TDNet Discover

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare enrollment rates in home education in Florida before and after COVID-19. While U.S. home education rates had increased since COVID-19, the problem was whether home education rates in Florida had also increased since COVID-19. The theoretical framework for this study included the constructivist theory and student-led learning theory. The data sets were from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Annual Report for the 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 school years. The data was selfreported information the FLDOE collected from surveys of all school districts. This study includes all home education students in Florida from 67 school districts: 97,261 home education students from the 2018-2019 school year and 154, 289 home education students from the 2022- 2023 school year. A paired t-test compared home education enrollment rates before and after COVID-19, and the results indicated there was a statistical significant difference in those rates. The Shapiro-Wilk Test revealed home education enrollment rates before and after COVID-19 were not normally distributed implying home education enrollment rates may not have followed a normal distribution after the pandemic. Cohen’s d for effect size signified a statistically significant difference existed between home education enrollment rates for students and COVID19, but not for family enrollment. This study contributes to understanding how unforeseen disruptions and times of crisis impact a family’s education preferences and choices to home educate in Florida, as well as contributing to future studies to determine if an increase in home education rates was due to COVID-19 or parents’ dissatisfaction with the school system