The N.C. Educational Alliance section of the website references an article calling for more data on homeschoolers. However, the author is missing a significant amount of the data already published.
For example, although nearly every study and individual I’ve known says materials for homeschooling generally average about $400 to $600 per child, the reseracher in question says it’s much more than that:
While some parents insist that they are spending much less by educating their children at home, … Clive Belfield, professor of economics at Queens College, City University of New York, estimates that the cost for parents who keep a careful accounting is about $2,500 for a family’s first child and slightly less for the next one or two home-schooled kids.
Belfield’s cost-assessment includes up-to-date textbooks and a library of other learning materials, computing equipment, ergonomically designed furniture, additional light, heat and air conditioning …
That’s one example of why I’d check other sources before I read too much into Belfield’s data. I’ve met or spoken to thousands of homeschoolers, and this is absolutely the first time I’ve heard of a need for ergonomically designed furniture. More bookshelves, always, but extra air conditioning ? maybe NCHE needs to expand the exhibition space at the Conference this year? I guarantee you’ll find plenty of ways to do this for less than $2500 a year.
But regarding his call for more research, Belfield’s behind the pack; the peer-reviewed journal Home School Reporter began publication in 1985, and researchers like Brian Ray at the National Home Education Research Institute and Patricia Lines have been following developments and populations in the movement longer than that. I’ve seen an article or two where he had new data, but I’d definitely be cautious about sole-sourcing his information.
