Home education: a human right?

Book synopsis: The right of parents to home educate is sometimes described as a ‘human right’. Underlying this ‘rights claim’ is the perception that attempts to restrict home education are both unnecessary and dangerous. ‘Unnecessary’, because home education does not harm children or deprive them of the right to education and ‘dangerous’, because parental freedom with regard to education is fundamental in a liberal democracy. However, in the case of Leuffen v Germany, the European Commission of Human Rights held that a policy of compulsory schooling, which in effect ‘outlaws’ home education, was lawful and did not violate the rights of parents under the European Convention of Human Rights. There is clearly an irreconcilable conflict between the rights claims of home educators and the decision of the Commission. This article presents a critical reading of Leuffen. While it argues that the Commission's arguments are problematic, at the same time it highlights alternative rights-based challenges to home education. It concludes by questioning the ability of the Convention, and civil rights claims in general, to incorporate some of the broader political and collectivist concerns about home education