Provisions for Homeschooling in Canada: Parental Rights and the Role of the State

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the policy and provisions for homeschooling in Canada. Drawing upon existing research, the paper begins by situating homeschooling within the larger educational landscape of Canadian public education, and examines the evolution of homeschooling in this context. The paper highlights the shifting motivation of parents to homeschool during different periods and reviews some of the tension related to this form of schooling. The next section provides a comparative view of the regulatory framework, funding and support for homeschooling in each province, student enrolment figures, student performance outcomes and fiscal efficiencies for Canadian tax-payers. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from the Canadian experience of homeschooling that informs implications for policy makers in other contexts.