Sharing
Homeschooling, though, in many
cases, can reap rich rewards &
can deliver many benefits
in making kids smart.
What is homeschooling (part 3)
According to the Academic Statistics on Homeschooling, many studies have found out that homeschooled students on average outperform their peers on standardized tests. Another study from the NHER (National Home Education Research America) in 2003 also found that homeschooled graduates are active and involved in their communities, are more involved in civic affairs, and more are “very happy” with life, compared to the general US population.
An article in the Journal of College Admission notes that homeschoolers’ ACT and SAT scores are higher than those of public school students, and home-educated college students perform as well as or better than traditionally educated students.
Parents cite these reasons on why they homeschool their children
What is homeschooling (part 2)
• Can give child better education at home or homeschool centres
• Want to be aware of what the child is learning.
• Poor learning environment at school
• Family reasons
• Home atmosphere is more relaxed, and schedule can be tailored to child’s needs
• To develop character/morality
• Object to what school teaches
• School does not challenge child
• Other problems with available schools
• Student behavior problems at school
• Child has special needs/disability
• Transportation/convenience
• Child not old enough to enter school
• Child could not get into desired school
• Enable family to travel
What is homeschooling (part 1)
Mitchell Stevens, a Stanford professor who wrote Kingdom of Children, a history of homeschooling, reveals that homeschooling, which was used to be popular in rural areas in America, is now being practiced widely across the world, with children of secular, highly educated professionals as students. Advances in digital learning and availability of resources over the internet also make homeschooling easier and more effective than ever.
What to look out for if parents decided to send their kids to learning
centre? Here are a few tips when checking out the centre:
1. Teacher and student ratio
2. Teachers’ qualification
3. Classroom environment
4. Syllabus and curriculum
The most important consideration in sending your child to a learning centre is the teacher and student ratio. If the class size is 1 to 20, it is equivalent to the standard class size of enrolling your child to a private or international school.
Homeschooling should be a focus learning group which consist not more than 10 students. It allows more flexibility for learning as well as giving them the right attention for improvement with the proper guidance from teachers. A reminder to you would be that the students progression must be monitored from time to time to ensure that the child is not falling behind. Another factor that you should keep in mind is the age of the students, the standard age to graduate from secondary education is 16-18.
Secondly, teacher’s qualification is as important. The teacher will have to be familiar with the syllabus and experience in delivering the programme not just following by the book. The 21st century education requires children to be creatively solving a problem, understand how technology affects us and others, knowledge transfer and applying it across different disciplines and a strong communicator.
Homeschooling Regulation
Another consideration in beginning the homeschooling is the government requirement or regulations for homeschooling. There is a huge demand and grow for homeschooling in Malaysia.
Homeschooling is legal if parents decided to homeschool their children. Please refer to HSLDA Malaysia to find out further on the regulation.
https://hslda.org/content/hs/ international/Malaysia/default.asp
International Syllabus Accreditation and Recognition
Understanding an international syllabus can be tricky and stressful for parents. However, it is crucial when deciding the education path for your child. In Malaysia, most of the colleges or universities will accept a standardised, well – recognised certificate of secondary education from high school as a requirement to enter tertiary education.
Hence, understanding how the education systems works from primary all the way to tertiary level is no doubt the most challenging journey for parents.
The most commonly reputable and recognisable international syllabus is the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). Some international schools or centres may offer Pearson Edexcel IGCSE but most offer Cambridge IGCSE. Parents must take note of the difference as it may affect the entry requirement when applying to a university or a college.
Edexcel IGCSE offers purely on coursework learning and assessment is taken at the end of the course internally. Cambridge IGCSE is recognised worldwide and most of university accepts the certificate as prerequisite. CIE (Cambridge International Examination) provides more than 70 subjects available including 30 languages. Cambridge IGCSE is an external examination which mean exam papers are collected and send back to Cambridge Examination Board to mark and results will be release within 8 weeks from the last day of a particular examination sitting .
There are other Syllabus available in Klang Valley such as Australian Curriculum – Victorian or NSW. Parents have to be aware that if you enrol your child to this programme, make sure high school certificate will be issued at the end of the course from the international examination board which should be globally recognised.
What to consider when considering homeschooling your child?
Reason to homeschool
Is homeschooling right for my family and for my child?
Deciding to homeschool is a major decision. One of the first things you need to consider is why you are choosing to homeschool.
There will be varied reasons including: safety benefits, emotional benefits, a great place to instil family values and beliefs, a healthy environment to prepare for the real world, school fees and many more.
In Malaysia, there are three variations of homeschooling:
1. Parents tutoring their children at home
2. A few families banding to teach their children together in a casual setting
3. Centre based learning environment using international syllabus
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