What is NHERI? NHERI is the National Home Education Research Institute. NHERI conducts and collects research about homeschooling (home-based education, home schooling), and publishes the research journal called the Home School Researcher. The institute has hundreds of research works documented and catalogued on home schooling, many of which were done by NHERI. Simply put, NHERI specializes in homeschool research, facts, statistics, scholarly articles, and information.

NHERI exists to do the following things:

  • To research, study, and understand those who teach their children at home;
  • To publish the peer-reviewed research journal called the Home School Researcher, which chronicles the current research being done about home schooling;
  • To speak to the media, legislators, and national organizations about the home schooling movement, showing factual evidence-based research about those who teach their children at home;
  • To serve as conference speakers and teachers for groups interested in home schooling; and
  • To work with legislators on issues related to parental rights and children’s rights, freedom that parents —  internationally and globally — have to teach their children at home, and homeschoolers coordinating with local school officials.

Services that NHERI provides on a regular basis include:

  • Speaking to homeschooling and other types of conferences about homeschool research;
  • Giving seminars and lectures on how to teach children at home;
  • Doing state-, national-level, and international-level research about the home schooling community; and
  • Speaking to the media (television, radio, newspaper, etc.) about homeschooling issues.
  • Providing referrals to expert witness services in courts and legislatures.

Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. and others founded the institute in 1990 as a 501(c)3 non-profit research organization, and is the president of the institute. He holds his Ph.D. in science education from Oregon State University, his M.S. in zoology from Ohio University, and his B.S. in biology from the University of Puget Sound. Dr. Ray has been a middle school and high school classroom teacher in both public and private schools, an undergraduate college professor, and a university professor at the graduate level. He is a leading international expert with regard to homeschool (home school, home education) research. Dr. Ray executes and publishes research (see list below), speaks to the public, testifies before legislators, and serves as an expert witness in courts.

For more information about NHERI’s services, to subscribe to the Home School Researcher journal, to get started in your own homeschooling, or if you would like to obtain information about homeschool research, you may contact the institute:

National Home Education Research Institute
PO Box 13939
Salem, OR 97309
phone (503) 364-1490
fax (503) 364-2827
www.nheri.org
Comments and queries email: mail[at]nheri[dot]org

A list of publications by Dr. Ray (i.e., a non-comprehensive list):

Ray, Brian D.; Shakeel, M. Danish. (2022). Demographics are predictive of child abuse and neglect but homeschool versus conventional school is a non-issue: Evidence from a nationally representative survey. Journal of School Choice: International Research and Reform, 10.1080/15582159.2022.2108879.

Ray, Brian D. (2022). Homeschooling in the United States: Growth with diversity and more empirical evidence. Oxford Research Encyclopedia, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1643

Ray, Brian D. (2022). The transmission of culture, religion, and affinity for four school choices to adults who were homeschooled, public schooled, and private schooled, NHERI Working Paper 2022-02a, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4046167

Ray, Brian D. (2021). An overview of the worldwide rise and expansion of home education homeschooling (chapter 1). In Rebecca English (Ed.), Global perspectives on home education in the 21st century. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

Ray, Brian D.; Shakeel, M. Danish; Worth, Fred; & Bryant, Valerie. (2021). Four key barriers affecting the choice to homeschool: evidence from a fragile community. Journal of School Choice: International Research and Reform, DOI: 10.1080/15582159.2021.1924583.

Ray, Brian D. (2020). A systematic review of the empirical research on selected aspects of homeschooling as a school choice. In Patrick J. Wolf (Ed.), School Choice: Separating fact from fiction. London, England: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Ray, Brian D. (2018). African American homeschool parents’ motivations for homeschooling and their Black children’s academic achievement. In Robert Maranto and Debra Bell (Eds.), Homeschooling in the 21st century: Research and prospects. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Ray, Brian D. (2017). A systematic review of the empirical research on selected aspects of homeschooling as a school choice. Journal of School Choice, 11(4), 604-621, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15582159.2017.1395638.

Ray, Brian. (2017). A Review of research on homeschooling and what might educators learn? Pro-Posições, 28(2), 85-103.

Ray, Brian D. (2017). A description and brief history of home schooling in America. In R. Fox & N. Buchanan (Editors), Handbook of School Choice. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons Publishers, pp. 329-343.

Ray, Brian D. (2016). Introduction to recent changes in U.S.A. homeschooling. In Cooper, Bruce S.; Spielhagen, Frances R.; & Ricci, Carlo (Eds), Homeschooling in New View. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Ray, Brian D. (2015). African American homeschool parents’ motivations for homeschooling and their Black children’s Academic Achievement. Journal of School Choice. 9, 71-96, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15582159.2015.998966.

Ray, Brian D. (2013). Homeschooling associated with beneficial learner and societal outcomes but educators do not promote it. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(3), 324-341.

Ray, Brian D. (2010, February 3). Academic achievement and demographic traits of homeschool students: A nationwide study. Academic Leadership Journal, 8(1). Retrieved May 24, 2019 and June 15, 2018 from https://scholars.fhsu.edu/alj/vol8/iss1/7/.

Ray, Brian D., & Eagleson, Bruce K. (2008, August 14). State regulation of homeschooling and homeschoolers’ SAT scores. Journal of Academic Leadership, 6(3).

Carper, James C., & Ray, Brian D. (2006). Conservative Christian strategies in education. In Rosemary Skinner Keller Rosemary Radford Ruether (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Volume 2. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press.

Ray, Brian D. (2004, Fall). Homeschoolers on to college: What research shows us. Journal of College Admission, no. 185, 5-11.

Ray, Brian D. (2003, January 17). Does homeschooling promote the public good? CQ Researcher [Congressional Quarterly], 13(2), p. 41.

Ray, Brian D. (2003). Home schooling. In International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family Relationships, Second Edition, Volume 2, p. 822-828, ed. by James J. Ponzetti, Jr. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.

Ray, Brian D. (2002, April). Customization through homeschooling. Educational Leadership, 59(7), 50-54.

Ray, Brian D. (2001). Homeschooling in Canada. Education Canada, 41(1), 28-31.

Ray, Brian D. (2000). Home schooling: The ameliorator of negative influences on learning? Peabody Journal of Education, 75(1 & 2), 71-106).

Ray, Brian D. (2000, December). Homeschooling teaching strategies. United States Department of Education, Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse, ERIC Digest.

Ray, Brian D. (2000). Home schooling for individuals’ gain and society’s common good. Peabody Journal of Education, 75 (1 & 2), 272-293.

Ray, Brian D. (1997). Home schooling. World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book Publishing.

Mayberry, Maralee, Knowles, J. Gary, Ray, Brian D., & Marlow, Stacey. (1995). Home schooling: Parents as educators. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press (SAGE Publ.).

Ray, Brian D. (1993). Student learning in home education and the education profession. In Frederik Smit, Wil van Esch, & Herbert J. Walberg. (1993). Parental involvement in education. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Institute for Applied Social Sciences.

Knowles, J. Gary, Mayberry, Maralee, & Ray, Brian D. (1991, December 24). An assessment of home schools in Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington: Implications for public education and a vehicle for informed policy decision, summary report. (U.S. Department of Education Field Initiated Research Project Grant #R117E90220) (Contact Brian Ray, National Home Education Research , Salem, OR.)

Ray, Brian D. (1991). The determinants of grades three to eight students’ intentions to engage in laboratory and nonlaboratory science learning behavior. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28(2), 147-161.

Ray, Brian D. (1988). Home schools:  A synthesis of research on characteristics and learner outcomes. Education and Urban Society, 21(1), 16-31.