Serving the Home Education community.

AHEA's Philosophy & Objectives

Schedule A to the By-Laws of the Alberta Home Education Association - PHILOSOPHY OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Association "recognizes the supremacy of God and the rule of law." (Preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982)

  1. The Association affirms the primacy of parental responsibility for the welfare, socialization and education of their children.
  2. The Association is dedicated to the education and socialization of children in the natural setting of the family.
  3. The Association holds, in accordance with Article 26.3 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December, 1948, that "parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children." This includes home education.
  4. The Association further holds that the right to home education includes not merely a right over the place in which education occurs, but a right to determine the very content, process and timing of this education.
  5. The Association acknowledges that the state has a legitimate and compelling interest in the education of the young, but asserts that such interest is:
    1. secondary to the primacy of responsibility of parents over education, and
    2. strictly limited to those skills and that knowledge which are demonstrably necessary to the formation of functional citizenship in a free and democratic society.
  6. The Association affirms all matters of a social, religious, ideological, political, cultural and economic nature to be personal options and therefore outside of the compelling interest of the state.
  7. The Association holds that student assessment is an integral aspect of the education process, and that therefore parents have the sole right and responsibility to determine the methods and instruments to be used to ensure the educational welfare of the child.
  8. The Association holds that the state must exercise its compelling interest in the education of the young by the least intrusive means.
  9. The Association pursues and recommends -- within the framework of its philosophy -- a policy of constructive interaction in dealing with those legally charged with the monitoring of home education programs.

SCHEDULE "B" - OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION

  1. To promote and encourage home education as an alternative to and compatible with the Public, Separate and Private School Systems.
  2. To establish and maintain a liaison with other educational institutions and government in order to co-ordinate and facilitate the transition of individuals educated through home education programs into schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions.
  3. To encourage and facilitate co-operation with contemporary school Public, Separate and Private School Systems in the use, by home educators, of resources, facilities and equipment.
  4. To engage in and promote research and study in the area of home education, including, but not limited to:
    1. home education curricula;
    2. teaching techniques;
    3. programs, activities and facilities available to home educators;
    4. legislation concerning schools and education.
  5. To study and evaluate curricula for home education.
  6. To provide information and ideas with respect to home education.
  7. To raise funds for research into all aspects of home education and early childhood development; to promote the objects of the Association; and to provide scholarships, bursaries and grants to home education students.
  8. To provide support, encouragement, advice and counsel to members involved in home education.