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UBC Theses and Dissertations

Educational philosophies and locus of control in homeschooling and schooling parents Wingert, Heather Dianne

Abstract

Three groups of parents, ten who had chosen to homeschool their children, and twenty public school parents, ten who had sent their children to the Montessori program and ten who had sent their children to the regular program completed three locus of control measurements and a Q-sort on educational beliefs. Twelve parents were later interviewed. Homeschooling parents were found to feel more in control of their children's destiny and less controlled by chance and powerful others than were schooling parents. Montessori parents felt less controlled by chance than traditional parents. There were no differences in measures of internality. Results of the Q-sort indicated that subjects did not fall into readily identifiable liberal, moderate and conservative groups. The Q-sort, in fact, yielded four factors, one liberal factor focusing on 'self-actualization', one factor focusing on moral development and good citizenship, and one focusing on a challenging academic curriculum. The fourth factor was similar to the self-actualization factor but slightly more conservative. Factor I was comprised primarily of homeschoolers and Montessori parents, Factor II of only 'Christian' homeschoolers, Factor III of Montessori and traditional parents and Factor IV of traditional parents only. Interviews suggested that homeschooling parents were well-informed about child development and education while Montessori and Factor III traditional parents were well informed about child development.

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