Parental Motivations for Homeschooling in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Homeschooling in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is relatively new, and empirical literature on the nature and outcomes of this approach is very limited. This study fills this gap by exploring parents’ motivations in the UAE to homeschool their children. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Ninety-seven homeschooling parents from 27 different nationalities living across the UAE completed the survey. Descriptive data analysis provided insight about homeschooling families’ and the reasons for homeschooling in the UAE. The results show that the main reasons parents in the UAE homeschool their children are 1) the desire to strengthen family bonds, 2) concerns over the school environment, 3) dissatisfaction with academic instruction, and 4) the desire to provide moral instruction with religious foundations.

Presenters

Reem Al Dhaheri
Assistant Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences / Department of Education, Zayed University, Dubayy, United Arab Emirates

Details

Presentation Type

Poster Session

Theme

Learner Diversity and Identities

KEYWORDS

Homeschooling, Home education, Alternative education, K-12 education, Educational policy