Learning from home: The foundations of the life and career skills in the 21st century

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to understand the causes and meanings of homeschooling as a form in strengthening life and career skills in the 21st century. The research interviewed nine families which have been master in homeschooling. The results shows that there are two level of main causes for families to provide homeschooling to their children consisting of 1) the individual and the family which are the problems happening to child at school, the negative attitude of the parents towards school, the experiencing toward homeschooled models, and the location of accommodation to school and 2) the community and social level which are inappropriate environments as well as social supports transformed over time because the parents combined the concept of homeschooling with Buddhist culture. The combination results in modification of the parents’ role from instructor to participant in every learning procedure in order to achieve the goal of homeschooling which focused on strengthening life and career skills to provide students surviving skills to suit the dynamic world in the 21st century. The homeschooler’s definition of life and career skills in the 21st century is to qualify students to pass homeschooling and strengthen life and career skills in the 21st century to be able to live in this rapidly changing world. These characteristics are self-reliance, autonomous adaption, solving the problem by themselves, simple to others as well, and initiative and responsibility. Homeschoolers orient expertise to rely on themselves in the daily lives with learning techniques via the play, the real situation, the homeschooling model form others and professionals, the works on housework , students' aptitude and interest and family’s career.