Have you wondered how unschooling is compared to homeschooling?
Unschooling and homeschooling are increasing rapidly and are a substitute for mainstream education. The difference between the philosophies, structure and the form of learning is quite expansive, yet the two are being carried out in an out-of-school setting.
With homeschooling, the curriculum is usually set as a result of the design or the choice made by the parents, and in unschooling, the children are left to choose their own learning methods and their own learning approaches depending on their interests and curiosity.
These differences and resemblances between the two educational models are what one should be conversant with so as to create the most appropriate learning models that will prepare their children with personalised, effective and flexible learning .
Contents
What Is Unschooling?
Unschooling is an aspect of education that accuses the school system and even formal education that is followed in homeschooling. Unschooling does not have a structured time and curriculum and is based on the assumption that children should be left to learn in their lifetime through exploration and capitalisation on their interests.
This was popularised by a teacher and an author, John Holt, who in the 1970s claimed that actual being rather than tests, grades and lesson plans was the real driver of learning.
Unschooling is merely self-directed learning because creativity, independence and life-long learning are promoted. The parents are the facilitators of this style and not the teacher; they are only the resources, directions and support where necessary; it is up to the child to make his own decisions of what, how and when to learn.
What Is Homeschooling?
Homeschooling is the process of education where children are taught at home as opposed to going to a traditional school . Compared to unschooling, homeschooling is a typically well-organised programme where the parents or the guardians have a great influence in planning the lessons, teaching and assessing the development of the students.
The teaching methods are various and can be applied in homeschooling, and the parents themselves decide on what styles they would prefer to apply in teaching the education to them.
Homeschooling is a form of flexibility and fixedness, and it aims at trying to provide multidimensional education that is flexible enough to accommodate the requirements of the particular child, to follow his or her interests and talents.
Key Differences of Unschooling and Homeschooling
Unschooling and homeschooling contain different content and are in a different form. Home schooling would be based on the same schedule and curriculum as in the school environment under traditional schooling , but unschooling is based on the interest and curiosity of the child. The line-by-line differences between homeschooling and unschooling are as follows.
| Aspect | Unschooling | Homeschooling |
| Philosophy | Unschooling philosophy assumes the self-interest of students and individual learning. | Organised learning is one of the aspects of homeschooling. |
| Curriculum | Unschooling is not curriculum-based. The child has all the interests and natural curiosity in learning without any educational prescriptions. | Homeschooling has a standardised curriculum whereby syllabi are laid down and students are expected to adhere to them and achieve. |
| Teaching Method | In unschooling, the parents observe and facilitate the learning of the child. | It implies a more traditional teaching style, i.e., lessons, practice, activities and hours devoted to studying. |
| Learning Style | The unschooling mode of learning is normally self-directed and interdisciplinary. | It allows the parent to tailor the teaching style to the learning style of the child- visual, auditory or kinesthetic learning of the child. |
| Flexibility | Unschooling is not dictated, and the student is left to study anytime and anywhere he or she deems it to be the right place. | It is not rigid concerning homeschooling, and on the other hand, the pupils are supposed to adhere to the routine and schedule. |
| Parental Role | Unschooling entails the involvement of the parents in the process of offering the students freedom and means of learning to explore the world their own way. | In homeschooling, parents actively participate in teaching, as the school teachers do. |
| Socialisation and Peer Interaction | It is based on informal socialisation in reference to the activities of the communities, families, interest groups or even the online communities. | Homeschooling typically includes group instruction, co-ops, activities, and field trips as regular parts of the educational routine to ensure children interact with peers. |
| Assessment and Progress Tracking | It does not involve formal testing, grades and standardised testing. | It also usually involves a form of assessment that can be a test, quiz, project or portfolio. |
1. Core Philosophy
Unschooling: It is based on the assumption that a child is a curious and self-directed learner. It also emphasises self-motivation and life experience as the most appropriate and effective sources of education. It is also a natural and lifelong learning process, unlike compelled learning.
Homeschooling: It is based on the way of formal education that is provided in another setting, and structured learning is the same as in a formal school. Despite the flexibility and personalisation, it adheres to the notion that children would learn through processes that are structured and the sequence of teaching the subjects is determined.
2. Curriculum
Unschooling: The approach to learning through exploration, projects, hobbies and basing on the life events and choices of children on what they want to learn. There is the provision of resources and materials, which are not fixed to a specific syllabus .
Homeschooling: This may be defined as a sequence of syllabi, which is typically selected or formulated by the parents or guardians. This can either be because of an obsolete schooling programme or a mix of a part of specialised practices.
3. Teaching Method
Unschooling: This is the one that is based on observation, directing and facilitating rather than instructing. Parents will be mentors and can provide resources in the interest of the child, but will not be narrating the formal teaching except on request by the child.
Homeschooling: It uses a more old-time method of teaching, the lessons, exercises, assignments and time schedule to study. Parents are teachers and employ sequence material and lesson plans to provide organised teaching.
4. Learning Style
Unschooling: This is a self-directed manner of learning and is more of an interdisciplinary learning . Playing, experimentation, reading or hands-on activity all enable the children to learn at their own pace and in a way that is interesting and with their strengths, and also get to explore the material to be studied.
Homeschooling: It gives the parents a chance to design the teaching process in accordance with the way the learning style of the child, either visual, auditory or kinesthetic learning , is usually systematic in nature. The speed and the content are pre-determined, but not too strict.
5. Flexibility
Unschooling: It is the most liberal, and they do not have tight time schedules or deadlines. Learning process is not formal and can take place at any time of the day or location, and is only based on the interest and preferences of the child.
Homeschooling: This is not as strict as compared to traditional education , and it does have a schedule. This is not that rigid when the lessons have to be applied, when the tracking of the progress should be carried out, etc. It is the way in which parents want to make some alterations to the strategies.
6. Parental Role
Unschooling: The parents act merely as facilitators, as mentors and sources of material. They continue to observe what their child is interested in and suggest the materials and provide them with the opportunities of exploration, but they do not impose formal lessons.
Homeschooling: The parents play a bigger role of the traditional teachers. They create the lessons, conduct the lessons, monitor the homework and test the academic performances.
7. Socialisation and Peer Interaction
Unschooling: This one is based on informal socialisation of the community activity, family, interest group or online community. The process of peer interaction is not planned, but it is a natural process that takes place around similar interests.
Homeschooling: Homeschooling tends to include group classes, co-ops, extra-curricular activities or field trips at least to make sure that children get to see their peers regularly. Socialisation is often intentionally planned rather than occurring spontaneously.
8. Assessment and Progress Tracking
Unschooling: It is not commonly determined by tests, grades and standardised tests. The progress is also directed to the improvement of the skills, self-development and the capability of resistance to the interests in the long run.
Homeschooling: It has some kind of assessment, perhaps some kind of evaluation which can be a test, a quiz, a project or portfolios. Parents monitor the progress as a way to ensure that children reach educational goals and solve the required issues.
Conclusion
The idea of unschooling and homeschooling might be a proper alternative to mainstream schooling and its philosophy, organisations and learning styles.
Which approach is applicable is determined based on the educational objectives of the family, the learning styles of the child and the amount of structure and guidance they require.
Lastly, independent, motivated and balanced learners can be achieved through the assistance of the two approaches; though the two should be applied in a prudent manner.
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