Despite the fears and common misconceptions of homeschooling, research shows that homeschooling produces significant academic achievement in comparison to other forms of education.

Comparing GPA’s
Researchers were curious about the GPA differences of homeschooled students versus traditional school methods.  In the study, researchers at a private Catholic college compared the high school GPA’s of homeschoolers against students who attended public school, private school, and Catholic school (Cogan, 2010).  The comparisons reveal that homeschoolers had significantly higher GPA’s than the comparison groups.

The study also compared the collegiate GPA’s of the students as well.  The comparison of fall GPA’s between the groups revealed that homeschooled students had significantly higher GPA’s in the first fall semester (Cogan, 2010).  Further research revealed the homeschoolers produced higher first year and fourth year GPA’s in college (Cogan,  2010).

Parental Influence on Academic Achievement
A variety of research has been conducted to examine the effects up parental influence on student achievement.  A study conducted in 2005 examined the impact of parental motivation upon student achievement through a comparison of SAT-9 test results (Collom, 2005).  He notes that race and income levels of homeschoolers did not have a influence upon academic achievement of homeschoolers.  He found that the greatest impact upon higher academic scores was parental factors such as parental education, political affiliation, and criticism of public schools.  These factors correspond with different methodologies and pedagogies (Collom, 2005).

Parental influence has a direct impact upon gifted and talented students.  Hérbert, Pagnani, and Hammond (2009) explored the impact of fathers-son relationship of gifted males.  Research concluded that a father’s influence on a gifted son has a direct effect upon education and talent development. The psychology and research provided within this study shows that the most important source of information for defining success for sons is the father (Hérbert, Pagnani, & Hammond, 2009).  The study found that six major themes in the father-son relationship that leads to success and a healthy relationship (Herbert, Pagnani, & Hammond, 2009).  The themes are as follows:

  1. Unconditional belief in the son
  2. A strong work ethic
  3. Encouragement and guidance
  4. Maintaining high expectations and fostering determination
  5. Pride in the son’s accomplishments
  6. Mutual admiration and respect
Gifted children are a unique population of students.  Parents of gifted students face unique challenges throughout each day.  A review of research has found that parents are the most important influence on a gifted child’s development (Jolly & Matthews, 2012).  The review indicates a gap in research to develop a stronger understanding of the practices in parenting gifted children. This research found that parental behaviors influence the development of gifted children (Jolly & Matthews, 2012).