Home Education around the World

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USA

Canada

Japan

Some information on HE in Japan in the following news article http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fs20080520a4.html

Germany and Switzerland

In Germany (and Switzerland), school attendance is not compulsory, though is usual. Each Länder implements the law to differing degrees. The law being that if a parent doesn't take its legal obligation to educate its child seriously, then the child has to go to school. It is possible to remove a child from a school with permission, providing they are educated in a way that is equal to the approved system. One cannot remove a child for religious reasons - hence the problems the Philadelphia school in Siegen have had.

This law has been in effect since 1938 - prior to that, the laws covering compulsory education permitted private tuition or home education. Parents who do not remove their children in the correct way and for the right reasons can be liable to fines. If they persist, the State can partially or completely withdraw child custody from the parents. In some states there is even the possibility of a 6 month prison sentence.

An estimated 500 children (as of 2003) are being home educated either in secret or with authorities choosing not to notice. Some are enrolled with the Philadelphia School in Siegen (which has a Christian basis) - a correspondence school which is tolerated but not recognised by the state. Officially, correspondence schools in Germany may only teach children based in other countries.

The reasons these parents take the risk of breaking the law in order to home educate are varied - some have strong Christian views, taking the view that parental responsibility for children's education derives from the bible. Others are prompted by ideas such as the freedom of the child and self-directed learning, or by issues such as bullying, or by their unhappiness at the quality of education in schools.

A number of families have decided to relocate to other countries, such as Austria and the UK in order to be able to home educate their child, perhaps this is for religious reasons, as they could stay in Germany, as others have, if they negotiated correctly with the authorities.

France

It is legal to home educate in France, but it is necessary for the parent to register with the town hall and the school inspectorate every year, and the educational provision will be inspected every year and must include the following knowledge and skills -

  • a good command of the French language, both written and spoken
  • knowledge of French literature
  • principles of mathematics
  • at least one foreign language
  • a basic knowledge of the history and geography of French, Europe and the world
  • a basic knowledge of science and technology
  • an artistic education
  • participation in sports



In order to acquire this knowledge, the child must

  • be able to ask questions
  • propose reasoned answers from observations and written documents
  • prove reasoning ability
  • invent, create and produce finished work
  • be able to use information and communication technology
  • control efforts, use resources and evaluate risks

http://www.lesenfantsdabord.org/eindex.html

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