Introduction to Homeschooling and Homeschool Oversight
In this introductory module, we survey the state of homeschooling. We discuss how homeschooling is changing in terms of demographics and motivations, examine why families are now choosing to homeschool. We conclude by examining the regulatory landscape surrounding United States and how gaps in homeschool oversight can enable abuse and neglect to persist undetected.
What We Know About Abuse, Neglect, and Homeschooling
This module surveys our state of knowledge surrounding abuse, neglect, and homeschooling. We discuss what peer-reviewed research and state-level data teach us about unique trends in child maltreatment that occurs in homeschool settings. We introduce the Homeschooling's Invisible Children database and general findings from case data.
Risk Factors and Patterns in Abuse: Social Isolation
In this module, we discuss how social isolation is a core risk factor for abuse and neglect in homeschooling environments. In particular, we focus on how abusive caregivers use the cover of homeschooling to deliberately isolate children from professionals trained to recognize and report on child abuse. Abuse that persists in isolation can take on extreme forms, including abuse consistent with torture.
Risk Factors and Patterns in Abuse: Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
This module focuses on one of the most prominent themes in our database: child sexual abuse and exploitation. We discuss what research tells us about CSAE risk on the whole, and how school status can affect both risk and protective factors for school-aged children. We pick up our discussion of deliberate social isolation, and how "homeschooling" can be exploited to facilitate child marriage and human trafficking. We then zoom out and discuss the wider risk for CSAE created by educational neglect and sexual miseducation.
