Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is home-based learning legal in Canada?
A: Yes, life learning is legal in all Canadian provinces and
territories. See the Resources section
of this website for more information
about contacting the Ministry/Department of Education in your province or
territory.
Q: How many children are homeschooled in
A: Since many home educating parents do not register with local school
officials, an exact number is not known. However, it generally estimated
that between one and two percent of all school-age children learn at
home. We believe that between 70,000 and 100,000 Canadian children learn
at home. That has increased from our estimate of approximately 2,000
children in 1980.
Q: What is the difference between home-based
learning, homeschooling, and unschooling?
A: There are many philosophies of homeschooling and many words used to describe the situation whereby
school-aged children learn without going to school. And there are even
subsets and varying definitions of each of those words! Here is an article about
terminology.
Q: Isn't home-based learning something that just hippies and
fundamentalist Christians do?
A: This is one of many misconceptions about home-based educating
families, their practices and their beliefs. Perhaps these extreme
stereotypes originate with people who don’t understand home-based
learning. In fact, families who learn at home are a diverse
cross-section of the population and include families of all philosophies,
religions, cultural and racial backgrounds, economic and employment
situations. And their reasons for home educating are also numerous
and diverse.
For more about this topic, read some of the research reports listed in the Resources section of this website.
