Motivations

Parents give lots of different reasons for homeschooling their children. In the 2003 and 2007 NHES, parents were asked whether particular reasons for homeschooling their children applied to them. The reasons selected by parents of over two-thirds of students were concern about the school surroundings, to provide religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools. From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of students whose parents reported homeschooling to provide religious or moral instruction increased from 72 percent to 83 percent. In 2007, the most common reason parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction (36 percent of students). Usually the religious belief being represented is evangelical Christian.[30] This reason was followed by a concern about the school surroundings (such as safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure) (21 percent), dissatisfaction with academic instruction (17 percent), and "other reasons" including relatives time, finances, travel, and distance (14 percent).[31] Other reasons include more flexibility in educational practices and relatives core stability for children with learning disabilities or extended chronic illnesses, or for children of missionaries, military families, or families who move often, as often as every years.

In addition, some parents need more opportunities to socialize with a variety of ages, to travel more, to do more field journeys, to visit museums, to do outdoor schooling, to attend concerts, to visit work places, to tour government buildings, to seek mentor-ships, and to study nature outside. A homeschooling relatives can do more field journeys, with vehicle and parent necessary.[32]