Wonder
Log in
Research Outline
Prepared for Ron | Delivered March 13, 2020
Homeschooling Competitive Landscape
Review your project details
Goals
To find out about the competitive landscape of the software-based, video centric homeschooling space, as well as the main innovations in the field and outlook taking into account the macro changes.
View less
Early Findings
Software-based, Video
C
e
n
t
r
i
c
Homeschooling Competitive Landscape
In 2016, around
3.3%
of the U.S. population were homeschooled, compared to 1.7% in 1999 and 3.4% in 2012, showing a flattening of the demand.
This represented around
1,689,726
students in 2016.
A federal report on school choice released in September 2019 found that the number of
homeschooled children
was rising in the U.S.
Homeschooling as evolved recently with a growth of
digital programs
and curricula which allow families a greater choice in terms of purchasing all-in-one products or choose from a menu of online courses.
Companies that are active in the space include
Calvert Education
,
S
o
n
l
i
g
h
t
, K12 Inc. and Connections Academy.
Demographics of homeschoolers in the U.S. are
39% suburban
, 29% city, 22% rural and 10% town.
6
0% are white
, 26% Hispanic; 8% black, 4% other non-hispanic and 3% Asian or Pacific Islander.
The main reasons given by families to provide their children with homeschooling are mainly their concern about the
environment of other schools
such as
safety, drugs, and negative
peer pressure, followed by a dissatisfaction with traditional schools’ academic performance and a desire for more instruction.
Parents who choose to homeschool their children are the ones that do not believe that the
current educational
system is the best for them.
Regulatory Landscape
In the U.S., it is
legal for any parents
to choose homeschool for their children.
There are no
federal laws
regulating the industry, with rules and regulations varying depending on the state.
Main Innovations
Examples of the main innovations available to homeschoolers are links to the
Metropolitan Museum
of Art’s MetKids program,
S
t
a
r
f
a
l
l
.com (a math-games website for younger children), and
S
t
i
c
k
f
i
g
u
r
e
h
a
m
l
e
t
.com (an entire site devoted to telling the story of Hamlet through stick-figure drawings and humor), a
Netfli
x subscription that allows Bob Ross to teach art, and
YouTube videos
that provide hours of explanatory science as well as Amazon Prime which gives access to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
H
ybrid homeschooling i
s a new form of education, mixing time in a classroom with homeschooling.
Predictions In Light of the Macro Changes (COVID-19)
Dr. Nancy
M
e
s
s
o
n
i
e
r
, a doctor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared during a February 25th conference that
"Closing schools
and using internet-based
t
e
l
e
s
c
h
o
o
l
i
n
g
to continue education" was a scenario being envisioned to deal with the pandemic.
View less