Aaishah’s choice: Choosing home education in the Muslim community

Authors

  • Rebecca English Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology Kelvin Grove Campus Victoria Park Road KELVIN GROVE QLD AUSTRALIA 4059

Keywords:

School choice, Home education, Muslim home education

Abstract

In Australia, the decision to home educate is becoming increasingly popular (cf. Townsend, 2012). In spite of its increasing popularity, the reasons home education is chosen by Australian families is under-researched (cf. Jackson & Allan, 2010). In addition, the decision to home educate among minority groups, such as Australian Muslim families, is absent from the literature. This paper reports on an interview with one Muslim mother who chose to home educate her children. An in-depth, qualitative interview was conducted with Aaishah (pseudonym), a mother who lived in one of Australia’s most populated cities. Data were analysed using the Discourse Historical Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis revealed that there were similarities between the discourses of Christian parents described in the literature, in terms of the reasons Aaishah had given for her decision to home educate. In particular, analysis reveals Aaishah’s fears about schools, their negative experiences on her children and her hopes for her children’s futures.

Author Biography

Rebecca English, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology Kelvin Grove Campus Victoria Park Road KELVIN GROVE QLD AUSTRALIA 4059

Lecturer
Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology
Kelvin Grove Campus
Victoria Park Road
KELVIN GROVE  QLD  AUSTRALIA 4059

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Published

2016-01-31

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Peer Reviewed Articles