Home schooling: what are we talking about?
On October 2, during his speech detailing the measures of the action plan to combat separatism, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that starting in the 2021 school year, school attendance will be mandatory for all children aged 3 and older, and that homeschooling will be limited to health imperatives.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
This alternative form of education known as homeschooling is now in the spotlight. How can we define this method of learning, which, although still very marginal, has been growing in popularity for several years? How will the current measures change things for families?
An ancient and legal method of education
The Ferry Act of March 28, 1882, established compulsory education, which takes place in public or private schools or within families. This provision is still in force today through Article L.131-2 of the Education Code.
This choice emphasizes that it is education that is compulsory, not school, but also that, from a historical perspective, the education of children is the prerogative of parents. By building a public school system for all since the19th century, the state has marginalized this form of parental education, while maintaining its legal status in France in the name of freedom of education.
By restricting home schooling "in particular to health requirements," the President of the Republic assured that he had taken "a decision that is undoubtedly one of the most radical since the laws of 1882 and those ensuring coeducation between boys and girls in 1969."
However, this is not a ban but a strict limitation on the freedom of home schooling, which will avoid appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality.
A growing alternative
In his speech, the President of the Republic emphasized the "necessity" of such a measure due to the risks posed by the rise of this method of learning. More than 50,000 children are believed to be homeschooled in 2020. This represents an increase from 41,000 at the start of the 2019 school year and 35,000 in 2018.
However, this alternative educational movement remains very marginal, representing less than 0.5% of school-age children. Nevertheless, this is a notable increase, especially given that the contours of this emerging movement, which has been the subject of recent study and research, are still poorly understood.
Non-schooling appears to be opposition to school as an institution per se, whether public or private. But this rejection of school is linked to a variety of choices made by families, whether medical, educational, human, environmental, dietary, or even religious, although no figures are given for the latter.
Current legislation defines two cases of non-schooling. First, homeschooling as a "choice" made by the family, where education can be provided by the parents or any other person of their choice without any qualifications being required. It is this first case that is being challenged in the presidential plan of October 2, 2020.
Next, there are cases where children cannot attend school for a variety of reasons, particularly medical ones. In such cases, the local education authority will give its approval for enrollment at the National Center for Distance Learning (CNED). This allows children who are not attending school to receive an education with pedagogical support from a teacher and a report card.
Currently, after the declaration of the investigation within the family, two investigations are conducted by public services:
- On the one hand, a social investigation to verify that the education is provided in conditions compatible with the child's state of health and the family's lifestyle.
- On the other hand, an educational investigation to ensure that the education provided is in accordance with the child's right to education.
An annual assessment aims to check the child's progress in the curriculum implemented by those responsible for their education, based on their educational choices.
Increasingly strict controls
The President of the Republic has condemned the fact that children are being "taken out of school because their parents no longer want them to attend state schools." This situation highlights the increasingly close scrutiny of "non-mainstream" education methods.
Governments' mistrust of non-schooling is international. While in some countries, such as Germany, home schooling is already limited to exceptional cases, restrictions and controls are becoming increasingly strict in countries such as Spain and Greece, where this form of education is still legal.
Since April 2018, the Gatel law has strengthened controls on non-contract schools. Also in 2018, the national plan to prevent radicalization aimed to improve the organization and implementation of controls on families who do not send their children to school.
In 2019, the law of July 26, 2019, known as the "school of trust" law, specifies in Article 19 the need to strengthen control over education in the name of the right to education for all.
Home schooling and non-contract schools
The speech on October 2 created a direct link between separatism, homeschooling, and non-contract schools, which are the real targets of measures against religious separatism. There is overlap between families who do not send their children to school and certain non-contract schools. The latter, which receive no public subsidies, may not follow the curriculum but are nevertheless subject to the common core of knowledge, which guarantees that learning is monitored.
See also:
Separatism: is a law really necessary?
Some of these schools cater to families who want their children to develop social skills during part of their school time. However, it is clear that conflating the two forms of education is detrimental to families who have made educational choices without any religious or doctrinal considerations. Furthermore, of the 1,700 private schools not under contract, only a third are religious institutions, the others being secular and alternative schools practicing, for example, Montessori pedagogy.
Emmanuel Macron spoke of illegal schools being closed, often run by religious extremists. Since 2018, around ten non-contract schools have been suspected of religious indoctrination. The Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, emphasizes that this law against separatism will improve the legal arsenal to protect children from any form of recruitment. The very question of how this new law will be implemented is being raised.
The measures announced came as a shock to parents who homeschool their children. The action plan detailed on October 2 aims to ensure "school for all." Clearly, there will be greater suspicion toward this form of education, and stricter controls will be enforced.
This reminder that schools are the guarantors of a common education by enabling all children to meet each other makes schools a key element of our democracy, as Philippe Meirieu points out. Public schools remain the ideal place for social diversity, exchange, and learning, but they must be given the means to do so.
What choices will families who currently homeschool their children make in the future? Will we see private schools implementing "attractive" policies to draw these families in? Conversely, public schools will need to set an example by being inclusive and listening to all parents who are concerned about their children's well-being. Fulfilling these commitments is the only way to be a school for everyone.
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education Sciences, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.