HOMESCHOOLING AMONG FAMILIES LIVING IN THAILAND: EXPLORING EXPERIENCES THROUGH A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH

41 I was introduced to homeschooling as a student in the United States of America. I had friends in college who were homeschooled and met many other homeschooling families. I also read a few books on homeschooling even before I had children. When our boys were 4 and 2 years old, with my husband’s support and encouragement, I quit my teaching job to be a stay home mom to homeschool them. At first, the plan was to have our boys stay home with me until they were past kindergarten. However, this idea changed when I came across a book, Child Guidance, by Ellen G. White, who advocates that proper Christian education should begin from home. From my reading, I learned that education should start from home and be the child’s first school (White,1913). The first few years of a child’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual upbringing will influence their character to adulthood (white, 1952). In her book Education, White wrote that learning should not revolve around book knowledge. Instead, she emphasized a holistic education that promotes healthy spiritual, physical, and cognitive development. A holistic education will allow children to explore nature and take part in manual labor such as gardening, household duties, and the study of health (White, 1952). I was greatly encouraged to pursue homeschooling by the books I have read. At the beginning of our homeschooling journey, I did many hands-on activities, allowing them to explore nature. Both of my children started reading at an early age. To encourage them to love reading, I made a home library that consisted of reading materials from old National Geographic magazines to various books, such as people's biographies, actual life experiences, books on science, and many more. They did not start using workbooks and textbooks until they were eight. We ordered the homeschool package from Sonlight Christian Homeschool Curriculum and Programs. We chose this curriculum because of the flexibility of the lesson plans and the wide

42 variety of reading books that comes with each subject, and it is a Christian organization. It was essential to have flexible lesson plans because it was easier for me to juggle my time between house chores and to help my boys with their studies. My boys are independent learners; they love the flexibility of being homeschoolers and are good housekeepers, gardeners, and managers of their own time. They interact with people of all ages. This research study results from wanting to learn how other families homeschool their children, particularly in the context of living in Thailand. At the beginning of my thesis, I mentioned that there is no one-shoe-fits-all style of homeschooling. Every family has different approaches to learning. This research will enable me to learn from other people’s experiences. It will allow me to compare what I do with what others are doing and learn lessons that can assist me and others in ensuring that our children have better psychosocial development. Summary This research study is a qualitative study using the phenomenological design. The participants were ten homeschooling families, and the primary research data collection methods were interview sessions followed by a focus group. These interview questions were semi-structured and served as a guide for the interviews. Aside from the interviews and focus groups, other information-gathering techniques were implemented, such as reviewing the data and verifying the interviewee’s answers through a focus group interview.

43 Figure 6. Conceptual Framework for Collecting Data This conceptual framework shows the process of data collection and analysis.

44 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS OF THE STUDY This study aims to examine the experiences of homeschooling families by reporting the findings from the interviews and focus group interviews. Eleven sessions of interviews were done. The first ten interview sessions were with the participants from the ten families, and the last was a focus group with participants who were available for the session. The results of the interview sessions and focus groups are reported under the findings. Demographics of Participants According to specific sampling criteria, ten families were chosen to participate in this study. The criterion is that all participants must be families currently homeschooling or have homeschooled their children. Each family was given a pseudonym. Below are summaries of each family. Terrence Family The Terrence Family is an interracial Christian family. The mother is Thai, and the father is American. They have three girls, ages 10, 7, and 5. The parents are both in the 35 to 40 age range. The father holds a PhD in Education, and the mother has a bachelor’s degree in English (TESOL). They started homeschooling six years ago. The father is a lecturer at a university, and the mother is a stay home mother. As of 2021, Only 2 of their girls are being formally homeschooled. The youngest will start homeschooling when she turns six years old. They are currently subscribing to a homeschooling curriculum from Sonlight, a Christian homeschooling organization

45 based in the United States. Both parents are involved in teaching their children. The mother teaches them in the morning, and when the father is done with his classes at the university, he comes home and teaches. The mother teaches math, the Thai language, and English writing and supervises their girls’ music theory work. The father teaches history, science, English reading, and flute. The girls have a once-aweek piano lesson from a private teacher. They spend 4 hours homeschooling in the morning and 4 hours free play in the afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Terrence believe in preparing their girls for the future by practicing these two teaching methods. The first is application after theory, and the second is mastery. When it comes to application, Mr. and Mrs. Terrence want their children to practice what they have learned by applying it to practice. For example, whatever their girls have learned from piano lessons, they are expected to practice their piano-playing skills at church. They look for opportunities for their girls to be exposed to settings where they could use their piano skills. The oldest daughter accompanies her mother whenever she teaches the cradle roll sabbath school class at a Seventh-day Adventist church. The cradle roll class is perfect for her to practice piano skills because the music pieces are at her playing level. As for the mastery teaching method, Mr. Terrence expects their girls to re-do any math problem they do wrong until they get it right and understand the concept. It is the same when they make mistakes in other subjects. This encourages their girls to focus during instructional time to understand their lessons and solve problems. The skills or knowledge will stay with them when they apply what they are learning. Smith Family The Smith Family is another interracial Christian family. The mother is a Filipina, and the father is Indian. Both parents are in the 35 to 40 age range. They

46 have two children, the older one is a seven years old boy and the second one is a four years old daughter. The son is in grade 5 reading and grade 2 level for math. Their daughter is doing kindergarten. The father has a master’s degree in Information Technology. The mother has two bachelor’s degrees in accounting and education. They formally started homeschooling two years ago. For their Bible class, they are using materials from Sonlight Education Ministry. This family believes in exposing their children to nature. A lot of their homeschooling experience is done outdoors. The other lessons, such as language and math, come from the Good and Beautiful homeschool resources. They spend about 2 hours on schoolwork in the morning, and the rest of the time, their children can choose to play indoors or outdoors. The father works as an IT teacher, and the mother is a full-time housewife. Mrs. Smith believes that learning should be hands-on. She gets her children involved in learning by doing a lot of nature exploration and participating in household chores. Learning is incorporated into their day-to-day home experience and is not limited to only learning from books. Willy Family The Willy Family is a former homeschooling family who is also Christian. They have two boys. They started homeschooling their boys when their boys turned six years old. Both parents chose not to disclose their ages. The mother is a registered Filipina nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The father is an American medical doctor working in Bangkok. This family homeschooled their children for 14 years. They used the Griggs Academy homeschool curriculum and spent 6 hours homeschooling daily. The mother chose to be a full-time mother and housewife while homeschooling her children. Both of their boys have graduated from medical school and are working abroad.

47 Mrs. Willy believes in encouraging her children with words. According to Mrs.Willy, she never had any discipline problems with her children. As a result of being home with her children full time, she has a strong bond with her boys. Her children trust that their mother knows what is best for them; therefore, they accept her teaching and guidance when she talks to them. Her approach to discipline is straightforward, talking, and explaining. Romeo Family The Romeo Family is also an interracial Christian family. The mother is a Russian in the 40 to 45 age range. The father is a Filipino in the 50 to 55 age range. They have two children; the oldest is an 11 years old daughter, and the younger is a six-year-old son. The oldest is in grade 4, and the younger child is in kindergarten. The father has a master’s degree in divinity, and the mother has a bachelor’s degree in education. They have been homeschooling for four years. They are currently using a homeschool curriculum provided by Accelerated Christian Education. The father is the primary teacher at home, while the mother is the breadwinner. The mother works as a homeroom teacher. They spend roughly 2 hours homeschooling their son and 4 hours for their daughter. When the daughter cannot finish all her schoolwork in the morning, she continues in the afternoon. They encourage their children to learn at their own pace and according to their own timeline, not to put them under pressure. Mr. and Mrs. Romeo believe that children should not be sent to school at an early age. They want their children to worship with them at home, help with the daily house chores and have plenty of indoor and outdoor playtime. They prefer practical home training before academic knowledge. They want to witness their children’s development and guide them as they go through the process.

48 Gary Family The Gary Family is a Christian Filipino family. Both parents are from the 30 to 35 age range. They have two children, and both are boys. The oldest is five years old, and the youngest is one year old. They are only homeschooling the oldest for now. The father has a master’s degree in education, and the mother has a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The father works as a lecturer at a university, while the mother is a stay home mother. The mother introduced the letter alphabet and phonics when their oldest son was one year old. They learn much through play and encourage their son to spend more time outdoors. Their oldest son started reading when he was three years old. They are not using any specific homeschooling curriculum for now. However, when it is time for them to choose a homeschool curriculum, they prefer a curriculum aligned with their religious beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists. As of now, they are only using books that were given to them by relatives. The mother also prepares crafts and activities appropriate for their son’s age. Mr. and Mrs. Gary chose to homeschool their oldest son because they do not like the influence they see and hear about from school. Mr. Gary prefers his wife to be their children’s first teacher. This belief results from their reading of the book Child Guidance by Mrs. Ellen G. White. They also prefer their children to experience and explore more outdoor play. Somchai Family The Somchai Family is a Thai Buddhist family. Both parents are in the 35 to 40 age range. They have two children. The oldest is a son who is eight years old. Their second child is a five years old daughter. The father graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and the mother graduated with a bachelor's in computer engineering. The father works in a software company, and the mother owns a coffee

49 and cafe shop. They have been homeschooling for three years. They only homeschool their son because their son is actively participating in z swimming competitions. They choose to homeschool so their son can have flexible time to practice swimming. Their second child goes to a Thai government school. They are using books that the government provides. However, because they are homeschooling, they can add other subjects to their son’s schedule, such as Japanese language classes. Mr. and Mrs. Somchai chose to homeschool because they were unhappy with the Thai public school system. They prefer a more flexible setting and schedule for their children’s education experience. The Somchai also prefers their children to focus on learning a subject that interests them. Their oldest is a swimmer and joins different swimming competitions. Homeschooling allows their son to go for a more extended swimming practice because they can adjust his schedule. Jimmy Family The Jimmy Family is a Filipino Christian family. The parents are both in the 35 to 40 age range. This family has two boys. The first one is nine years old, and the second son is six years old. They have been living in Thailand for 14 years. The father graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a diploma in education. The mother graduated with a bachelor's science in accountancy and a diploma in education. They have been homeschooling their boys for five years. The father works as a teacher, and the mother is a full-time housewife and homeschooling mom. The mother puts together a selection of second-hand schoolwork books from relatives and friends. The mother also prints schoolwork materials from the internet. They also use YouTube to watch educational videos.

50 Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy believes in focusing on character-building in their day-today homeschooling experience. Their religious beliefs are integrated into the subjects they learn. Their children also share in completing house chores. Ford Family The Ford Family is an American Christian family who is in their 70s. They have two children, the oldest is a son and the second is a daughter. They homeschooled their children from toddlerhood until they finished high school. When they were homeschooling their children, the mother put together their books from different resources for homeschooling. They tried using Abeka for their language art and Saxon for math. The father holds a PhD degree, and the mother has a master’s degree in education. The father works as a senior lecturer at a university, and the mother is an elementary to high school international school administrator. Their oldest son is studying for his master’s degree and is working simultaneously. Their daughter is currently working. Mrs. Ford decided to homeschool their children because she did not trust the institutional school system. She wanted her children to have independence and did not believe in sending her children to school at an early age. Her oldest son spent so much time in the library and was an independent learner, while her daughter was more into extracurricular activities. The Ford family spent much time traveling and visiting parks and museums when their children were younger. They love spending family time going places and doing things together. Thanakit Family The Thanakit Family is a Thai Christian family. Both parents are in the 35 to 40 age group. They have two boys, the oldest is nine years old, and the second son is

51 six years old. They have been homeschooling for six years. The father is a church pastor and holds a PhD. The mother has a master’s degree in business. The father works for the Seventh-day Adventist Mission as a church pastor, and the mother is a full-time housewife and homeschooling mom. This family chose Robinson Curriculum for their homeschooling materials. They like this curriculum because it is child-centered. Mr. and Mrs. Thanakit decided to homeschool their children even before their boys were born. They found Robinson's curriculum when Mrs. Thanakit was doing her research on homeschooling. Robinson's curriculum encourages children to be independent learners. Their children are significantly advanced in academics and focus on mastering their lessons. Aaron Family The Aaron Family is an Indonesian Christian family. The mother is in the 35 to 40 age group, and the father is in the 40 to 45 age group. This family has three children. The oldest is turning 12, and she goes to a nearby Adventist school. They are pulling her out of the school system next school year to homeschool her. The second child is a son who is eight years old and in grade 1. The youngest one is another son who is five years old and doing kindergarten. The father holds a PhD degree, and the mother has a bachelor's degree. The father works as a lecturer at a university. The mother is a part-time music teacher and homeschools their children. They spend about 2 to 3 hours homeschooling in the morning, and they are free to play in the afternoon. Currently, they are using the My Father’s World homeschooling curriculum. Mr. and Mrs. Aaron believe their children should be taught at home for better character-building development. They do not like the negative influence their children

52 are getting from children who go to school. They also believe in keeping their children busy doing other activities, such as music lessons and sports, aside from the daily house chores.

53 Table 2. Demographic Table of Comparison Participants/homeschooling curriculum Religious Background Number of children Nation Terrence Family/ Sonlight Christian Homeschool Curriculum Christian 3 Americ Smith Family /The Good and Beautiful Christian 2 Indian a Willy Family/Griggs Online Learning Christian 2 Americ Filipino Romeo Family /Accelerated Christian Education Christian 2 Filipino Gary Family /Selected materials Christian 2 Both Fi Somchai Family /Thai books and other selected materials Buddhist 2 Both Th Jimmy Family /Online resources and other selected materials Christian 2 Both Fi Ford Family/ Abeka, Saxon, and other selected materials Christian 2 Both A Thanakit Family/ Robinson Curriculum Christian 2 Both Th Aaron Family/ My Father’s World Christian 3 Both In

nality Marital status Educ. background Primary teacher can And Thai Married PhD and Bachelor Both parents and Filipino Married Master's degree and Bachelor Mother can and o Married Medical Doctor and Bachelor Mother o and Russian Married Master's degree and Bachelor Father ilipinos Married Master's degree and Bachelor Mother hais Married Both Bachelor degrees Mother ilipinos Married Both Bachelor degrees Mother American Married PhD and Master degree Mother hais Married PhD and Bachelor degree Mother ndonesian Married PhD and Bachelor degree Mother

54 Demographic Charts The demography of the participating families is as follows: Nine out of ten families participating in the study come from a Christian background. Figure 7. Religious Background Eight out of the ten families state that the primary homeschooling parent is the mother. On the other hand, one out of the ten families attributes the mother as the breadwinner while the father is the homeschooling parent. One out of the ten families attributes both parents actively homeschooling their children. Figure 8. Primary Homeschooling Parents Christian 90% Non Christian 10 % Mother 80% Father 10% Mother and Father 10%

55 Eight out of ten families in the study have two children. The other two families have three children. Figure 9. Number of children Eight of the ten families participating in the study are expatriates living and working in Thailand. They come from different ethnicity and cultures (See Figure 7). Figure 10. Parents’ Country of Origin and Nationality Four of the ten families are intercultural marriages, while the remaining six are couples from the same country. One of the ten families consists of a Thai mother and 2 children 80% 3 children 20% Filipino 20% American 10% American and Thai 10% Thai 20% Filipino and Russian 10% American and Filipino 10% Filipino and Indian 10%

56 an American father. Two out of the ten families participating consist of Thai parents. All of the homeschooling parents in this study are married. Figure 11. Status of Marriages All parents participating in the study hold college degrees ranging from undergraduate, graduate, or doctorate. Figure 12. Parents Educational Background Intercultural marriage 40% Both Thai 20% Both American 10% Both Filipino 20% Both Indonesian 10% Bachelor 50% Master 25% PhD 20% MeD 5%

57 Six out of the ten teaching parents have a teaching degree, two out of the ten have a nursing degree, one out of ten have a TESOL degree, and one out of ten have a business degree. Figure 13. Major of the Primary Teaching Parent Summary of the Participants’ Demographic The interview revealed that participating parents who did not have a teaching background were willing to put effort into studying pedagogical methods. One parent, in particular, went the extra mile to obtain a diploma in teaching to learn the different teaching techniques for her to teach her children at home effectively. Another parent shared that she had spent a significant amount of time researching different approaches to teaching so she could teach her son successfully. Whether the parents hold an education degree or not, they have the self-efficacy to undertake to homeschool. Teacher 60% Nurse 20% TESOL 10% Business 10%

58 Reasons and Experiences of Homeschooling Parents who choose to homeschool have selected a unique path for their children’s education. Homeschooling parents decided to educate their children for a variety of reasons. The primary motivating factors include Problems with the public school system, Religious reasons, and Parents’ context. The ten families interviewed displayed many similarities in their motivation for schooling at home through the data findings. Worries with the Public-School System The issue of homeschooling parents not agreeing with the public school system is not something new. The growing concern about poor public-school educational environments (Matthew, 2019), particularly children of the same grade level and age are placed in the same room. Children of the same grade level and age in the same class have problems interacting with other children not their age (Lines, 2000). In this study, a participant in the focus group voiced their concern about this issue. “You see, when children go to school, they interact with peers in the same classroom most of the time and most of the time with the same homeroom teacher. When we chose to homeschool our children, it was for them to have the freedom to meet with different people in the community. To interact with the Thai grandma living next door and the Thai auntie who lives down the street where we live. They learn to respect the elderly, and when they are with children of the same age group as them, they communicate freely without any problem. They don’t just communicate well but learn to respect the different age group of people they come in contact with.” Mr. Jimmy Another concern that parents may have is the types of socialization encountered in schools, such as cliques. While there may be some positive effects of

59 finding membership with a group of peers, there are also adverse effects. Ellis and Zarbatany (2017) discuss that cliques may introduce poor socialization skills that may lead to aggressive behaviors. This may result in students at school keeping only a particular group of friends. According to an observation done by Mrs. Romeo she stated, “In a school setting, younger children are shy in front of older students. They tend to pull themselves away from the older children. From my observation, it takes them a while for them to warm up with each other and start interacting with the older children.” Mrs. Romeo Apart from the reasons above, parents homeschool because they want to spend more time with their children. Other scholars have found that children who attend school are given too much homework and spend long hours in school, thus, shortening family time. A Thai participant in this study validated these findings, “We don’t like that Thai government school, too many activities and work. We do not want too much homework. That is why we are doing homeschooling.” Mr. Somchai Mrs. Romeo stated her sentiment regarding time spent with her children, “What I like about homeschooling is being with the children. We can see how they grow. Their strength, their weakness, we can help them, and we can have the bonding and relationship that we all need to learn.” Mrs. Romeo Negative Influence from School Peers There were some negative influences during homeschooling. The negative influences included negative peer socialization. The Aaron family decided to homeschool because of the negative influence of the students at school. They have been homeschooling all their three children until they decided to allow their oldest daughter to attend the international school. They were discouraged by the negative behaviors their daughter had picked up from school.

60 They have decided to pull her out of school and homeschool her. During the interview with the mother, she made it clear that they did not want any outside influence to degrade the moral values they wished to instill in their children. They want the moral values from the Bible to be the foundation of their children’s lives and character. “We see that no matter how much we want to teach our children. The influence of the students of their friends, is bigger than the home or even the teacher. So, it doesn’t matter if the teacher is good, the friends have more influence, the classroom atmosphere, the friends. So, we decided not to allow outside influence, whether its negative or positive, to exchange with the values that you want to instill upon your children. So, we decided to homeschool.” Mrs. Aaron It wasn’t only the Aaron family who shared this concern. Mr. Gary resonated with similar concerns, “What about the influence of children? The choice of school is only one and that institution is mostly non-Christian. And we have observed from the neighbor’s children who do go to that school, and the influence is, the action is not what we like for our children to copy.” Mr. Gary Negative influence from school is something that the parents are concerned about. Mr. Terrence shared, “The influence of the friends normally is negative. K12 is just negative, and they spend so much time with them, and you lose a lot of influences you have as parent. And so, when the parents are trying to guide them, they go to their friends first. I don’t want my eight years old go to another eight-year-old. Until they are grounded, and they understand right from wrong, that’s how we are trying to go about it.” Mr. Terrence Religious Reasons Nine out of ten participants in this study are Christian, and they consistently shared their preference for their children to acquire a “better moral and spiritual education than they would get in schools” (Hawkins, 1996). Mrs. Smith articulated very clearly,

61 “I want them to be grounded and explore their faith. Not just because I am an Adventist, they need to explore why they should be a Christian and guide them throughout.” Mrs. Smith Mr. Gary also stated, “For me, it would be morality. That’s the biggest. The morality is the only one that really matters in the end. I am coming from SDA background. The Bible says, we put God first and everything else will follow.” Mr. Gary This parent also believes that if children are taught to obey God, they will influence society. Without the spiritual emphasis on learning, the parents believe that education may result in getting a good job with a high salary, which is, in the end, meaningless. Mrs.Thanakit shared, “Before marriage we already have a plan. Because of my husband’s job we always move after every 5 year to different location. So, we decided maybe homeschool will be suitable for us. And we also don’t have problem with Sabbath. And then we visited other church all around in the area and we can bring the kids.” Mrs. Thanakit Mr.Thanakit is a church pastor. They visit different churches almost every Sabbath. Being Seventh-day Adventist, they must keep the Sabbath. Being a Thai family, if they send their children to the Thai school government, sometimes they are required to participate in school activities that fall on Saturday, the day they go to church. This is the day they call their Sabbath, a day of rest. The arrangement to homeschool allows this family to practice their belief. Nine out of ten of the participants are Christians, and all of them mention the significance of applying Bible principles in their day-to-day experience. They believe that a good religious foundation at home will produce mature youth in their spiritual life and character. Every trial and challenge they face becomes a teacher in building their character. Commenting on this aspect, Mr. Gary states, “We read child guidance by Ellen White. We read this when my wife was pregnant. There was one statement that Ellen White made that was quite frightening to me. If our children are not in heaven, God will ask us why? And we are held responsible. For me, that was a big issue.” Mr. Gary

62 Mrs. Aaron also feels that it is their duty as parents to instill religious values in their children. This was the principal reason why they chose to homeschool their children. “Aside from the negative influence from our children’s peers, yes, the values we want to instill in our children.” Mrs. Aaron The non-Christian participants also believe in character building and instilling moral values in their children through their instruction and guidance in everyday life experiences that they get to be involved in as they homeschool their children. Parent’s Context This section discusses a few elements related to parents’ role in pursuing homeschooling for their children’s education. The elements are; a) Parental responsibility as children’s first teacher and their involvement in their children’s education. b) Parental control over the schedule, curriculum, and learning style Parental Responsibility Parents as the First Teacher. Christian parents feel that they are neglecting their duty by letting someone else educate their children. This finding is affirmed in the statement given by Mr. Gary, “For me, I agree with the idea of homeschooling because I believe parents should be the first teachers of their children. I think all of us parents is whether or not know it, we are teaching them something. Over time when I surveyed the educational choices for us here, we thought to our self maybe wouldn’t be best for our children because there are certain things that the educational situations require something that I do not really agree with.” Mr. Gary Mr. Gary believes that all parents can impart knowledge to their children. Research indicates that no amount of education from the school system can be compared to the positive influence of parents at home by word and example. A child's

63 formative years are the most crucial time, and if done correctly, parents can instill a healthy sense of security, confidence in learning, and social awareness. Mrs. Jimmy shared her statement relating to this matter, “My husband was enlightened about homeschooling and he really wants his children to be homeschooled. He believes that parents should be the one to take care of the children during their formative years.” Mrs. Jimmy These two participants clearly acknowledged their responsibility as parents and gladly fulfilled their duty by choosing to homeschool. The statement that Mr. Terrence shared sums up this belief, “I am a teacher and so I know what goes on in the classroom and you know I’m also aware that in my opinion the biggest problem is that kids don’t get the attention the individual attention they need from an adult. So we want to be able to give our kids the attention they needed so that they can, you know have success.”. Mr. Terrence Parental Control. Over the years, parents have chosen to homeschool because they want to be in charge. Eight participants out of ten made it very clear that they decided to homeschool because they want to complete control of the children’s learning schedule, curriculum, and learning approach. This belief was illustrated in their statement. Mrs. Smith stated, “I like that I am fully in control. I like the fact that I can spend more time teaching what I think is valuable rather than the technical worldly knowledge.” Mrs. Smith Mr. Terrence also stated the same sentiment, “Being able to be in charge and make the decision, I don’t have to go by government schools schedule or X’s schedule. I can say today, we do this and I have the authority and the independence to do that. I really want to do what I want to do you know. I’m able to structure like that.” Mr. Terrence With the growing concern of how much time children spend in the classroom and computer, Mr. Gary stated,

64 “I want my children in a more natural setting with as less screen time as possible.” Mr.Gary While the learning environment is an essential aspect of why the participants chose to homeschool, one parent stated, “I wanted to make sure they were able to grow at their own pace. They don’t worry about competition, what other people are doing.” Mrs. Smith To be independent and in control of their learning journey give parents the freedom to explore homeschooling. Control Over the Choice of Curriculum One of the main reasons parents choose to homeschool is the freedom to choose the curriculum that meets their homeschooling needs. Independent Learning-Based Curriculum There are varieties of homeschooling curriculums available today to cater to independent learning. Six out of the ten participants in this study believed that the curricula offered in the school system do not encourage their children to be independent learners. Mr. and Mrs. Thanakit decided to use Robinson's homeschooling curriculum because they wanted their children to be self-learners. Robinson's Curriculum encourages children to learn independently. Parents only facilitate learning by guiding their children to follow the lesson plans. Children are engaged in learning by following instructions given in their textbooks and lesson plans. According to Mrs. Thanakit, “My expectation is I want my boys to have a life-long study. He can study anytime, anywhere and he can find the resources by himself. He does self-teaching but it’s actually helping other kids also Robinson Curriculum teaching’s is, see one, do one and teach one. So, the bigger kid will teach the younger kid. I spent time with my oldest about 15 mins a day. The rest he studies by himself. He is taking algebra 1 and teach

65 it. But the younger one on self-teaching training until he is 7 years old. After that he will study on his own.” Mrs. Thanakit The Romeo family also uses a curriculum that encourages independent learning, Mrs. Romeo stated, “Our curriculum does self-test. After the test, they check their own test and redo if needed. It’s good, the child gets to work with the material, correct mistakes and gets to determine the volume of her daily work. Her father guides what she needs to accomplish within a quarter. Based on that, she strives to accomplished the task monthly or weekly. We look for a curriculum that will allow our children to study independently.” Mrs. Romeo Parents shared that when children control their learning, they become responsible and focus more on completing their work. This setting also helps the parents to be less stressed while juggling their time between homeschooling and house chores. Curriculum’s Modification and Adjustment. Sometimes in homeschooling, parents modify their curriculum to meet the individual needs of their children’s education. This is done by reducing the workload or difficulty of accommodating their children’s adaptability to any lesson. Parents also choose to do this to fit in with their learning schedule. Nine out of ten participants did some modification and adjustment to the homeschooling curriculum or other resources. These parents use the homeschooling curriculum only as their guide. As one parent said, “We just need something that guide. I didn’t need something controlling everything because of my teaching background. I am able to adjust, I didn’t need anything that was too user friendly.” Mr. Terrence For Mr. Terrence, adjustment means being able to go at the pace he thinks his children can handle. Parents with teaching backgrounds find it easier to go out of the

66 box with whatever resources or curriculum they have. Another parent with a teaching background stated, “I don’t really follow them step by step. I use it as my reference and guide. For their workbooks, I just got them online, I just combined different things. Just teach them what is essential.” Mrs. Smith With time flexibility at home, these parents try different learning approaches. Schedule and Learning Pace. According to three participants, one of the most significant advantages of homeschooling is the no bell signal at the beginning or dismissal of a class session. Homeschoolers are not under pressure to finish their lesson within a period. According to Mr. Terrence, “I was attracted to being able to go at the pace of our children. Public school, government school, Adventist school, they do what they can but hey, we all move together. If you’re fast you still have to wait, if you are slow find a way to keep up. And it makes it hard for the kids who are on the edges. You know the slow kids struggle, the fast kids struggle. When you are dealing with regular sized classroom it really works for the average student. The student who’s just in the middle. But all the kids aren’t there. And you might be strong in math weak in English. You may be strong in English and weak in science. So, one place you excel and the next place you struggle. And so, by homeschooling we can just, we can work with them until they can figure it out. We just we go on our natural pace. We follow the day-to-day lesson. But when they finish, we don’t take 2 months off, we just go to the next grade and just keep going. If they are struggling, we go slower, and we try this or that.” Mr. Terrence From this statement, we clearly see that homeschooling parents can control the learning pace according to their children's observations. If their children can do it, they move on. If they struggle, they pull back. Time is a luxury that homeschooling parents get to enjoy. According to Mrs. Jimmy, “Homeschoolers do not need to rush to get their project done. They can devote, days or weeks to learn about one topic.” Mrs. Jimmy Within the institutional setting, this learning setting may not have been possible. Mrs. Romeo stated relating this,

67 “We can help our girl individual. She’s really struggling with math, if she will be at school she will be pushed so much with math. But here at home, she is doing what she can do. If she wants to zoom in other subjects, she can zoom. No one is stopping her.” Mrs. Romeo Children learn better when there is no time constraint, and they can work at their own pace without pressure. More Practical Skills. According to the participants in the study, practical life skills are not taught in the school system, which is why they homeschool. The day-today daily chores that children participate in doing at home are essential skills to acquire at the early stage of life. Parents, especially mothers, are more concerned about this. Mrs. Smith stated that practical life skills are the day-to-day activities that a child is involved in all areas of life. A child observes these activities in their environment and gain knowledge as they perform them. Practical life activities give a child a sense of belonging and well-being. By doing the day-to-day skills, the child learns about his or her culture and what it means to be human. According to the Montessori learning method, children should experience four practical life skills: caring for the Self, the environment, grace and courtesy, and movement of objects (Montessori Northwest, n.d). “First of all, I want them to see the lesson in everyday life and connect the theory with everyday things that they do. I want them to connect the abstract and reality. It has to be practical, I don’t want them to be bombarded with only facts. I want them to be able to apply it. We want them to gained practical knowledge. Something that they can use. Not theory that they cannot use in life. We want skills that they can use in life. Something that they can relate with everyday life. We want them to understand that what they are studying is something they can use in their life. We want practicality, usefulness and simplicity.” Mrs. Smith Mrs. Romeo shared the same sentiment, “The most heavy factor, we do not want them to start early at academics. We want to teach them skills, chores, obedience, characters development before ABC and 123.” Mrs. Romeo

68 Child-Centered Learning Approach Six participants in this study agreed with the child-centered pedagogy. Each of these six participants has chosen to homeschool because they believe children need the freedom to learn at their own pace and in their way. A participant in this study Mr.Somchai stated, “Child center system is the main point why we choose to homeschool. Mainly just focus on the children and they can choose what they want to do. We can focus if my son has a challenge that he really likes and good for the future, we can help him to encourage to go on his path. One of the problems in Thai education system have too many rules and restriction that we have to do but don’t’ really understand and can’t use in the future. So now, we just teach based on my son’s interest. That’s why my wife likes homeschooling.” Mr. Somchai. The Somchai family thoroughly researched homeschooling before embarking on their home-based learning journey. They wanted to focus on their child’s interests rather than forcing him into learning what he does not enjoy. Homeschooling allowed them to pursue that focus, thus giving them the freedom to add other lessons their son wants, such as learning the Japanese language and building paper planes. Another Thai parent agrees that by homeschooling, they can focus on their children’s interests and abilities. “Homeschooling so far is very good. Very satisfying because we don’t concentrate on performance. We are satisfied about kid doing the process they are studying. Homeschool before I started, it seems like you study at home same as school. But when I do it it’s totally different and opposite. We depend on children’s interest and children’s ability. Quite different than from the school system.” Mrs. Thanakit For this family, homeschooling has allowed their children to learn at their pace. Mrs. Thanakit also added, “If they want to learn they can find access and ask the question directly on time. They don’t have to wait for other kids. If our son has questions, they are allowed to find people in the area to find the answer by asking questions. My kids are very social, if they want to know they will just ask questions from people around them. The people around us are very happy to assist them.” Mrs. Thanakit

69 Their children are free to search for answers and are not restricted to only using books. They get to socialize with people as they interact. Their children love learning through reading, and the parents cater to this interest by providing kindle so they can access their reading materials at any time and place. The Terrence family implements child-centered learning by allowing their children to explore different ways to solve problems independently. Mr. and Mrs. Terrence guide their children into deciding to solve problems. They facilitate the learning by giving them options but not giving them the answer. Mr. Terrence stated, “I am more focus on helping them to learn how to develop problem solving skills. In traditional schools, children only care about the answer and when you ask them how do they get the answer they don’t know. It’s during the journey that they learned things, it’s the process not the goal. I focus more on the problem-solving skills then giving them the answer.” Mr. Terrence According to research, problem-solving is an important skill to be encouraged in young children. Children who develop good problem-solving skills will quickly repair relationship breaches (Joseph & Strain, 2010). Academic Achievement of Homeschooled Children In this study, Willy and Ford are expatriate families who had gone through homeschooling with their children in Thailand. Both of Willy’s children are medical doctors contributing to the community. Their homeschooling experiences validate the findings of the earlier research. Mrs. Willy stated, “Both sons got into university, one finished dental school and is a dentist and the other is finishing medical school and will be physician.” Mrs. Willy The Fords’ children moved back to the United States after completing high school and are still pursuing their education. Mrs. Ford shared,

70 “Yea, so X graduate from the university with a 3.8 average, I think. 3.8 or 3.9. He has two majors in international studies and film, I don’t know what it’s called, I guess it’s film. And now he has a fully paid scholarship with stipend to UCLA for fine arts. So, I guess that tells you how well he did. X had to take the SAT again for university and X got the highest score in the English section.” Mrs. Ford So, whether homeschooling children can make it in the real academic world is not an issue. The experiences of Willy and Ford validate that homeschooled children can make it to higher education and have the potential to contribute to the community. Homeschooling Effect on Psychosocial Development During the interviews, participants of this study indirectly shared a few experiences of how they guide, help and deal with their children’s psychosocial development and behavior while homeschooling. 80% of the homeschooling participants’ children are under 12 years old. Therefore the participants only dealt with their children’s behavior from stages 1 to 4 of the Psychosocial Development theory. A few instances shared by the parents are stated below. Over Familiarity Parents, the primary teachers to their children at home, face the challenge of their children showing over-familiarity in their day-to-day homeschooling activities. Over familiarity is a situation when the temperament or behavior of a person lacks restraint or modesty due to being too comfortable with a setting, person, or routine. In a day-to-day homeschooling setting, this can easily be a problem between the parent and children, yet is not caused by the parent not making an effort to control their children. Mrs. Aaron shares this reality faced by homeschooling parents, “My challenge is that they know it’s mommy. That’s the greatest challenge. Sometimes they toy around. They know mommy has other responsibilities yea. Just putting them to sit there and know that this is school time while I have to juggle with other things, yea, that’s the greatest challenge with my kids, because they know it’s

71 mommy. In one word is over familiarity. Yea, because they know it’s mommy.” Mrs. Aaron Mrs. Romeo also stated, “They sometimes don’t respect us as they would respect their teacher. Especially towards their papa. The heaviest challenge for us is respect. Over familiarity, too comfortable. So during study time, they tend to become disrespectful.” Mrs. Romeo Discipline While most of the participants shared that they do not have many discipline problems with their children, Mr. Terrence shared, “The thing that are very unattractive about homeschooling is the discipline. You have to discipline. You cannot run from it. If you put them in school, you can let school deal with it but if they’re at home you have to handle it. Well, we don’t spare the rod. When we keep our children at home, we have to be the good and bad guy. A lot of people they don’t want to be the bad guy, but we have to do what we have to do. We need to be tough when we need to. .... When they are young, they don’t have the capacity to reason, they only have their emotions. If you want them to act right, sometimes they need to feel bad and they will remember the feeling and they won’t do it anymore. When they get older you don’t have to rely on those kinds of tools because now you can talk.” Mr. Terrence Socialization Participants in this study relayed that their children are competent in socialization and can interact well with people of all ages. Mrs. Romeo elaborates, “I wanted to say that homeschooling gives children a lot of benefit. Like, when a homeschooling child gets to mingle with adults or he learns to treat and respect with adults. Another benefit that I noticed with my own children is, they learn to take care of babies. They are gentle when they hold, they also know how to responds with the babies. My children know how to related with people of different age group and in a more appropriate way. In a school setting younger children are shy in front of the older students. They tend to pull themselves away from the older children. From my observation, it takes them a while for them to warm up with each other and start interacting with the older children. But I don’t have problem with my children. I noticed they know how to adapt and relate with the different age group. They don’t need to warm up, they just know how to interact with people because they have experienced it in their daily learning experience as they meet different people.” Mrs. Romeo

72 Nine participants in this study agreed that it was important for their children to be exposed to people from all walks of life and ages. They are involved in different activities that provide opportunities for their children to interact with other children and adults in different settings. Mrs. Willy shared, “They have no problem with their relationships with other children. They have friends and make friends easily.” Mrs. Willy The Willy family homeschooled their children until they were done with high school. Both children have completed medical degrees. Their children have grown to be valuable members of society and have no problem with socialization. Mrs. Jimmy stated, “When we say socialization, it refers to the external factor. But actually, socialization should begin at home. As parents, our duties should not just to control but we ourselves are learning together. And because of the socialization we have with our children fosters love and respect for each other. As they grow older they become more open with their feelings. Most children who go to school they look for friends to confide and share their feelings, to look for comfort. But within the home, if the family have a good relationship, it will help the children to be open to talk to their parents.” Mrs. Jimmy This family emphasizes the importance of good relationships within the family circle. A good relationship builds a positive attitude in their children. With healthy and positive well-being at home, children will behave positively and interact with others. Homeschooling families usually look for opportunities for their children to interact with others outside their home circle. This was the case for the Smiths family, “I don’t think my children are deprive of social skills. They are socially capable of and more mature. My son can talk with people of all ages. I am glad that I have two of them. They know how to play with each other. He’s very playful so I provide opportunity for them to play. But there are times when they miss other children so I have to invite. I invite people to come over to our place there are more things to do. They don’t lack social life; the church also provides the opportunity for them to interact with others.” Mrs. Smith Another family also mentioned the church being a place where their children

73 have the opportunity to meet people of all ages (Ray, 2010) “They are communicating easily with any age. From babies to adult. They could relate with play and mingle with any children. R, he likes to be with an older brother. He loves when older boys interact and teach him. He’s not afraid to talk. We are very close to our neighbors. At church they participate a lot.” Mrs. Romeo As a pastor, Mr. Thanakit constantly has people dropping by to consult with him or visit at home. Because of his vocation as a church minister, his children can interact with people from different walks of life. Mrs. Thanakit shared, “We always invite people to our house every week since our house is for ministry. If he has friends, sometimes friends stay over at our house. And my husband is a very friendly person.” Mrs. Thanakit With the opportunity to meet different people every week, they do not lack socialization. However, not all participating families can expose their children to different people daily, so their interactions are primarily within the family circle. Yet when they can meet other people, one mother shared, “Not many kids for them to play with around here. But when there are kids around, they talk and play with other children. They don’t act weird.” Mrs. Terrence The non-Christian Thai parents who participated in this study also stated their positive thoughts on socialization, “He doesn’t have problem with the social. But for Thai people who doesn’t understand about homeschooling, they have negative thoughts. But we understand what we are doing and we don’t expect everyone to understand.” Mr. Somchai Out of the ten families participating in this study, only one parent stated unhappiness about their children’s social lives. Mrs. Aaron shared, “So their relationship with their friends is limited. If it’s about anything on the internet, they feel they are weird. Yes, my children prefer to play with the mud and nature and be creative. While their friends prefer to play with the gadget. So that kind of put them aloof.” Mrs. Aaron How Homeschool Affects the Family Dynamics

74 When a family decides to homeschool their children, there are a few things that they will have to adjust. The family dynamic and finance are two of the most important things to consider. Below are the discussions gathered from the participants of the focus group session. For the Smith family, their decision to homeschool was made even before they had children. Every decision they made revolved around their decision to homeschool. Whatever plan was made, it was moving towards their dream to homeschool. Mrs. Smith stated, “The decision to homeschool was something we have decided before I got pregnant. It was more of a progressive transition for us. It was like, we are done being a couple, now we are moving towards parenthood. It’s a change in a way, but it was a change that we have already anticipated. We wrapped our plan around with the mindset that we were going to homeschool. I was still working and then I decided to stop after we had our second baby.” Mrs. Smith Being the primary teacher in their homeschool, the mother projected that she supports her husband in his work by being their children’s first teacher and controlling their education. She does not see her decision to quit her job as losing out. Instead, she sees it as a way by which she contributes to their vision of how they want their family life to be. “We have schedule and it’s actually a better system for us so that my husband can work without worrying about our kids. In a way I am supporting him to focus more on his work without worrying about our children and what they are learning.” Mrs. Smith This family moved out of the city to a suburban area in Korat. The move was to accommodate their decision to homeschool. “Since both of us love the countryside, after I gave birth, we decided to move from city life to the country living. We are living closer to nature here than living in Bangkok.” Mrs. Smith

75 For the Smiths family, their decision to homeschool was made early, before they had children. At every stage and transition of their lives, they made decisions that always included and accommodated homeschooling. It was a different experience with the Jimmy family. Homeschooling was not planned from the early stage of their marriage. Instead, they were convinced to pursue homeschooling because of their religious conviction. They believe parents should be their children’s first teachers and shoulder the responsibility of molding their children’s character. Mrs. Jimmy shared, “There are many struggles but we just praise God because we see the results of homeschooling in our family relationship and in our kids. How homeschooling impacted our family dynamic is, we realized that homeschooling has largely impacted us in our spiritual life.” Mrs. Jimmy To maintain a healthy relationship between their children and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Romeo prioritized their children. The Romeo family views the relationship between children and parents as their utmost priority. Mrs. Romeo shared, “When it comes to family dynamics and family setting, we are actually happy to have the children at home. We love to see them at home and interact with each other and bond. In fact, we are preparing C to be R’s teacher next year when he is officially enrolled in grade 1. She will be teaching him on 1 or 2 subjects. We love it when they are mingling and interacting with each other. Solving their problem on little issues and stay home contented and completely satisfied. The only drawback is, my husband and I have less time together as husband and wife. But we are happy to have the children home with us. We are happy to talk, discuss, debate, answering questions or sometimes just be quiet together. We enjoy each other’s company.” Mrs. Romeo. Homeschooling Challenges Even with all the good reasons and results of homeschooling, there are still challenges that homeschooling families face. Below are some of the challenges faced by the participants in this study.

76 Financial It is common knowledge amongst homeschooling families that when they have chosen this learning path for their children, one of them will have to stay home to be their children’s primary teacher. Financial restraints are one of the significant challenges a one-income homeschooling family faces. One participant, Mr. Terrence, stated that they could not go on field trips because it was too costly. Being the only breadwinner in the family, they do not have the luxury of having on unnecessary expenses. Mr. Terrence stated, “With homeschooling, you also sacrifice income. It’s costly to travel.” For the Smith family, depending on God to help guide them in their financial decision is a principle they live by. They depend on God to supply their needs and help them navigate their financial obstacles. “I live with the principle, “if it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill”. God had led us to make the decision to homeschool, He will provide for our need.” Mrs. Smith Most people decide to homeschool because it fits their lifestyle and expenditures. Many homeschooling families share that by homeschooling, they can save more money. Sending children to school would mean they have to pay for materials fees. Then there are the fees for joining extracurricular activities and many other incidental costs that parents are pressured to pay. However, the Smith family does not think they are cutting their family’s expenses by homeschooling. “If I have to really count, I still think the expenses to homeschool is quite similar to if I were to send my children to school. If I will spend 6k every month to send both of my children to school I am spending the same amount even with homeschooling. There are materials such as the books and curriculum that I need. And other items such as going out so that they can have hands on. I would say, it’s the same spending as if we are going to send them to school. But the time I spend with my children is priceless.” Mrs. Smith

77 The Jimmy family rely on God to provide for their daily necessities. Mrs. Jimmy shared, “No, we were not aware of the impact of homeschool on our family finance but we are faring well so far. We thank God, He provides what we need. We are more motivated to lead our children heavenward. So far, through God’s grace, we are able to manage our family and finances well. We still face some hurdles but we see the results and we just have to trust God that He will lead us always.” Mrs. Jimmy As for the Romeo family, homeschooling puts them in a winning situation. Mrs. Romeo stated, “Financially, we are on the winning situation because we use to spend more when my girl was in school. Often time, there were collection that the homeroom teacher made and even though not all parents approve of the activities, we have to contribute. But she is not in school anymore, so we don’t have to spend on those unnecessary expenses. We spend less because she is out of school and we get to purchase stuff that they actually use and need for homeschooling.” Management of Time Mr. Somchai shared that it was hard for the wife to run their business while homeschooling their son, “One of the challenges is regarding time. My wife runs a coffee shop business. She has to run the business and teach our son at the same time. Homeschooling is a good thing but we must know how to help ourselves and our son. We need to keep things running and stable to keep things going for a long period of time, that is the challenge for us.” Mr. Somchai Lack of Support System Eight out of ten families in this study are expatriates working in Thailand. They do not get any support from the Thai government in pursuing homeschooling. The only help they get is from family members and online support groups. However, even with the lack of support for the expatriates, it did not deter them from homeschooling. They decided to research and study how best to execute homeschooling in their setting. Even with the support given by the government for the

78 Thais, they still prefer to homeschool without the government’s involvement. Three of the participants in this study shared their experiences. “I try to research, especially in Thailand it’s hard. I am the primary teacher at home. The internet and God is my support. There’s not a group where I am. I am in a group support but it’s in Thai. I am just a silent observer.” Mrs. Smith Mrs. Smith sometimes feels alone when she homeschools because she does not have any support besides her husband. As for Mrs. Romeo, she is happy that the Thai government allows expatriates like her family to do homeschooling. “We don’t get any help. But we are thankful even though we are foreigners, we can homeschool in English. We are freely homeschooling them in English and buy curriculum of our choice.” Mrs. Romeo When Mrs. Ford’s family moved to Thailand, she did not get the support she needed. “I get support in America no place else. They have a whole homeschool system, that was very nice. When I went oversea, it was just me. That was a bit discouraging because there is so much support for homeschooling in America. And there is so many things for us to do in America. The art, the music, the mothers getting together and supporting and helping each other and information so yea. That was not available oversea for me.” Mrs. Ford Conclusion The research findings from this study validate the studies done by other scholars. Parents are choosing to homeschool based on sound, well-researched reasonings. They are pursuing this educational approach with their children’s well-being in mind. Academic knowledge is essential, but a focus on holistic education emphasizing character and psychosocial development must be placed at the forefront of every child’s learning experience.

79 Conceptual Framework This conceptual framework (Figure 13) is a visual representation of the findings of this study. Four determinants motivate parents to homeschool. These include a) Worries with the public school system; b) Negative influence from school peers; c) Religious reasons; d) Parent’s context, which includes parents’ wanting to control the selection of curriculum, modify and adjust the curriculum of their choice and control the schedule and learning pace of their children. These determinants motivate parents to homeschool effectively, and as a result, children have better academic achievement and psychosocial development. Figure 14. Conceptual Framework • Worries with the public-school system •Negative influence from school peers • Religious reasons • Parent's context Determinants • Parents' selection of curricula • Creation of unique activities for children's academic, social, and spiritual growth Homeschool • Academic Achievement • Psychosocial development Homeschooling Result

80 CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSIONS The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of homeschooling families. This study aims to establish why parents homeschool, analyze educational resources available to homeschooling families, determine the effect of homeschooling on children’s development as perceived by the parents and identify the support systems available to parents in ensuring their success in homeschooling. Data were collected through interview sessions and focus group discussions. Demographic Finding The demographic findings of this study closely resemble the previous studies done by Ray (2010). All the participants in this study are married. Nine of ten families are Christians and have two to three children. The parents in this study hold university degrees ranging from Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate. Participating families are single-income households with one spouse working as the breadwinner with a steady income to support their homeschooling endeavors. The other spouse stays at home either as the primary instructor in their homeschool or shares the teaching schedule with the working parent. Coming from a stable home background where the parents are married and have good religious background is one of the main contributors to the success of the homeschooling experience. According to one study, children's educational level depends more on their parents’ education. This is a vital factor that affects children’s academic success (Ardita Ceka, 2016). Parents with higher education backgrounds contribute to parents’ self-efficacy. This enables parents to

81 execute Discussions After analyzing the data, the main reason for homeschooling cited by nine out of ten parents in the study is control. The desire for children to grow up in an environment where they experience robust emotional, spiritual, physical, and cognitive development drives parents to homeschool. They want to control the external elements around their children’s lives to ensure a holistic learning experience. The section below discusses Problems of the Institutional School System, namely: negative Influences from school peers; Academic Achievement; Parents' context, which covers - Parents’ preference to impart religious or moral instruction to their children, responsibility to teach their children, Control over curriculum choice and method of learning, and control over schedule and learning pace. Worries of the Institutional School System One of the primary reasons cited by parents who chose to homeschool is their growing concern over problems within the institutional school system. The two main issues are; a flaw in the teacher-centered teaching approach and negative influence from school peers.

82 Teacher-centered teaching approach There is a focus on memorization in most school settings, where the teacher does most of the teaching and talking. Students are expected to listen, memorize and repeat information taught in the classroom onto exam papers (Chansaengsee, Peungposop, & Junprasert, 2017). More students lack critical thinking skills and creativity (Sataban, 2020). This teaching approach is prevalent in Thailand. Furthermore, in most public schools in Thailand, the class size is large, and most teachers lack the ability and strategies for teaching and handling large numbers of students in one class. More and more parents are inclined towards child-centered learning approaches. Negative Influence from School Peers. One of the critical findings in this study relates to parents wanting to shield their children from negative influences from school peers. Negative peer pressure is one of the main concerns that causes many parents to homeschool their children. Too many cases of depression and aggressive behavior are associated with negative peer socialization in school. (Prinstein, 2006; Schwartz, Sheerbear, Dudgeon, & Allen, 2012; Leary, 2001). Drug, tobacco, and alcohol use are also connected with negative influence from peers (Kendel & Davies, 1996; McCabe, Boyd, & Young, 2007). Others are exposed to harassment, premarital sex, guns, and violence (Jeub, 1994). Academic Achievement Much research has supported that homeschooled children are just as competent in academics as those who attend the school system. In a report by Ray (2010), homeschoolers score on average at the 65th to 80th percentile on standardized achievement tests compared to the public-school students’ scores average of the 50th percentile. According to Ray, homeschoolers scores about the same or better than

83 public school students (Ray, 2010). Another research conducted on how children function in the real world concluded that home-schooled children are not just doing well in their college entrances test (GED and SAT). However, they are noticeably doing well in their day-to-day contribution to the community and are involved in community service. (Ray, 2004, Knowles and Muchmore, 1995). As more graduates of homeschools enter society, experiences and studies show that homeschoolers are proving to be successful community members. As shared in previous studies by other scholars, it is well known that homeschoolers are achieving or better than those who attend public school (Ray, 2017). Because of the achievement and good training from home, they become successful in higher learning and their jobs. Parents believe that their children are doing well in their academics due to their parental involvement and dedication to their children and child’s education. As seen in this study, two of the families in this study had gone through homeschooling. The parents shared their academic experiences, and their children are faring well in their careers and studies. Child-Centered Learning Approach As discussed in the previous section, parents disagree with the teachercentered teaching approach in the school system. With the realization that children have multiple intelligences, parents want to meet their children's individual needs, which leads them to a child-centered approach to learning. In the early 1900s, John Dewey’s view of education reformed the then-present education system. Dewey introduced the child-centered approach to education. This pedagogy is an approach that places the child in the center of learning. This learning approach gives parents the space to be more involved in the children’s growth, provides opportunities for independence to be nurtured, and allocates individual attention to children’s needs.

84 The child is an active participant in his learning. The teacher becomes the facilitator of learning (Williams, 2017). More parents are aware that children have multiple intelligences, not all the same. Therefore, no one way is the right way of teaching. Child-centered learning encourages children to decide what learning approach best meets their educational needs. The second additional finding is that parents prefer the hands-on application method of learning. As one of the participants mentioned, application after theory makes learning more practical. Moreover, all the parents in this study were educated. They did their study and research on homeschooling before homeschooling their children. They took the initiative and challenge to educate their children based on their acquired knowledge. A group of scholars came up with a list of indicators of this learning pedagogy. As a result of the study, the scholars (I am referring to Power, Rhys, Taylor, and Waldron) found that children who are exposed to a learning environment where the emphasis is more on ‘play’ than ‘work’ is happier than children who are not exposed to this learning approach. When the well-being of the children is positive, they are more likely to enjoy learning and reach significant academic achievement. The conclusion was that the more child-centered the learning environment, the more prominent academic progress (Power, Rhys, Taylor, & Waldron, 2018). This is likely due to highly involved parents in their children’s learning experience. This study confirms the experiences of the parents who participated in this research. Parents in this study indicated that they want their children to spend more time in nature, do more practical hands-on activities, and be exposed to activities that enhance skills of interest and mastery.

85 Table 3. Twelve Indicators of Child‐Centeredness 1. Child can initiate and direct their own learning activities. 2. Different learning activities constantly available in the learning environment. 3. Child can learn from first‐hand (direct) experiences. 4. Child can learn from practical (hands‐on) experiences. 5. Child can learn from explorative experiences. 6. Child can learn through physically active experiences. 7. There are different learning areas/activities for child to engage with. 8. Learning takes place indoors and outdoors. 9. Adult extends child's thinking by asking open (rather than closed) questions. 10. Adult encourages child to reflect on their learning experiences. 11. Adult monitors child's progress predominantly through observations. 12. Child is challenged and supported on their stage (not age) of learning Adapted from Power, Rhys, Taylor, & Waldron, 2018. Parents’ Context In a study conducted by Hoover-Dempsey and Green (2007), it was discovered that parents who hold a strong parent-focused responsibility are more motivated to homeschool. These parents have the self-efficacy to help their children learn and seek resources available to help them educate their children (Green & Hoover-Dempsey, 2007). Bandura defines self-efficacy as an individual’s inner belief in their abilities to achieve a specific goal. This theory suggests that parents’ behavioral choices are guided by the outcomes they expect to come from their actions (Bandura, 1989). It is the self-efficacy in parents that leads them to believe that they can homeschool their children. Parents with solid self-efficacy educate themselves about homeschooling and have strong determination and aspiration to impart knowledge to their children. These parents learn and become better at homeschooling as they progress from one level to the next level of their children’s education (Tugsbaatar, 2019). Homeschooling children excel in education because they are

86 motivated by their parents, who decide to educate them at home (Kandasamy, Hutagalung, Razak, & Isa, 2016). Others support the idea of parental responsibility outside of this study. Researchers stated that parents can pursue education according to their preferences and religious beliefs. Parents in this study agree that they are responsible for their children’s education. They decided to homeschool because they wanted to be involved in their children’s learning experience. Parents also shared their desire to be their children’s first teachers. These parents come from a Christian background and are convicted of fulfilling this responsibility. Parents as First Teacher Some scholars have researched parental involvement as children’s first teacher. Parents bring their children’s first teacher could support an environment of rich learning experiences and character development for their children. As the primary home teacher, homeschooling parents play an active role in the intellectual formation of their children. They find it a fulfilling experience, a responsibility, and their right as parents. Nine out of the ten participants are Christians. Six of the nine Christian participants believe they must raise and educate their children. In this study, three out of ten parents shared their conviction that they become their children’s first teachers at home. They seriously took this challenge even though two of the three parents do not know about homeschooling. These parents have the self-efficacy to do their reading and research about homeschooling, followed by the conviction to homeschool. Parents believe that their children’s education resulted in good character, high moral values, and academic excellence. Parents also believe that the time spent with their children is valuable to ensuring their children learn their daily lessons. No children are overlooked when there is a one-on-one approach to

87 learning. It is interesting to note that for many participants, while the decision to homeschool may be both parents’, it ultimately was the mother who managed the children’s homeschooling. As seen in the data, this may be due to practical reasons, such as the father being the parent bringing in a higher income, or it may be more convenient for the mother as homeschooling involves the home environment, too. This means that along with homeschooling, house chores and other domestic errands need to be done. Religious and Moral Conviction The motivation to homeschool for most parents is religious reasons (Jeub, 1994). Religion plays a significant part in most families. Many parents believe that although the public school system does a good job teaching their children character development but is not doing the job of instructing in religious matters (Green & Hoover-Dempsey, 2007). The belief that parents play an important role in instilling religious values in homeschooling parents is supported by scholars. Some researchers conclude that this is the main reason parents can homeschool, so their children can have proper character-building training from home. However, although nine out of ten families in this study are Christians, not all indicated their decision to homeschool as determined by their religious convictions. Three participants were eager to point out that their main reason for homeschooling is to instill moral values and concentrate on character-building lessons.

88 Parental Control One way parents involve themselves in their children's education process is by controlling a few elements, such as the choice of curriculum, and modifying and adjusting curriculum based on their children’s needs, schedule, and learning pace. Control over Curriculum Choice. Parents in this study chose a curriculum that motivates their children to be independent learners. Independent learning is when children set their own goals and monitor and evaluate their academic progress. This method trains the children to have ownership and control of their education. They learn by their actions and direct, regulate, and assess their learning. They do this so they can direct their motivation concerning learning. Independent learning is essential because it is the center of learning when a child study for themselves. Making discoveries from a task given to them based on their interest and finding the task challenge is already a rewarding experience for learners, which is a valuable life tool. To name a few of the curriculums used by the parents in this study; Sonlight Curriculum, Abeka, Robinson Curriculum, The Good and Beautiful, and Griggs Online Learning. Parents opted for these homeschool provider because it guides children to be independent in learning.

89 Control Over Making Adjustments and Modifications to Curriculum. Parents in this study also chose to modify or adjust the curriculum to meet their children’s educational needs. No curriculum is a perfect fit for every child. This is especially true in children's knowledge of multiple intelligence. Whether the parents choose to send them to school or homeschool, children learn differently. In this study, parents who modify and adjust the curriculum are parents who have a background in teaching. They take out what is not required and add other resources which are necessary for the children. Control Over Learning Pace, Schedule, and Learning Style. Another reason for parents to homeschool is because they want to control the schedule for the different lessons. In the traditional school system, teaching is applied like a spitting gun. The gun shoots out the classes, hoping each student gets it and learns. However, with the knowledge that children have their personalities, even in learning styles and needs, the spitting gun teaching methods will not reach all the individuals in the classroom. When learning is individualized and focuses on each unique learning style and need, it will produce a better outcome (Tara, 2021). Parents in this study chose to homeschool because they wanted to be in charge of their children’s learning schedule, pace, and learning style. Acknowledging their children’s learning needs, parents do not become slaves to their lesson plans and curriculum. They can take it slow or allow their children to go fast. They can choose to take out lessons or add to them. They can try a different approaches to help their children to understand the various subjects.