Parental choice to home educate children who are gifted In Australia

Families who home educate their gifted children have received scant research attention. Participants (N = 42) were Australian parents of children identified as gifted or high ability who had experienced both school and home education environments. An online survey assessed factors contributing to the decision to home educate and measured parent perceptions of their child's engagement and access to gifted education practices in school and in home education. The most common factor in the decision to home educate was parents' dissatisfaction with school, which included their child's affective responses, school or teacher failure to meet gifted learning needs, and absence of challenge. Paired-samples t-tests indicated significantly greater parent-perceived emotional engagement (p < .001) and cognitive engagement (p < .001) in home education compared to school. In home education settings parents reported children were supported, engaged and motivated, and curriculum was delivered at the required pace and challenge level. Parent perceptions were useful indicators of engagement and access to gifted practices, which suggests a need to address the cognitive and emotional needs of children who are gifted in school.