# Home-based and self-directed schooling

**Should we homeschool or unschool?**

Whether your child goes to a regular school or learns at home. Structured homeschooling follows a curriculum; unschooling is child-led with no set curriculum; democratic (Sudbury) schools let students run their own learning and the school itself.

In short: Parents choose between 5 main approaches: Conventional school; Hybrid; Structured homeschooling; Unschooling; Democratic (Sudbury) school. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: preschool.

- Area: School and academics
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: Preschool
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/school-and-academics--home-based-and-self-directed-schooling

## Home-based and self-directed schooling: what are the options?

1. **Conventional school**: The child attends a regular school.
2. **Hybrid**: The child learns partly at school and partly at home.
3. **Structured homeschooling**: You teach the child at home with a set curriculum.
4. **Unschooling**: The child learns at home through their own interests, with no curriculum.
5. **Democratic (Sudbury) school**: The child attends a school where students choose what to do and vote on the rules.

## Home-based and self-directed schooling: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

The research is mostly small, self-selected studies that cannot be generalized

Sources:

- [Kunzman & Gaither](http://icher.org/files/Kunzman_and_Gaither_An%20Updated_Comprehensive_Survey.pdf)

## What else is worth knowing?

Homeschooling means parents take responsibility for a child's education, with rules that vary by state and province. Unschooling follows the child's interests without a curriculum. These choices also decide which parent is home during the day.

## Questions to ask each other

- What appeals or worries us about homeschooling?
- Who would teach and for how long?
- What would make us choose a school instead?

---

General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=school-and-academics&topic=school-and-academics--home-based-and-self-directed-schooling