Homeschooling, also known as home education, is the education ofchildren inside the home, as opposed to in the formal settings of a public or private school. Home education is usually conducted by a parent or tutor.^[1]Many families that start out with a formal school structure at home often switch to less formal and, often, more effective ways of imparting education outside of school.^[2] "Homeschooling" is the term commonly used in North America, whereas "home education" is more commonly used in the United Kingdom,^[3] elsewhere in Europe, and in many Commonwealth countries.

Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education was imparted by the family or community.^[4] In several countries homeschooling in the modern sense is considered to be an alternative to attending public or private schools, and is a legal option for parents. In other countries homeschooling is considered illegal or restricted to specific conditions, as noted in the Homeschooling international status and statistics. According to the US National Household Education Surveys, about three percent of all children in the US were homeschooled in the 2011 and 2012 school year. The studies found that of these children, 83 percent were White, 5 percent were Black, 7 percent were Hispanic, and 2 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander.^[5]

Parents cite two main motivations for homeschooling their children: dissatisfaction with the local schools and the interest in increased involvement with their children's learning and development. Parents' dissatisfaction with available schools includes concerns about the school environment, the quality of academic instruction, the curriculum, and bullying as well as lack of faith in the school's ability to cater to their child's special needs. Some parents homeschool in order to have greater control over what and how their children are taught, to better cater for children's individual aptitudes and abilities adequately, to provide a specific religious or moral instruction, and to take advantage of the efficiency of one-to-one instruction, which allows the child to spend more time on childhood activities, socializing, and non-academic learning. Many parents are also influenced by alternative educational philosophies espoused by the likes of Susan Sutherland Isaacs, Charlotte Mason, John Holt, and Sir Kenneth Robinson, among others.

Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently. Many young athletes, actors, and musicians are taught at home to better accommodate their training and practice schedules. Homeschooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, in which a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and gets to know the child very well. Recently, homeschooling has increased in popularity in the United States, and the percentage of children ages 5 through 17 who are homeschooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 3% in 2011/12.^[6]

Homeschooling can be used as a form of supplemental education and as a way of helping children learn under specific circumstances. The term may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools orumbrella schools. In some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are homeschooled.^[7] A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling is sometimes called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator and author John Holt in his magazine, Growing Without Schooling. The term emphasizes the more spontaneous, less structured learning environment where a child's interests drive their pursuit of knowledge.^[8] In some cases, a liberal arts education is provided using the trivium and quadrivium as the main models.^{[citation needed]}