How Children Learn at Home

by Alan Thomas, Harriet Pattison

In his Educating Children at Home , Alan Thomas found that many home educating families chose or gravitated towards an informal style of education, radically different from that found in schools. Such learning, also described as unschooling, natural or autonomous, takes place without most of the features considered essential for learning in school. At home there is no curriculum or sequential teaching, nor are there any lessons, textbooks, requirements for written work, practice exercises, marking or testing. But how can children who learn in this way actually achieve an education on a par with what schools offer?




In this new research, Alan Thomas and Harriet Pattison seek to explain the efficacy of this alternative pedagogy through the experiences of families who have chosen to educate their children informally. Based on interviews and extended examples of learning at home the authors




- the scope for informal learning within children's everyday lives




- the informal acquisition of literacy and numeracy




- the role of parents and others in informal learning




- how children proactively develop their own learning agendas.




Their investigation provides not only an insight into the powerful and effective nature of informal learning but also presents some fundamental challenges to many of the assumptions underpinning educational theory.




This book will be of interest to education practitioners, researchers and all parents, whether their children are in or out of school, offering as it does fascinating insights into the nature of children's learning.

Genres: Education, Parenting, Nonfiction

168 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2008

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

In fairness to the book I skimmed it. I've been homeschooling for awhile and there wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. It is however probably useful for anyone who is new to hsing and needs some reassurance.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was too much like a research paper to me so I skimmed and jumped ahead to the last few chapters and read quotes from the parents.

[Whitemoonsparkles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book for a graduation test at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Whereas alot of positive outcomes are being portraied in this book, and undoubtedly, on some levels this approach has its own benefits, I couldn‘t help but to wonder whether this would function in european countries. My own conclusion was, after reading other books on similar subjects, that it might get difficult to get into our universities for such children, as they need a high school/college graduation as an entry ticket.
The informal teaching style has been described to give one of the portraied families‘ children no sence of boarders, meaning that it did feel it could achieve anything. Of course, this view is valuable in its own way, psychologically at least. Nevertheless I am not sure whether the american dream would function in societies that are rather bureaucratic in the academic system.
It seems to me, that gifted children are the ones who would profit most out of this educating style, as they are very curious about many subjects. When we look at the other end of the spectrum or even at the average, there is a higher risk I suspect. Factors like the cultural background and socioeconomic status of the parents become more important.
As to all questions in life, the one of education style and its chances for children has no simple solution or recipe to follow generically. It is a case-to-case-question.

[Lotte | Sprouting Wheel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an informative book, Alan and Harriet really managed to give a good look into the lives of unschooling children and their families.

As an unschooling family ourselves I found it very reassuring to read about all 26 families and their experiences with informal learning. Their lives sounded so much like our own that I got an extra boost knowing that if it worked for them it will also work for us.

In the book Alan and Harriet first explain what informal learning is and then go on to talk about the parents role as well as the children and all the main skill based subjects and how they are learned in an informal setting.

If you are in any way interested in unschooling, informal learning or education in general then I highly recommend this book since a clearer view on home education you will not get anywhere else.

[Allie Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant academic perspective on Home Ed which essentially proves that this approach is as good as, if not better than, school. Definitely one to put in the hands of sceptics. I loved it.

[Tim]

An interesting analysis of informal learning at home, based on qualitative analysis of interview with home educating parents.