For Our Children: How Black Parents Approach Homeschooling Pubblico
Rankin, Matthew (Summer 2023)
Abstract
This dissertation is comprised of three separate yet related empirical studies, centering the motivational, curricular, and instructional dimensions of Black homeschooling praxis, respectively. Employing a mixed methodology—consisting of multiple surveys, solo and paired interviews, and focus group discussions—I examine how 1) the genders of parents and their children combine to shape homeschooling motives; 2) faith and race independently and concertedly shape curricular development; and 3) parents conceptualize and engage collaborative teaching, within the broader stylistic continuum of homeschooling instruction.
Paper One couches gender as a nuanced, but no less substantive, motivator for Black homeschooling. Using gendered ethnic-racial socialization (GERS) as a theoretical frame, I argue that parents’ motives stem from inverse processes: building from without (i.e., for homeschooled Black boys) and building from within (i.e., for homeschooled Black girls). Paper Two showcases faith and race as prime cultural influences, on parents’ homeschooling curriculum. While research typically frames faith and race as either discrete, or inversely related, forces, I demonstrate how they mold curricula separately and jointly, via formal and informal means. Paper Three analyzes the philosophical and logistical underpinnings of parents’ teaching styles. Providing a granular view of how adult-led, child-led, and collaborative instruction comingle on the stylistic spectrum, I frame homeschooling instruction as a malleable, evolutionary process—one tailored to the goals and needs of individual families. Furthermore, I show that Black homeschoolers, though immersed in a society with racialized barriers, create holistic and limitless educational experiences, through pedagogical versatility.
Findings inform parenting and education research generally, while pointedly advancing homeschooling research, particularly that which foregrounds educative dynamics within Black familial contexts. By examining gendered homeschooling motives, cultural influences on curricula, and dynamic instructional methods, this project highlights the inner complexities of home education. Last, this study is also poised to impact traditional education practices. Given the fraught history between traditional schooling and Black students, its findings address longstanding, or previously unnoticed, deficiencies in private and public schooling—factors that help undergird the rise of Black homeschooling.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
References 8
Paper One: Subtly But Surely: The Gendering of Black Homeschooling Motivations 11
Abstract 11
Introduction 12
Background 15
Methods 20
Findings 24
Discussion 36
References 39
Tables 42
Paper Two: The Marrow of Pedagogy: How Faith and Race Shape Curricula for Black Homeschoolers 44
Abstract 44
Introduction 45
Background 47
Methods 52
Findings 57
Discussion 68
References 72
Tables and Figures 76
Paper Three: Dynamic Instruction: How Black Homeschoolers Engage Teaching Praxis 83
Abstract 83
Introduction 84
Background 88
Methods 92
Findings 97
Discussion 109
References 112
Tables and Figures 116
Conclusion 120
References 127
Appendices 129
About this Dissertation
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