You have likely come across studies showing that homeschool students perform better academically than their public school peers (If not, take a look at one of them here). But what happens to homeschool students after high school? In 1994 The Centre for Canadian Home Education CCHE, conducted a study of home educating families. Over two hundred of these families participated in a 15-year longitudinal study, providing insight into how home-educated students fare in life after homeschool.

Note:The families who participated in this study all chose to home-educate their children; this choice was not hoisted onto them due to pandemic restrictions. They had strong reasons for choosing homeschooling and educated their children at home for several years, not just temporarily. However, homeschooling offers enriched, personalized education that can benefit students in a variety of ways not specifically explored in this study.

Here are some of the main findings:

Income & Education: When compared with the same age group of the Canadian population, home-educated adults:

• had overall higher academic education with greater proportions of Bachelors and Graduate degrees
• were more likely to obtain a professional degree or doctorate and work in management or managerial positions
• had a 20% higher average income
• were more likely to generate income from self-employment (32% compared to 4%) and have investment income (33% compared to 2%)
• did not rely on government payments (0% compared to 11%)

Life Satisfaction, Family, and Leisure: When compared with the same age group of the Canadian population, home-educated adults:

• reported higher levels of overall happiness based on the Satisfaction with Life Scale
• higher levels of satisfaction with their financial situation
• were physically very active and more engaged in a variety of recreational pursuits
• were more likely to read books, attend concerts and theatrical performances, and visit museums and historic sites
• were more likely to be married
• were less likely to live in common-law relationships (0% compared to 11%)
• tended to have larger than average families

Most felt that home education had prepared them very well for further education and life in general…They were also happy that they had been home educated, and for the most part felt that it had given them an advantage in life and in future education.

You can find the complete study here and the synopsis of the study here. If you are interested in reading additional academic research on homeschooling in Canada you can find over 90 studies here.