Muslims, home education and risk in British society

Abstract

The number of families who choose to home educate has significantly increased in the last decade. This article explores the experiences of British Muslims who home educate using data from a larger study exploring the views of a diverse range of families. Drawing on the work of Beck, we discuss how ‘risk’ is understood in relation to Muslim home educators. For these families, decisions to home educate were often made in response to identifying risks associated with their children attending school. At the same time, OFSTED has identified ‘risks’ of radicalisation associated with the ‘Trojan Horse’ affair which they linked specifically to Muslim families who home educate. We argue that Muslim families are both marginalised by the perception of ‘risk’ associated with radicalisation and also by their consequent decisions to home educate.

Keywords:

• Home education
• home schooling
• Muslim
• Trojan Horse
• risk
• Beck

Notes

1. Head of Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED), the government body that inspects and regulates schools and education providers.

2. Mr Justice Woolf in the case of R v Secretary of State for Education and Science (1985).

3. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35133119 (accessed November 28, 2017).

4. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35823876 (accessed November 28, 2017).

5. This is the term commonly used in the USA.