African American Homeschooling and the Question of Curricular Cultural Relevance

Homeschooling, and academic interest in this phenomenon, have increased tremendously over the last decade. The surge of African American involvement in the homeschool movement has also become noticeable. However, there continues to be a general paucity of research on the motivations of African American parents that choose homeschooling. In order to capture the voice of African American homeschoolers, the authors conducted seventy-four interviews in the spring and summer of 2010 in several large U.S. metropolitan areas. The findings revealed that curricular considerations play a critical part, since many African American homeschoolers believe that a Eurocentric curriculum is bound to gravely interfere with their children’s self-esteem and sense of purpose.