ABSTRACT
Drawing from an interview-based study of 35 homeschooling families around the United States, this chapter addresses their perceptions against criticisms that argue homeschooling is focused on the self-interest of the family and potentially dangerous for the public good of liberal democracy. Following arguments in political theory that individual interests ground the concept of a public good, we suggest that understanding the movement as in search of common goods offers a better interpretation of many homeschoolers, helping us see how homeschooling might serve a democratic purpose through its practices in collective action and its standpoint as a critique against market ideals.
