The Big Read: Not for the faint-hearted - inside the world of homeschooling and how to tell if it works for your family

Parents who homeschool their children do so for several reasons, such as wanting to expose their children to topics not covered by conventional education. Assoc Prof Jason Tan from NIE noted that the homeschool community is "rather scattered” as there is no umbrella body to which all homeschooling families belong that would be able to provide concrete numbers on its size, adding that not all parents may be able to cope with the demands of homeschooling. Sociology Assoc Prof Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir from NTU said that homeschooling parents have chosen to “take ownership” of managing their children's education instead of relying on the mainstream system as their decisions to homeschool are driven by values they deem important, such as a well-rounded education, which they prioritise over other factors like capital accumulation or other externally imposed objectives and notions of success. Although Singapore students have done well at international assessments, Dr Betsy Ng, an education research scientist at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at NIE, said that MOE has continued to enhance the education system to shift its focus away from an assessment-heavy one.

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