Is there research on home schooling?
and
Can single parents home school?
A recent comment brought up these 2 interesting questions.

You will be delighted to know that there is research on the subject!
Here is a link to see some of it.
http://www.hslda.org/research/default.asp

Dr. Brian D. Ray has a report listed on that site that I found fascinating. I have quoted a small piece of it below:

This was from a survey completed by 7300 homeschooler adults and their responses are compared to the national US statistics



....................................# respondents %hs'd adults %US adults

Have you read any books
(in English) in the past
six months? .............................5254 98.5 69

Read a newspaper
at least once a week.................5253 60.6 82

Read one or more magazines
on a regular basis....................5254 100 89

Watch national news on TV
or listen to national news
radio almost every day............5254 42.1 64

Read national news
online almost everyday...........5254 29.5 NA

Do you participate in any
ongoing community service
activity,for example,coaching
a sports team,volunteering at
a school,or working with a
church or neighbourhood
association?..........................5253 71.1 37

Are you a member of any
organisation, like a
community group,church
or synagogue, union,
homeschool group,or
professional organisation?.....5254 88.3 50

Attended religious services
once a month or more...........5254 93.3 41

Politics and government
are too complicated to
understand...........................5253 4.2 35

Own family has no say
in what federal
government does.................5251 6.2 44

A person should be allowed
to make a speech against
churches and religion..........5243 91.5 88

A book most people
disapprove of should be kept
out of a public library..........5244 40.8 36

A person should be able
to make a speech against
using taxes to feed
people or to pay for
medical assistance...............5240 95.9 NA

Could write a letter to
government official that
clearly states his/her opinion...5249 98.4 94

Could make a comment or
statement at a public meeting..5254 96.5 88

Knows how to use the internet...5251 99.6 37

Uses the internet at home
for e-mail..............................4956 94.3 NA

Uses the internet at home for
school research or courses....5254 73.9 NA

Uses the internet at home for
information search................4802 91.4 NA

Used a public library or public
library program in the past month..5253 68.5 32.3

Used a public library or
public library program
in the past year.....................5254 90.3 56 3

For more info and the details of the research analysis, please do go to hslda.org

I found the stats from above very revealing! That would be the proof of the pudding.
Homeschooled children are growing up to be articulate, community oriented, thinking individuals.

And they can earn a living too! That is in the previous table, I think.