If you’re considering homeschooling your child in Ireland, you should know that it’s completely legal. In fact, it’s protected under the Irish Constitution. However, you must register with the Child and Family Agency (CFA) to do so. As of March 2019, there are 1,772 registered homeschoolers in Ireland. Another 477 children have not been assessed yet. Due to the pandemic, the number of home education applications has tripled in the past three years.
Problems with homeschooling
In Ireland, homeschoolers have to register with Tusla, the government’s child welfare agency. This agency is responsible for child protection, domestic abuse and adoption. The homeschooling law is complex, but essentially, homeschooling is considered to be the same as regular school.
The study aims to understand how homeschooling affects parents and children and how they feel about the situation. The findings from the study suggest that homeschooling has positive effects for some children, while others experience negative effects. Parents reported higher levels of stress, social isolation, parental alcohol use, and family dysfunction. In addition, some negative experiences occurred in families with children with mental health problems. The findings show that homeschooling can have adverse effects on children, and the effects are likely to last for a long time.
The study was conducted in the Republic of Ireland, using an anonymous online survey to gather data. It was approved by the NUIG Research Ethics Committee and involved the recruitment of parents from the National Parents’ Council database, social media channels, and the research team. The study’s research design was informed by social constructivism.
Costs of homeschooling
Parents in Ireland can choose to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons. Some homeschooling parents feel strongly about their children’s education or want to provide them with secular education. Homeschooling is legal in Ireland and there are many resources available for parents to use. However, parents must be aware of the costs of homeschooling.
Supplies and food are expensive. Many parents choose to purchase their own supplies and curriculum, but this will add to the total cost of homeschooling. You may want to use tax-free shopping days to purchase homeschooling supplies, sign up for online educational subscriptions, and attend used book sales, and curriculum fairs. You should also research discounts on books, curricula, and other educational products.
Parents who wish to homeschool must register with Tusla to make sure they are eligible. Once approved, parents can begin homeschooling their children. However, due to the large backlog in applications, Tusla has more than 1,000 applications waiting to be reviewed. This has caused concerns that more parents are being pushed deeper into debt and vulnerable to illegal moneylenders.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on homeschooling
The study examined the experiences of parents involved in homeschooling and how they perceived the COVID-19 pandemic. Closures of schools varied by country, as did their impacts on children’s functioning. Data from seven European countries were analyzed.
Closures of schools in the affected countries led to a shift in education, putting the onus of education back on parents. In Ireland, a study called Growing Up in Ireland found that children from lower SES families had poorer educational outcomes than those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. In particular, children with mothers with no higher education had 15 points lower verbal ability scores than those with postgraduate degrees.
The study also examined the psychosocial impacts of homeschooling. It found that homeschooling caregivers experienced higher levels of psychological distress and work/social impairment. Parents with homeschooling experiences were also more likely to be younger and male and were more likely to have had mental health problems in the past. Homeschooling parents also experienced lower well-being and less work/social satisfaction than those with school-aged children.
The legality of homeschooling in Ireland
In Ireland, homeschooling is legal and regulated by the National Education Welfare Board (Newb). The Newb is the government agency that oversees the home-schooling process in the country. Homeschooling is governed by a set of minimum education standards that a parent must follow. However, these standards are not defined by Bunracht na hEireann, the Irish Department of Education.
Homeschooling is legal in Ireland, according to the Irish Constitution. However, in order to do this, parents must register their children with the Child and Family Agency (CFA) and complete the required forms. Currently, there are 1,772 children on the homeschool register and a further 477 are waiting to be assessed. Several years ago, the number of applications to homeschool was very low but has increased threefold in the past two years, partly because of the pandemic.
Homeschooling is legal in Norway. Children can study at home if the curriculum is equivalent to that of the state school. Homeschooling in Norway requires families to inform local education authorities before homeschooling. Parents who choose not to do this can still obtain a school diploma from the local school after passing the exams.