Politicians back study as home education rises

Politicians are calling for a national study of how home-educated children perform academically later in life as the number of children taught at home continues to rise, DR reports.

There are currently no national measurements showing how home-educated children fare when they move on in life.

Coco Kjærgaard, who home-educates her three children and co-founded the company Rådet for Hjemmeundervisning, said she would welcome such data. She regularly faces questions about whether home-educated children are properly prepared for the future.

“I would really welcome measurements that could show who is being home-educated and where they end up,” Kjærgaard said.

She said she was happy with her decision to teach her children at home. Their lessons can take place in different settings, including a visit to Den Blå Planet, an aquarium in Denmark.

A study by the education trade magazine Folkeskolen last year found that the number of home-educated children had risen from around 400 in 2015 to more than 2,500 in 2025. Figures obtained by DR from eight municipalities in southern and southeastern Jutland show a similar trend. The number of home-educated children there has tripled in five years to 461 pupils.

Rasmus Elkjær Larsen, chairman of the Children and Education Committee in Aabenraa Municipality, said the increase was concerning.

“We respect parents’ right to home-educate their children, but when the number rises so sharply, it is our responsibility to ask whether they are receiving the education and academic development they need,” he said.

Municipalities are responsible for monitoring children who are taught at home. Venstre education spokesperson Anni Matthiesen said it could now be time to examine how the children fare later in life.

“We cannot afford to turn a blind eye if we do not know how they manage going forward,” she said.

Matthiesen said she would ask Education Minister Magnus Heunicke whether the issue would be investigated. DR said the minister and Social Democrat education spokesperson Matilde Powers were unable to give an interview.