Traditional School System Research Articles

Neuro-Architectural Design of an Inclusive School Complex: A Response to the Needs of Autistic Children in Ngaoundere

In Cameroon, although efforts have been made to improve access to education, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often remain excluded from the traditional school system, particularly in the northern regions where access to specialized infrastructure is limited. This article presents the results of a study on the design of a school complex adapted to autistic children in Ngaoundere, incorporating the principles of neuro-architecture. The survey conducted with specialists, parents, and educators provided crucial insights to create an inclusive and calming educational environment that meets the sensory and cognitive needs of the children. The site analysis in the Adamawa region, considering climatic and geographical constraints, confirmed the relevance of the location. The architectural design, focused on diverse spaces such as classrooms, sensory withdrawal zones, and common areas promoting inclusion, not only enhances the social integration of autistic children but also raises awareness in the community about the importance of their education. This project, rooted in an ecological and cultural approach, represents a sustainable and innovative initiative for Cameroon’s education system.

The use of alternative methods in working with underachieving students

In a modern school, one of the main tasks is to ensure a high level of student performance and requires constant efforts. This problem concerns such disciplines of the Natural Science direction as physics. Physics lessons include not only complex theory, but also conducting experiments, solving problems. In physics lessons, a high concentration of students is required for more effective assimilation of the material. Unfortunately, in a traditional school, conditions are not always created for this. Taking into account the fact that it is difficult for all students, especially those who are lagging behind, to take up extracurricular activities, we need to implement them. The traditional system may not contribute to not meeting the needs of these students and not increasing their motivation to learn. This paper presents an alternative teaching method in extracurricular activities in the teaching of physics, which successfully integrates into the traditional teaching system and significantly increases the motivation and performance of lagging students. For students who do not have problems with academic performance, the proposed technique further stimulates interest in the subject of physics. The reason for using alternative teaching techniques is related to improving the motivation of students with poor performance to understand and study physics. Since the greatest attention is paid to lagging students in this work, alternative methods make it possible to create favorable conditions for learning and mastering materials in physics. In this technology, non-standard approaches are widely used that allow you to fully reveal the potential of lagging students due to the fact that traditional methods turned out to be ineffective. The relevance of this study is due to the problem of developing methods and techniques for working with lagging students in high school. Currently, the main methods are associated with developing learning, but alternative technologies are becoming more and more important. The advantage of using alternative technologies in extracurricular activities is their ability to surpass traditional methods, and successfully increase the performance of lagging students. Taking into account modern trends and digitalization, alternative technologies promise prospects and provide a wide field for choosing methods in order to improve performance in classrooms. The purpose of this study is to provide modern alternative teaching methods to work with lagging students in school physics lessons, which are easily integrated into the traditional school system. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: Analysis of the compatibility of alternative learning technologies with traditional ones. Development of alternative teaching methods for lagging students that successfully integrate into the traditional school system and can be used within the framework of one lesson. Conduct a pedagogical experiment using the methods developed with lagging students, analyze the results and draw conclusions about the compatibility of alternative methods with the traditional school system and their effectiveness for lagging students. The object of the study is the integration of modern methods of alternative learning into the traditional system in order to improve the performance of lagging students. The subject of the study is the degree of integration of alternative teaching methods in a traditional school, based on the analysis of the progress of lagging students before and after the use of these methods. The research methodology involves the development of alternative teaching methods that correspond to current trends and the analysis of the assimilation of the material in physics lessons after their implementation. The novelty of the study is to propose alternative teaching methods that meet current trends in the education system and test them in a traditional school environment. This makes it possible to assess their compatibility with the traditional education system and their effectiveness for lagging students.

Generational Immigration Status Modifies the Association Between Psychosocial Distress and Substance Use Among Alternative High School Students

PurposeAlternative high schools (AHS) are designed to provide individualized education, more flexible scheduling, and smaller class sizes for students referred out of traditional high school. AHS students report higher levels of substance use (SU) and face disproportionately higher levels of trauma and toxic stress than their traditional high school peers. We sought to examine whether generational immigration (GenIm) status modifies the association of mental health and SU among AHS students using a longitudinal study of 1,060 Southern California AHS students. MethodsSubscales from the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were administered. Effect modification was examined by GenIm status defined as first generation (born outside of the United States), second generation (born in the United States with a parent born outside the United States), or third generation (born in the United States with US-born parent(s)). Main outcomes included the number of times different substances were used in the past year over a 3-year period. ResultsMultilevel, negative binomial, covariate-adjusted latent growth curve models generated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the time-varying association between depression, anxiety, or stress and the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, alcohol, or marijuana. Multiple-group models examined effect modification by GenIm status. DiscussionThe link between mental health and SU was stronger among first- and second-generation students than third-generation students. For example, a one-unit increase in stress relative to the average stress of students from the same school was associated with an increase in the rate of e-cigarette use among first-generation (IRR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.07–3.85), second-generation (IRR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.86–2.72), and third-generation (IRR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.31–2.16) students. Effective strategies tailored to subgroups of AHS students are needed to counter disparities between traditional and alternative school systems that may contribute to long-term trajectories of SU.

Selection of a smart and secure education school system based on the internet of things using entropy and TOPSIS approaches

ContextThe Internet of Things (IoT) is playing an important role in the development of cars, smart homes and schools. Schools are using IoT technology to enhance student learning, digitize traditional learning and improve academic performance. IoT is rapidly replacing the traditional school system with a modern, smart and safe school system. Several modern education systems are presented in the literature. Problem statementThe difficulty of choosing a smart and safe school system while evaluating the respective merits of different school systems has long been a concern for educators. MethodIn this study we proposed a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) to address the selection Problem. To rank the different smart school systems and evaluate the value of the required parameter, two MCDM-based methods are used: Entropy and TOPSIS (Technique for Preference Ordering by Similarity to an Ideal Solution). ResultsTwelve beneficial features were considered that represent the fundamental positive characteristics required to create an intelligent education system. Ten different educational systems are considered as alternatives in order to carry out an evaluation. Entropy is used to measure the importance of each criterion and TOPSIS is used to rank the school systems. In this paper, we propose how the concepts of Entropy and TOPSIS can be used to address the challenge of selecting a safe and smart school system based on IoT. Our investigation selected the IoT-based school system that was found to be the smartest and safest out of a set of schools. Finally, we discuss the evaluation of the proposed research.

Beyond Conventional Metrics: Alternative Middle-Class Choice among Chinese Homeschooling Families

Sociologists have extensively studied the prevalence of intensive parenting among middle-class families as a response to uncertainties about maintaining their privileged class status. Most studies, however, have focused on traditional school systems, which overlooks the full spectrum of middle-class parenting values and practices, particularly those beyond mainstream schooling. To address this gap, this study explores an alternative middle-class choice for raising and educating children through the lens of Chinese homeschooling. Drawing on in-depth interviews with middle-class parents from 30 Chinese families of school-age children being homeschooled in Taipei and Hong Kong, this study investigates the paradoxes and ambiguities that arose as the parents navigated and negotiated competing values for their children. The findings reveal that the parents mobilised their cultural repertoires to seek a coherent narrative that made sense of and justified their homeschooling goals and practices in the Chinese context.

Troubling the boundaries of traditional schooling for a rapidly changing future – Looking back and looking forward

Rapid technological advancements, globalisation, environmental crises, and ongoing conflicts have contributed to an increasingly quickly changing social, cultural, and work environment for current and future generations. In this paper, we argue that the traditional schooling system and approaches to curriculum and pedagogy that are based on nineteenth century industrial age models might reach their limit to prepare students sufficiently for the expectations and challenges of life and work in future. While so-called 21st-century education has seen a nominal change in classroom layouts and increased use of teaching technology, we would argue that not much has changed in terms of the underlying structures of schools and the mostly pre-described curriculum schools and teachers must operate under. While current education systems struggle with many challenges from teacher burnouts to increasing student dis-engagement (e.g. rising truancy in New Zealand), we posit that new challenges lie ahead that will further disrupt, if not implode, current approaches to schooling and curriculum. Drawing on theories such as Biesta’s World-Centred Education and Pinar’s notion of Currere to reconceptualise curriculum, we would argue that schooling needs to move away from the traditional ‘static map’ of curriculum content to a more dynamic approach to schooling that allows teachers and schools to chart new territory, together with their students, for a rapidly changing future. As guiding compass of sorts for dynamically exploring an uncertain future with students, we propose Teschers educational approach to Schmid’s Art of Living as a starting point.

홈스쿨링의 헌법적 허용성 검토

Since the transition to universal education in Korea after the modern era, education has been predominantly led by the state, defining contemporary education as school-based education. It is true that school education has undeniably played a significant role in the development of our education. However, this state-led educational system, while normatively significant in realizing the right to receive equitable education, has started to reveal a variety of issues in terms of the societal realization of individual needs. A number of strategies has been proposed to address these challenges, and among them are individuals attempting a novel form of education outside the traditional school system, called homeschooling. The beginning of homeschooling was a complaint from the state-led education system, but now homeschooling is being done for various grounds. Homeschooling is becoming a new form of education outside of school. For a new system to be formally established via norms, it must undergo diverse discussions from conceptual definition to institutionalization prior to finally achieving normative institutionalization. While homeschooling can be considered a new system from the perspective of the right to receive education, it simultaneously presents inherent challenges within the existing legal framework of the present state-led school education system. Until formal institutionalization via the establishment of legal norms, such discussions can only remain ongoing. If we interpret Article 31, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution as an obligation to provide education at the level determined by law rather than compulsory attendance, homeschooling could be permissible. In order to bridge the gap between institution and normative regulation in this respect, the state should speed up institutionalization via legislation to ensure children's right to receive a certain level of education and a safe educational environment via home schooling. Moreover, homeschooling is derived from the constitutional right to the fundamental education of children under Article 31 of the Constitution, as well as the parental right to the education of their children under Article 31, Paragraph 1, and Article 36, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution. The subjects of homeschooling are the child and the parent, and when the rights of these two subjects conflict, the parental right to educate the child should be realized within the scope that does not infringe upon the child's right to basic education. Homeschooling is a necessary system in terms of diversity as an educational way for children in a diversified modern society.

The Relationship among School Mindfulness, Classroom Anxiety, and High School Student Life Satisfaction

Purpose. The study aims to improve student life throughout the school years by exploring the use of mindfulness-based instruction to reduce classroom anxiety. Many school systems in Asia do not use mindful based instruction at primary, secondary and high school education. Emphasis on academic achievement as measured in terms of grade scoring and competitive exam results is high, and leads to significant stress on students. It is believed that mindfulness coaching could help reduce overall stress levels in high school students. Methodology. The study is a correlational design in which convenience sampling was used. It aims to measure school mindfulness by Hoy (2004), classroom anxiety by Richmond (2001), and high school student life satisfaction by Heubener (1991) for a sample of 80 high school students drawn from the private school system of Pakistan. Results. The study reported moderate to weak positive correlations between the three constructs. It was found that there was a significant link between school mindfulness, student life satisfaction, and classroom anxiety. The study reported that age and gender have no significant impact on school mindfulness, student life satisfaction and classroom anxiety. Conclusions. The study indicates the development of mindfulness-based training at the school level to improve student life satisfaction. The study indicates the possibility of Western mindfulness instruction courses being implemented in the Eastern traditional school system. School mindfulness can help students to meaningfully grow in their academic careers. It further can enhance their coping and stress handling techniques as they proceed into higher education. The study will pave way for the implementation of school mindfulness programs and workshops to be delivered by mindfulness certified instructors and counselors, which is at present a rarity in traditional academic system.

PARENTS - FOUNDERS OF ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

The traditional school system has not met the needs of students for many years. Parents, in order to allow their children to move away from the rigid class-subject-hour system, established schools. The founders of alternative schools can be citizens, parents and teachers, religious communities as well as other legal entities. These are the so-called free schools, civic educational initiatives, reform pedagogical attempts, educational boarding schools, etc. The aim of this paper is to present the pedagogical concepts and ideas of schools in the Republic of Croatia whose founders are parents. The paper presents the basic pedagogical principles and aspects of teaching Waldorf and Montessori pedagogy based on educational pluralism, a brief overview of partnership between parents and schools in Croatia and the educational model of primary Catholic schools “Ružičnjak” and “Lotrščak”. The observed schools are located in Zagreb and have only one goal - to adapt the school to the child. An effort is made to provide each student with an individual approach. The starting points are the child’s needs and interests. These are the schools where students have freedom of choice. The goal of ing and education is the holistic development of the child. The emphasis is on active learning methods and abandoning didactic scenarios in which the child is only a passive observer. Keywords: alternative schools; catholic schools; educational pluralism; partnership; parents

VALUES AND MEANINGS THAT THE INTERIOR OF A SCHOOL CONVEYS TO A STUDENT

The article is devoted to the analysis of the elements of visual communication presented in the interiors of schools. The lack of textual solutions that meet the emotional and value-based requirements of modern students in the visual space of the school is investigated. Texts in the educational space of the school are a flexible and multifunctional tool that can be used not only to increase the school’s attractiveness but also to create an educational dialog with students and their families. Texts can promote the rules of interaction between people and society, the value of ecological behavior, the effective use of resources, respect for others, and a subjective position in educational activities. Materials and Methods. Photographs and video recordings of the visual environment of modern Russian schools served as material for study. The data was collected not only in classrooms but also in all common spaces of the school – corridors, gymnasiums, canteens, museums, libraries, staircases, and entrance areas. In some cases, the object of analysis included images and texts conveying a specific meaning. Qualitative and quantitative analysis are the main methods used in studying text solutions in educational institutions. The article proposes a classification of visual solutions used in schools (8 types of texts) and describes the group interview method as a research tool for visual solutions in schools. Fixation and attribution of school texts were conducted in interaction with adolescent students. Results and Discussion. The study reveals the content and stylistics of interior elements in modern Russian schools. The article justifies the use of School Texts to develop students’ Flexible Skills. The modern visual environment of Russian schools is largely focused on the preservation of the traditional school system. It conveys a formalized idea of school, in which learning is the main focus rather than other aspects of students’ lives and personal development. Conclusion. In order to develop and implement these solutions, it is useful to combine the efforts of professionals from the fields of design, pedagogy, ergonomic psychology, philology, and linguistics and to listen to the ideas and desires of the main subjects in the educational process – the students themselves. The study results show a lack of professional solutions in the design of modern schools. The article suggests ways to overcome these gaps through a collaborative approach to the design of the visual environment of educational institutions.

„Ucieczka z systemu”. Edukacja domowa z perspektywy rodziców dzieci szkolnych

Homeschooling has gained significant interest in the recent years. Despite this, the number of home schooled pupils in Poland does not exceed 0.5% of all students, making homeschooling a niche alternative. This article attempts to discuss the need to revive the awareness around home education, including reasons for choosing this educational path, its advantages, disadvantages, consequences and the level of parental satisfaction. Starting with the critique of the current schooling system as motivation in moving towards educational alternatives, I conclude homeschooling to be an escape from the traditional schooling system. I have analysed data collected from parents of school-aged children in an attempt to recreate their view of contemporary home education. In contrast to existing research, my findings were collected under conditions of remote learning related to the covid19 pandemic. I believe that embedding my research in a quantitative strategy will allow further systematic exploration of this area and consolidation of reliable comprehension of home education in Poland.

A West German Civil Movement in the 1970s: Opposition to the kooperative Schule in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Abstract This study examines the popular petition of 1978 against the introduction of the kooperative Schule in Nordrhein-Westfalen. As a result of this campaign, reforms initiated by the SPD were halted. The reforms had been directed at the eventual introduction of a comprehensive school system, which would have replaced Germany’s traditional three-track school system. Previous studies have usually presented the popular petition as either a reactionary movement against the reform or a victory for conservatives, including the CDU. However, the opposition movement represented a wide range of public opinion, with supporters of the SPD also participating in the movement. Furthermore, when the introduction of the kooperative Schule was abandoned, no positive impact was seen on the CDU’s election results. The event marked a change in the political culture of West Germany, as a sign of a new trend. With greater democratization and modernization in the 1960s and 1970s, civil society became more politically active. Such a pattern promoted the political participation of the public in West German society. In addition, the change was linked to the development of Western civil movements characterized by autonomy and non-partisanship.

Collective and collaborative actions among peers in school as a form of cultural resistance of Mapuche children in La Araucanía, Chile

Based on a participant observation, this article reports children actions and activities that may identified as ways of cultural resistance in the school. Three elementary rural schools participated in this study. The research team visited each school taking field notes during school routines. The analysis consisted of textual and conceptual codification of the three contexts in which the mapuche children deployed their patterns of cultural interaction. The results demonstrated that despite the traditional school system, mapuche children display their own patterns of cultural interaction to promote collaboration, collective organization and supporting and care for others. This work invites us to questioning the ways in which the learning strategies of the western school, are suitable to the mapuche indigenous children. In order to be effective in education, we must integrate the cultural framework of family learning. Thus, may be necessary, to deconstruct hegemonic teaching practices that stimulate individualism instead cooperation.

Multilevel Network Item Response Modelling for Discovering Differences between Innovation and Regular School Systems in Korea

AbstractThe innovation school system in South Korea has been developed in response to the traditional high-pressure school system in South Korea, with a view to cultivate a bottom-up and student-centred educational culture. Despite its ambitious goals, questions have been raised about the success of the innovation school system. Leveraging data from the Gyeonggi Education Panel Study along with advances in the statistical analysis of network data and educational data, we compare the two school systems in more depth. We find that some schools are indeed different from others, and those differences are not detected by conventional multilevel models. Having said that, we do not find much evidence that the innovation school system differs from the regular school system in terms of self-reported mental well-being, although we do detect differences among some schools that appear to be unrelated to the school system.

Beliefs and Practice Evaluation Based on Artificial Intelligence Models under the IP Environment.

The digitization of thought theory is not yet sufficient to meet the needs of the students. It is very necessary to strengthen the construction of ideological and political (IP) courses, strengthen the education of mainstream ideology, and occupy the initiative of discourse. There are effective ways and means to study the deep integration of information technologies into the new age of philosophy and philosophy education of students, which can greatly improve the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of humanities courses. The intuitive development of intellectual and political education through artificial intelligence is both a real prerequisite for modern development and technological innovation and for new ideas confronting the specific problems of thought-politics education, and it is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the quality and efficiency to improve the teaching of thought politics. AI in ways that embed technology provides a powerful impetus for contradictory movements in thought-politics discourse that lead the effective coordination of its internal elements to high-quality developments. In a practical way, we should take full advantage of the technical advantages of artificial intelligence, through intelligent mehrfachanalyse corresponding algorithms, artificial intelligenzbilder, and artificial roboterbilder photos and profiles that are used to write and accurately provide more precise, leading, stacking, and accurate estimates to maximize and to improve the accuracy of thought and policy education. Philosophy and political theory are the keys to guiding people to accomplish basic human tasks. With the passage of time and with continuous innovation, ideology and philosophical principles are both prerequisites for the self-development of the emotions of the age and necessary for improving the outcomes and effectiveness of scientific education. Advances in the field of artificial intelligence have fundamentally changed human life and have also impacted traditional school and university education systems. This brings new opportunities and challenges to students. This includes the use of smart technology to improve the learning process. Ideological teachers and policymakers must keep up with the all-round trend of the times, make full use of the benefits brought by intelligent new technologies and platforms, effectively improve the effect of ideological education, and further increase the attractiveness, attraction, persuasion, and contagion of ideological education.

DETERMINATION OF THE INNOVATIVE TRAJECTORY OF A MODERN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION DEVELOPMENT: VALUABLE AND SENSE ORIENTATIONS

The article considers innovative activity and research and experimental work as the main factors in the innovative development of a modern educational institution. The need to understand the research and experimental work as an essential component of innovation, as a conscious effective tool for understanding the reform of the traditional school system in innovation is explained. The article examines the value and semantic orientations of teachers, and heads of educational institutions as certain guidelines in the situation of choosing the direction of innovative search by the teaching staff, determining the innovative trajectory of a particular educational institution. Is shown that the critical position of this definition is the awareness of value-semantic landmarks, which become the basis on the way from the emergence of the pedagogical idea (innovation), choosing the direction of innovative search and building an innovative trajectory of development in a particular educational institution to create a model of innovative development of such institution as a whole. The author argues that the separation and development of value-semantic orientations of teachers and, above all, heads of educational institutions in the context of innovation is the basis for creating optimal conditions for research and experimental work in modern educational institutions.

Stopping the Revolving Door: An Empirical and Textual Study of Crowdfunding and Teacher Turnover

The public K-12 education system has been plagued by high teacher turnover and poor retention rates, a problem that traditional school systems have not been able to cost-effectively address using top-down, one-size-fits-all resource allocation models. This study provides the first empirical evidence that new technology platforms such as education crowdfunding could effectively reduce teacher turnover, despite the much smaller funding amounts on these platforms. Combining (1) identified data on the characteristics and employment record for all teachers in the Pennsylvania public education system, (2) crowdfunding data on DonorsChoose---the largest online education crowdfunding portal, and (3) unstructured data on individual project essays and need statements, we demonstrate that funded projects on DonorsChoose, averaging only about $400 in value, significantly reduces turnover rates of funded teachers by 2.66 percentage points (pp)---a 22% reduction against a mean turnover rate of 12 percent. Moreover, crowdfunding achieves this turnover reduction effect by alleviating two key root causes of turnover: inadequacy of working environment and lack of teacher autonomy. Integrating the outputs from our textual analysis with our empirical model, we show that the turnover reduction effect is concentrated in projects requesting resources that directly impact the teachers' working environment, such as furniture projects, and in projects proposed by more innovative teachers who might desire more autonomy in their teaching process. Our results thus indicate that crowdfunding platforms could effectively reduce teacher turnover, as they are designed to deliver more targeted solutions that address inefficiencies in individual teachers’ classroom operations.

近代改革期 함경도 儒·鄕 갈등과 養士 機關의 변환

This paper examined how the traditional educational institutions were converted to modern schools in Hamkyung-do during the Korean Empire as the social orders shifted in local communities in Hamkyung-do at the end of the Joseon dynasty.BR Policy directions towards Hamkyung-do during the Joseon dynasty focused on the military aspects rather than the scholarly aspects as the region was situated in the border area. The aristocratic class in Hamkyung-do wielded relatively weaker economic powers, and it was, therefore, difficult for them to focus on studying Confucianism in preparation for the national examination. Instead, the Confucian scholars made an effort to hold official posts in the local communities. By the end of the Joseon dynasty, most of the posts in the local communities were occupied by the local functionary class, whereas the Confucian scholars who were pushed out of such positions aimed to gain more influence within the local communities by establishing educational institutions to foster scholars and implement hyangyak (local community pacts, 鄕約) and hyangnye (local rituals, 鄕禮).BR As the status system and the national examination were abolished after the Kabo Reform, new groups calling for social change appeared in the local communities in Hamkyung-do, threatening the social order established by the Confucian scholars and the local functionaries. The Confucian scholars united and appealed to the central government, asking for the restoration of the old traditions. Later, they held a local wine-drinking ritual (hyangeumjurye, 鄕飮酒禮) to commemorate the central government’s response of sending the “hyangheon” (a book that recorded the local pacts, 鄕憲) to the region. After the country faced national crisis after the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904, influential figures in Hamkyung-do, including the Confucian scholars, established the Hanbukheunghakhoe (North Han River Association for the Promotion of Learning, 漢北興學會) at the Hamkyung-do Gyeongyakso (京約所), where they had hosted the hyangeumjurye, and trained more teachers to overcome the impending crisis by promoting education.BR The motto of the Hanbukheunghakhoe was to find harmony between the new and the old. After the establishment of the Hanbukheunghakhoe, many educational institutions in Hamkyung-do were converted into institutions that were based on both the traditional and modern school systems. The agents of educational activities were soon expanded to the public, and the spread of modern schools with public missions accelerated. This transition was possible through the joint effort of the people in Hamkyung-do, who openly accepted modern studies on top of their traditional educational foundations, most noticeably the Confucian institutions, to overcome the fall of their country.

The decision to homeschool: potential factors influencing reactive homeschooling practice

ABSTRACT While a controversial practice internationally, homeschooling is not uncommon in the United States’ educational system. Although myriad reasons exist for choosing to homeschool one’s children, a framework highlighting reactive versus proactive motivations has emerged to explain why some families choose to homeschool. Using prospective, longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten: 2010–2011 (ECLS-K:11), reports were gathered from 187 homeschooled children, their parents, and their teachers. Aspects of the ECLS-K:11 homeschoolers appear consistent with a reactive model of homeschooling. All ECLS-K:11 children initially began kindergarten in the traditional school system, but subsequently left that system prior to fifth grade to be homeschooled. When assessed shortly before leaving, these children were more likely to be absent and to have parents who did not endorse being very satisfied with their child’s school compared to those who remained in the school system. Moreover, these issues appeared uniquely exacerbated just prior to departure from the school system. Additionally, although children who would go on to homeschool within the next year did not score differently on academic achievement tests than their traditionally schooled peers, they were more likely to experience bullying in the year before they began to homeschool. The ECSL-K:11’s homeschooling sample is described, and conclusions drawn between it and literature descriptions of homeschoolers. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed, particularly given recent changes in the educational landscape.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BLENDED LEARNING

The paper deals with the terms of blended learning as a combination of the traditional school system and modern digital educational technologies. The advantages and disadvantages of methods of blended learning in the studying process are described.