School closures and work from home setups during the pandemic have inadvertently provided a homeschooling test-run for many parents. As a result, even after schools opened and many workers returned to their offices, some parents have continued to homeschool their children, doubling the homeschooling rates in the US to 11%.
Our own data show that overwhelming number of Americans are aware of this trend, and unequivocally support parents' right to homeschool their children. When, between December 21 and December 22, 2021, we surveyed 1,515 American adults, we found out that half (50%) strongly agreed that parents have a right to homeschool their children and more than a third (38%) somewhat agreed with the view, while only 12% ('somewhat disagree' and 'strongly disagree' combined) disagreed. Overwhelming majority (78% 'strongly agree' and 'somewhat agree' combined) also shares the perception, rooted in reality, that homeschooling has become increasingly more mainstream.
Conservatives (59% strongly agrees, 44% among liberals), Republicans (58%, 47% among Democrats), African Americans (58%, only 28% among Asians), Americans living in the South (56%, 8 percentage points higher than in the other three US regions), and especially those living in rural South (60%) are most willing to express sentiment that parents have the right to homeschool their children. At the same time, parents with children under 17 (38% strongly agree) and Millennials and Generation X respondents (33% and 32%, respectively) are more likely to see homeschooling being mainstream than those with no children under 17 (23%) and Generation Z and Baby Boomers (23% and 21%, respectively). Thirty-two percent of respondents in the South, including 38% in rural South strongly agree that homeschooling has become more mainstream (at 24%, this the number is lowest in the East). Hispanics are most likely to think that homeschooling has become mainstream - 34% strongly agree, compared to 25% among Whites and only 17% among Asian respondents.
Despite overwhelming support for parents' right to homeschool their children as well as near-consensus that homeschooling has become more mainstream, majority (51% 'strongly agree' and 'somewhat agree' combined) of Americans still believe that homeschooled children are disadvantaged in real life. College educated respondents (57% at least somewhat agree, 49% among non-college educated), Democrats (60%, 44% among Independents), liberals (63%, 37% among conservatives), Millennials (60%, 43% among Baby Boomers) and large city residents (62%, 43% in rural areas) are most likely to believe that homeschooled children are disadvantaged in real life.
Covid-19 disruption to school life and increasingly acrimonious disagreements about proper scope and content of school curricula has led some American parents to revisit homeschooling as an option. Our data shows that most Americans are aware of this and strongly support parents' right to do so but nevertheless have some reservations about homeschooling outcomes.
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Zogby Analytics Poll Methodology
US Adults
12/21/21 - 12/22/21
Zogby Analytics conducted an online survey of 1515 adults in the US.
Using internal and trusted interactive partner resources, thousands of adults were randomly invited to participate in this interactive survey. Each invitation is password coded and secure so that one respondent can only access the survey one time.
Using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books and exit polls, we use complex weighting techniques to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. Weighted variables may include age, race, gender, region, party, education, and religion. The party breakdown for this survey is as follows: 38% Democrat, 38% Republican and 24% Independent/unaffiliated.
Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for 1515 is +/- 2.5 percentage points. This means that all other things being equal, the identical survey repeated will have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.
Subsets of the data have a larger margin of error than the whole data set. As a rule we do not rely on the validity of very small subsets of the data especially sets smaller than 50-75 respondents. At that subset we can make estimations based on the data, but in these cases the data is more qualitative than quantitative.
Additional factors can create error, such as question wording and question order.
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About Zogby Analytics:
Zogby Analytics is respected nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities. Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions.
The firm conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.