Educating Children at Home (by Alan Thomas)

(Amazon UK link)

I was going through a phase of reading as much as I could about home education, and there weren't very many books based in the UK. This one by Alan Thomas was recommended on one of the discussion lists I was on, so I bought it.

'Educating Children at Home' is really a summary of lots of research. It contains facts and figures about elective education at home in Britain. There are some useful references too.  Unfortunately I found the whole book rather dry, as I'm not a fan of statistics. It's a book to be dipped into rather than read straight through.

The author is an academic, and the book is not a particularly easy read. It's not intended for people wanting to know how to get started, or how a typical home education day might progress. 

Still, I found it encouraging to see examples of what could be learned by children and teenagers at home, even when no direct teaching takes place. So I would recommended this for anyone who has doubts about the efficacy of home education. Particularly good for those who want facts and figures, such as friends or  relatives who are worried about the long-term effects of home education.