Utilizing survey research on the entire 2004–2005 freshmen class of a private, interdenominational Christian college (n = 261), this study examined the social experiences and persistence rates of college freshmen who were homeschooled prior to attending higher education, and compared this group to college freshmen who were educated in a classroom setting. Findings revealed that homeschooling positively affects two variables proposed as antecedents to the social integration process—the variables of communal potential and institutional integrity. Additionally, homeschooling was found to be positively correlated with the variable of subsequent institutional commitment to the institution of higher education. Subsequent institutional commitment affects the students' persistence rates into their sophomore year.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AppleM. W. (2000). The cultural politics of home schooling. Peabody Journal of Higher Education, 75(1/2), 256–271.
2.
BanduraA. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3.
BanduraA. (1987). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
4.
BeanJ. P. (1982a). Conceptual models of college dropout: How theory can help the institutional researcher. In PascarellaE. (Ed.), Studying student attrition (pp. 17–33). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
5.
BeanJ. P. (1982b). Student attrition, intentions and confidence: Interaction effects in a path model. Research in Higher Education, 14, 425–429.
6.
BeanJ. P. (1985). Interaction effects based on class level in an explanatory model of college student dropout syndrome. American Educational Research Journal, 22, 35–64.
7.
BeanJ. P. (1990). Why students leave: Insights from research. In HosslerD. & BeanJ. P. (Eds.), The strategic management of college enrollments (pp. 147–169). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
8.
BeanJ. P. & EatonS. B. (2000). A psychological model of college student retention. In BraxtonJ. M. (Ed.), Reworking the college student departure puzzle (pp. 48–61). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
9.
BergerJ. B. & BraxtonJ. M. (1998). Revising Tinto's interactionalist theory of college student departure through theory elaboration: Examining the role of organizational attributes in the persistence process. Research in Higher Education, 39, 103–119.
10.
BraxtonJ. M. (Ed.). (2000). Reworking the student departure puzzle. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
11.
BraxtonJ. M. & HirschyA. S. (2004). Reconceptualizing antecedents of social integration in student departure. In LongdenB. (Ed.), Retention and student success in higher education. Buckingham: Open University Press.
12.
BraxtonJ. M.HirschyA. S. & McClendonS. A. (2004). Understanding and reducing college student departure (No. 3). ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Research Report Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
13.
BraxtonJ. M. & LienL. A. (2000). Chapter One co-authored in (Edited) Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 1–10). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
14.
BraxtonJ. M.SullivanA. S.JohnsonR. M.Jr. (1997). Appraising Tinto's theory of college student departure. In SmartJ. (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 12, pp. 107–164). New York: Agathon.
15.
CabreraA. F. & NoraA. (1994). College students' perceptions of prejudice and discrimination and their feelings of alienation. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 16, 387–409.
16.
CabreraA. F.NoraA. & CantanedaM. B. (1992). The role of finances in the student persistence process: A structural model. Research in Higher Education, 33(5), 571–594.
17.
ChickeringA. W. & ReiserL. (1993). Education and identity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
18.
FarrisM. & WoodruffS. (2000). The future of home schooling. Peabody Journal of Education, 75(1/2), 233–255.
19.
FishbeinM. & AjzenI. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. In BraxtonJ. M. (Ed.), Reworking the college student departure puzzle (pp. 48–61). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
20.
HirschyA. S. (2005). Organizational influences on college student persistence: Antecedents to social integration. Dissertation submitted to Vanderbilt University.
21.
MedlinR. G. (2000). Home schooling and the question of socialization. Peabody Journal of Education, 75(1/2), 107–123.
22.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2003). Homeschooling in the United States: 2003. Available online: http://www.nces.gov. Retrieved 8/1/05.
23.
RayB. D. (2000). Home schooling: The ameliorator of negative influences on learning?Peabody Journal of Education, 75(1/2), 71–106.
24.
RayB. D. (2004a). Home educated and now adults: Their community and civic involvement, views about homeschooling, and other traits. Salem, OR: NHERI Publications.
25.
RomanowskiM. H. (2001). Common arguments about the strength and limitations of home schooling. The Clearing House, 75(2), 79–83.
26.
RudnerL. M. (1999). Scholastic achievement and demographic characteristics of home school students in 1998. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 7(8). Available online at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/, retrieved 8/2/01 & 4/13/00.
27.
SekkesR. C. (2004). What about socialization? Adolescent social development in the home school. Thesis paper, Sarah Lawrence College.
28.
SichivitsaV. O. (2003). College choir members' motivation to persist in music: Application of the Tinto model. Community College Review, 51(4), 330–341.
29.
SolisE. (1995). Regression and path analysis models of Hispanic community college students' intent to persist. Community College Review, 23(4), 3–15.
30.
SimmonsB. J. (1994). Classroom at home: What should your board say to parents who choose home schooling for their children?The American School Board Journal, 181(2), 47–49.
31.
SuttonJ. P. & GallowayR. S. (2000). College success of students from three high school settings. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 33(3), 137–146.
32.
TintoV. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89–125.
33.
TintoV. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
34.
WichersM. (2001). Home schooling: Adventitious or detrimental for proficiency in higher education?Education, 122(1), 145–150.
