research is conducted on children being taught in classes, and doesn't all translate into home education environments where the child has more individual attention. Also they way success is measured also makes some of the research meaningless for HE. Success in terms of improvement on NC targets, scores on particular tests, reintegration of school phobic children back into school.
ReplyDeleteAmongst the group who are home educating children with SEN, there are many who study research, keep up to date with trends and ideas, often more so that the teachers in school.
Christine
I think there are two ways in which this analogy falls down. First, education is not a hard science like physics. The development of a body of knowledge is influenced hugely by social and political belief systems. There are many different approaches which develop within their own theoretical frameworks. This is why there are Steiner schools and Montessori nurseries and so on. It's also the case that the 'fashions' in education are cyclical - something you can see clearly in approaches to learning to read, for example.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the fact that most home educators are largely concerned with what works for their child/ren and so are mostly interested in aspects of education theory that translate to the home ed set-up. There would be little point in reading books on classroom practice (no matter how clearly located in a theoretical framework) if your interest in education is about a couple of kids in the home.
Or, Let us imagine a different scenario.
ReplyDeleteThere is group of home cooks who cook their families nutritious and imaginative meals. They children are growing and healthy, they are not fat or sick.
The families enjoy their mealtimes together, occasionally eating out in restaurants for a change. The home cook, usually the mother, sometimes buys books of recipes and occasionally tries new ones to see if her family enjoys them. If they do, she will add it to her repertoire. If they don't, no problem, she has plenty of ideas up her sleeve already.
Every now and then she hears a news story about how some food is supposed to be a 'superfood' or 'terribly unhealthy' but she doesn't feel the need to jump on every cookery bandwagon that passes by.
Her family is healthy and happy. But wait, what's this? Some twit from the council wants to inspect her kitchen, weigh her children and examine her weekly menus. What else, oh some silly man from a pretend university is telling people that 'the jury is out on Home Cooking'. And a bunch of professional chefs are complaining to the government about lax rules on home cooking. Silly people.
It is true that ideas on schooling are irrelevant to the home educator. I am really talking about ideas on how children learn and the best way of educating them. These things are applicable in both home and school based education. Ther argument, 'I know what works' is often not a good one. When something 'works', it is often hard to pick out the salient points which made it 'work'. That is the value of research. For example a child growing up in a home crammed with books and with parents who are constantly reading themselves and always ready to read to their child, might later claim that their child learned to read spontaneously. If another parent tries this approach, perhaps in a home with a television blaring out all day, with little conversation and hardly any books; a child of the same age might not learn to read spontaneously. It is vital that objective studies of any ideas be carried out. One will not as a rule come across these studies in the ordinary newspapers. This means that many home educators are working in a vacuum and may not be up to date with what others have found out about the process of education and learning.
ReplyDeleteSimon.
“This is just what many home educators are like with their clinging to the educational ideas which were all the rage in the sixties and seventies.”
ReplyDeleteMore arrant nonsense from Webb. Home Educators are at the forefront of exploiting technology for educational achievement together with helping children to develop more natural relationships with society at large.
Typical Webb, no research again just pub talk as usual.
'Home Educators are at the forefront of exploiting technology for educational achievement'
ReplyDeleteThis simply means that a lot of these parents rely upon the Internet to educate their children, rather than buying books for them. I was already aware of this.
Simon.
'no research again '
ReplyDeleteAnd I have of course touched before upon the strange reluctance of the great majority of home educating parents to become involved in any objective evaluation of their claims.
Simon.
Simon said
ReplyDelete"many home educators are working in a vacuum and may not be up to date with what others have found out about the process of education and learning."
Unfortunately not only is much educational research questionable methodologically, it's related to schools, not individual learning at home.
What research are you referring to specifically?
"'Home Educators are at the forefront of exploiting technology for educational achievement'
ReplyDeleteThis simply means that a lot of these parents rely upon the Internet to educate their children, rather than buying books for them. I was already aware of this."
It does not mean that at all. This is just the obscure spin that you churn out whenever people demonstrate your inadequate reasoning.
'This is just the obscure spin that you churn out whenever people demonstrate your inadequate reasoning.'
ReplyDeleteBy all means feel free to demonstrate my inadequate reasoning. If you were not referring to the Internet, then what was the technology which you say home educators are exploiting?
Simon.
'This is just the obscure spin that you churn out whenever people demonstrate your inadequate reasoning.'
ReplyDeleteBy all means feel free to demonstrate my inadequate reasoning. If you were not referring to the Internet, then what was the technology which you say home educators are exploiting?
Simon.
We are not here to educate a mindless blogger, but we do encourage Webb to think, amply reasoned thinking judgements and sound rationale before making sweeping statements of nonsense just to please his rampant ego.
Most of us are empirical scientists who try things and if they work, continue them, if they don't then we change.
ReplyDeleteModern state education doesn't work particularly well - the exams are dumbed down and the number of children achieving the 5+ GCSEs target is still far too low. Children are not taught to think for themselves and many fail to understand the facts that have been thrust upon them.
Remember the last days of the previous government when they started trumpeting about personalised learning? Trying to implement in schools something akin to the home education experience (while simultaneously trying to destroy home education).
'By all means feel free to demonstrate my inadequate reasoning. If you were not referring to the Internet, then what was the technology which you say home educators are exploiting?
ReplyDeleteSimon.
We are not here to educate a mindless blogger, but we do encourage Webb to think, amply reasoned thinking judgements and sound rationale before making sweeping statements of nonsense just to please his rampant ego.'
So that would just be the Internet then.
Simon.
'Modern state education doesn't work particularly well - the exams are dumbed down and the number of children achieving the 5+ GCSEs target is still far too low. Children are not taught to think for themselves and many fail to understand the facts that have been thrust upon them.'
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that that is probably why many of us choose to home educate! Once again, we seem to have drifted onto the topic of schools, rather than education and learning per se. I am interested in the factors which make one child succeed academically, whether taught at home or in a school, while other fail miserably. The key to this probably lies in home background and early experiences. This is a fruitful area to look at, because it might help us to help all children learn effectively, whether they attend school or not.
Simon.
The thing is, Simon, as I know I've pointed out before (!) you may need to base your policies on a sound evidence base if you are deciding on education policy for thousands of children, but you don't need the same approach when deciding on methods for your own child. This is because educating a single child (or a few together) can be flexible and responsive in a way that a national, regional or school policy can never be.
ReplyDeleteNow that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be interested in developments in theories of learning but it really isn't necessary for us to get too caught up in that stuff if we can see that what we are doing is working! The problem arises when things aren't working - and that's the same for an individual child whether in school or not. What is needed then is a change of approach. I think you'll find that most home educators would agree with that. So, as long as you don't wander along thinking that what works for another home educator will necessarily work for you then you'll be fine - even if you haven't read all the latest research on theories of learning.
What research are you referring to specifically?
ReplyDelete'suzyg said...
ReplyDeleteWhat research are you referring to specifically?'
I'm not referring to anything specific. There is a lot of research on the use of computers in teaching, the effects that television has on developing brains, the value of being read to as a child, structured or open-plan classrooms and so on. Some of this stuff finds its way into popular books and newspapers; much does not. A lot of home educating parents seem work from an ideological rather than an empirical perspective when deciding how to go about educating their children. There are hazards in this.
Simon.
Allie wrote,
ReplyDelete"Then there is the fact that most home educators are largely concerned with what works for their child/ren and so are mostly interested in aspects of education theory that translate to the home ed set-up."
Exactly. If a study finds that a particular method works extremely well but only for 5% of the school population (the usual study group), it's unlikely that it will be used at all. But this will be a loss for the 5% for whom it worked so well. Obviously, these children can be catered for easily at home. Home educators tend to notice what works and doesn't work for individual children and rapidly adapt their methods to suit. This cannot happen in schools. Using research as a springboard for ideas on different methods to try can be useful, but the results for large groups of children taught at school may be less useful. At best it might suggest the order in which you try methods.
Simon wrote,
"When something 'works', it is often hard to pick out the salient points which made it 'work'. That is the value of research."
Why? If the methods you've arrived at work for your child, why would the methods that work for other children be relevant if you've tried them and arrived at a better approach for your individual child?
Simon wrote,
"If another parent tries this approach, perhaps in a home with a television blaring out all day, with little conversation and hardly any books; a child of the same age might not learn to read spontaneously."
In that case, as happened in our home, the children that learn spontaneously do so, and the others learn using alternative methods when they want to learn to read. We've observed both 'spontaneous' learning and 'taught using a mainly phonic' approach in our home. I put 'spontaneous' in quotes because, as you say, it involves a lot of input from the parents and the child's environment.
"I am interested in the factors which make one child succeed academically, whether taught at home or in a school, while other fail miserably."
I suspect that age, ability and aptitude along with the child's interests have much to do with this. Unless you are suggesting that all children who receive the same education will achieve the same outcomes?
'but you don't need the same approach when deciding on methods for your own child.'
ReplyDeleteThis is of course quite true. if one were living on a desert island and having no intercourse with the rest of the human race; that would be fine and dandy. The problem can arise when one talks of a method which has worked well with one's own child and recommends it to others. This can lead to the growth of a 'movement', rather than each parent choosing to do what is best for their own child. I am well aware that the way that I raised my own daughter worked here, but might not work elsewhere. nevertheless, when we look at a large number of children and their backgrounds, we can discern trends, things that are better for children than some other things, ways of learning which work more often than other ways. Because our own experience is so limited, it can help to examine studies of this sort. Some home edcuating parents do not do this, relying instead upon communication only with like-minded individuals.
Simon.
"Some home edcuating parents do not do this, relying instead upon communication only with like-minded individuals."
ReplyDeleteExcept I've seen a wide range of methods suggested on email lists from highly structured to very informal. There are a few groups that only cover particular types of approaches, but these are usually populated by people who have gradually moved in that direction as a result of experimentation and experience. All of the home educators I know have gradually evolved their approach. None appear to have chosen a style from the very beginning and stuck to it through thick or thin regardless of results.
Simon said:
ReplyDelete"I'm not referring to anything specific. There is a lot of research on the use of computers in teaching, the effects that television has on developing brains, the value of being read to as a child, structured or open-plan classrooms and so on. Some of this stuff finds its way into popular books and newspapers; much does not. A lot of home educating parents seem work from an ideological rather than an empirical perspective when deciding how to go about educating their children. There are hazards in this. "
I agree that there are hazards in working from an ideological perspective, but many home educating parents appear to adopt the strategies they adopt through trial and error. If they find a method to be effective for their child, then they continue to use it. How much more empirical can you get?
Of course, the real problem with Simon's analogy is that the mainstream physicists in it are Creationists...
ReplyDeleteHome educators are not professional teachers. Professional teachers are a different case entirely. Professional teaching involves the use of crowd control methods, classrooms, institutions, government curricula, acting in loco parentis, etc etc etc.
ReplyDeleteBeing a home educator is about being a learning facilitator - that is a very different task indeed. One does not need to know about pedagogy to facilitate the learning of one's child. One needs to know one's child.
'Dave H said...
ReplyDeleteOf course, the real problem with Simon's analogy is that the mainstream physicists in it are Creationists... '
I suspect that with your background, you actually appreciate the truth of the analogy.
Simon.
'Professional teaching involves the use of crowd control methods, classrooms, institutions, government curricula, acting in loco parentis'
ReplyDeleteOnce again, we have drifted into discussing schooling, which is a very different thing from learning and teaching in a domestic setting.
Simon.
"Once again, we have drifted into discussing schooling, which is a very different thing from learning and teaching in a domestic setting."
ReplyDeleteExactly. And this is why much of the research you talk about is not relevant. The vast majority revolves around group teaching methods - methods designed to work for teachers with relatively large groups of children that they do not know well - and the finding of methods that work quite well for a large proportion of a group, rather than those that very well for an individual child. You are the one attempting to compare oranges to apples.
'You are the one attempting to compare oranges to apples.'
ReplyDeleteWell, not really. To take an example, the process whereby a baby's brain begins to recognise abstract symbols such as pictures and toys can be examined in a number of ways. How this happens and how it leads on to the understanding of written language is something that we can usefully observe. It has nothing to do with whether the child is at school or home, except perhaps that one could retard and the other accelerate the process! The process itself is a separate thing and worth learning about for its own sake. I am suggesting that without a familiarity with such matters, those trying to arrange for a child's education will be handicapped.
Simon.
The example I'm thinking of is the 'real books' experiment. It was noticed that children in affluent, well resourced homes 'appeared' to learn to read by osmosis so they tried to transfer this to school. However, much more was going on at home than could ever be replicated in schools so it failed. But this doesn't mean that the same process cannot go on working extremely well in many homes. Of course it doesn't happen like this for every child, even when the resources are there as we have experienced. But for some children it's a great way to learn to read quickly and easily despite the supposed research evidence against it. This is what I mean about comparing oranges to apples.
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