Majority of children say they learned less in homeschooling

73% of second-level and 52% of primary respondents reported that they had learned either a ‘little less’ or a ‘lot less’ at home than at school. Stock Image.

Homeschooling led to "exceptional stress" for many parents, while most children believed they learned less.

An anonymous online survey involving 2,733 parents and 1,189 students from primary and second-level schools found that while parents struggled with the demands of homeschooling, children also had a sense they were losing out, including in terms of social interaction.

The newly-published study found that many students emphasised a "lack of motivation towards schoolwork" and a significant number of both second-level students and parents referenced "a lack of communication with, and support from, teachers".

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"Importantly, 73% of the second-level and 52% of the primary respondents reported that they had learned either a ‘little less’ or a ‘lot less’ at home than at school," the report states. 

"A strong desire for more consistency and direction from the Department of Education, so as to ensure equitable access to the curriculum within and across schools, featured in many open-ended responses throughout the survey," it said.

While some students reported enjoying getting up later and being away from disruptive students or bullies (‘kids being mean to me’; ‘eejits in my class disrupting class’), primary school respondents reported that they did not enjoy academic subjects with which they felt they needed their teacher’s help (e.g. Irish and Mathematics), and many also reported missing fun aspects of school and important events.

Many parents described homeschooling as ‘not feasible’, ‘impossible’, ‘unrealistic’, ‘stressful’, ‘draining’ and being ‘far too much’ while 67.1% of second-level students reported that their interest in schooling at home had either decreased ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’.