Homeschooling and online schooling are becoming increasingly popular around the world. Most of these homeschoolers attend a virtual or online school. It is gradually becoming a viable alternative to traditional schooling. According to their latest data, acquired in October 2023, 11.1% of U.S. households with school-aged children stated that at least one child was homeschooled. Supporting this trend, data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows a decline in student enrollment in U.S. Public Schools, with 49.6 million students enrolled in 2022—down by approximately 1.2 million since 2019.
This phenomenon is observed all across the globe. And India is not an exception. However, more accurate information about the number of homeschoolers in India needs to be collected. Nevertheless, the most significant question is what happens to homeschooling students. Is the teaching method effective for them? Can they achieve higher scores? Is the quality of life of teachers and students improving? Are online schools preparing students for future jobs? Acumen, a nonprofit organization based in the United States, conducted a lean data analysis to identify the answers. They interviewed parents from the famous online school Vikalp India.
Following are the key findings of the survey
Impact on Students’ Quality of life
According to a survey by Vikalp, 80% of parents observed an improvement in their child’s academics, while 83% reported a slight improvement in their child’s quality of life. Online school impacted the quality of life of students. This is majorly because of the method of teaching. Unlike traditional schools, there are no lectures. Concepts were not introduced as a given fact. Every new idea is introduced using a learning tool. Students discover concepts while doing activities with the tools. They find out the idea on their own at their own pace. Learning continues on the learning APP. Once students understand the concept, books are introduced where they apply their understanding in doing exercises and project works. Students start taking an interest in studies. Gradually, they start scoring better. All this impacts their quality of life.
The survey shows that just 5-6 students are in the classroom. Teachers guide students through activities, project work, and tricky questions, which encourages students to evaluate and think about what they are learning.
Enhance the Teacher’s Interest
Acumen’s Lean data team also conducted interviews with Vikalp Online School teachers. Interestingly, 43% of teachers said their interest in teaching improved. This survey had a whole list of questionnaires, and the findings are 100 % of teachers experienced an improvement in student’s interest level and ability to grasp concepts, 62% of teachers reported improved grades of their students, and 95% of teachers observed the increase in the ability to retain concepts. Gradually, teachers have become prominent advocates of this method of teaching-learning, which can work best in online schools. Consequently, Net Promoter Score (NPS) is 62%. This means that not only do teachers like it, but more than 60% of teachers are promoting this teaching method, followed by Vikalp Online School.
Commenting on the survey, Dinesh Gupta, Founder and CEO of Vikalp India, said:
In this teaching-learning method, students not only learn to remember and understand but also analyze, evaluate, apply, and create. All these skills and abilities are vital for tomorrow’s job market, which will be completely AI-driven. Students with the skills and abilities to memorize and do repetitive work may need help finding a job in the next decade.
This kind of teaching-learning, popularly known as experiential learning, doesn’t work in a traditional school with 40 to 50 students in each class.
Neha Choudhry, Co-founder and chief Idea Officer (CIO) of Vikalp India added:
Handling all the students along with so many learning tools is not possible. If you want students to discover learning and develop critical thinking, online school is the only way. It’s not possible in a traditional school set-up. Are there a lot of operational difficulties?
Moreover, it is not financially viable to have 5 or 6 students in a public school class. Traditional school is okay for an average student. It is not okay for above and below-average students. Above-average students find the class boring as there are too many repetitions. Below average struggle to catch up with the rest of the class. All these factors are making Online School more popular. Schools are no longer the only option. Consequently, many parents homeschool and enrol their children in some online school.
About Vikalp India
Vikalp India is an idea, a vision shared by like-minded educationists, management professionals, and designers. People from diverse backgrounds have come together to bridge the gap between different learning styles and a standard teaching style. The platform believes that each child’s learning process is different, and alternative methods and materials should be devised to suit the diverse requirements of school-going children. It focuses on developing alternative methods and materials that help children learn concepts and connect with what they already know and experience in their real lives.
