Submission Deadline: December 15, 2018

Guest Editors: Andy Garbacz, Rachel DeRoos, and Tom Kratochwill

Approximately 2 million children in the United States are educated at home on either a part-time or full-time basis1-a trend that is growing for some populations (e.g., African-American youth). 2 There are a number of reasons why parents choose to home school their child, including (a) the need to address specific mental health or education challenges, (b) safety concerns, and/or (c) cultural or religious convictions. Whatever the reason, many parents experience barriers to establishing and maintaining a structured educational environment at home and they often do not have sufficient preparation or resources. Further, they often report being disconnected from resources and supports regularly provided by public schools3 and thus they may reach out to public schools in general (and school psychologists specifically) to receive support for assessment, consultation, or intervention strategies. Despite significant needs in the area of home schooling and relevance to school psychology, home schooling is not a frequent topic in many school psychology training programs and it is understudied in the school psychology literature.

This Special Topic Section of School Psychology Quarterly will focus on the publication of research reviews, conceptual and legal issues, and empirically-based papers on the topic of home schooling. The special section is slated for publication in June 2019. We are particularly interested in receiving empirical studies that address the role of school psychologists in supporting families who home school their children as they transition into or out of the public school system. Studies that address the role of the school psychologist in supporting productive and healthy home school environments are especially relevant.

Examples of appropriate papers may include (but are not limited to):

  • Empirical reviews of home schooling practices;
  • Research regarding the role of school psychologists in supporting families who home school their children;
  • Empirical reviews on the policies regarding home schooling and utilization of public school resources such as school psychologists;
  • Legal and ethical issues in the provision of psychological and educational services to children involved in home schooling;
  • Research on the utility of a school psychologist in a home school group or coop setting.

Manuscript length for the special section will be determined based on the quality and number of proposals, but is targeted to not exceed the journal standard of 6,000 words, inclusive of all tables, figures, and references. Submitted manuscripts will be given blind peer review, as per usual journal policy, prior to a final decision on publication. All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal’s submission portal (http://www.editorialmanager.com/spq), using the article type “Special Section Article: Homeschooling.”

Please direct all inquiries to Andy Garbacz (sgarbacz@wisc.edu).

Redford, J., Battle, D., & Bielick, S. (2017). Homeschooling in the United States: 2012 (NCES 2016-096.REV). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016096rev.pdf

Fields-Smith, C. & Williams, M. (2009). Motivations, sacrifices, and challenges: Black parents’ decisions to home school. Urban Review, 41, 269–289.

Martin-Chang, S., Gould, O. N., & Meuse, R. E. (2011). The impact of schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from homeschooled and traditionally schooled students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement, 43, 195–202.