Horror stories abound about the parents of Gen Z showing up to their adult children’s job interviews. It’s hard not to think there is no hope for the anxious generation who can’t talk to a potential employer without mom or dad. You may, however, have recently met a rare competent, put-together young adult who could make eye contact, give a firm handshake, and make pleasant conversation. Far from the stereotypes of yesteryear, chances are that well-adjusted young adult was homeschooled.
A recent report from the Cardus Educational Survey analyzed educational, economic, mental health, civic, family, and faith status for American adults who were homeschooled and found a range of outcomes within a diverse population. With homeschooling on the rise, the report highlights that people in a variety of demographics opt for homeschooling, either short-term or long-term. Because of the diversity of homeschoolers and their families, the results are not easily grouped into population-wide findings. Researchers did, however, observe trends among adults who had been homeschooled, which they lay out in the new report.
The study shows improved mental health outcomes among adults who were homeschooled compared to their peers who were never homeschooled. In an epidemic of mental health issues among teens and young adults, this is an important finding that warrants more investigation. While leftists continue fearmongering about the imagined dangers of homeschooling, the results show that homeschoolers are a success in some of the ways that matter most.
Breaking Down the Report
Cardus is a non-partisan, Christian research organization. The group’s survey from 2023 studied adults aged 24 to 39 who were homeschooled for part or all of their primary and secondary education. Within that population, researchers looked at short-term homeschoolers (defined as people who were homeschooled one to two years), medium-term homeschoolers (three to seven years), and long-term homeschoolers (eight or more years). Researchers compared outcomes for adults from all homeschool types with outcomes for adults who were never homeschooled, controlling for demographic characteristics.
Researchers found that adults who had been homeschooled (all three groups) were less likely than adults who had never been homeschooled to be employed full-time. While this may initially seem concerning, the report does not indicate whether some of the unemployed survey respondents are stay-at-home parents. […]
— Read More: thefederalist.com
