This thesis investigates a new kind of conservative Protestant schooling that emerged in Australia after 1962.Themelic schools developed out of a reaction to secular humanist trends which emerged after World War II. The author argues that these schools constitute a system which warrants greater research. Historical, philosophical and theological work is integrated with a considerable methodological basis in oral history. The research seeks to introduce the schools, clarify their theoretical positions, evaluate their theological and social position and offer criticism and recommendations regarding their educative value. One of the central arguments is that the themelic system of schooling is one of fear and confusion.It is argued that the themelic system is laden with numerous contradictions that have not been addressed and that the schools are reactionary, authoritarian and educationally limited. Some recommendations are made that address organisational and language issues. Though criticism offered is sometimes negative, the intended outcomes of the thesis are positive so as to help these schools establish better environments for education / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

While home schooling is by no means a new phenomenon, the last three decades have seen an increasing trend in the engagement of this educational alternative. In many countries, including Australia, a growing number of families are opting to remove their children from the traditional schooling system for numerous reasons and educate them at home. In response to the recent home schooling movement a research base in this area of education has emerged. However, the majority of research has been undertaken primarily in the United States of America and the United Kingdom, with very few studies having examined home schooling in Australia. The existing corpus of research is also relatively small and incomplete. Also, certain categories of home schoolers and the processes involved in their undertaking of this modern version of a historically enduring educational alternative have been overlooked. In particular, children with disabilities appear to be one of the home schooling groups that have attracted very little research world wide. This group constituted the focus of the study reported in this thesis. Its particular concern was with generating theory regarding how parents deal with educating their children with intellectual disabilities from a home base over a period of one year. Data gathering was largely carried out through individual, face-to-face semi-structured interviewing and participant observation in the interpretivist qualitative research tradition. However, informal interviews, telephone interviews and documents were also used to gather supplementary data for the study. Data were coded and analysed using the open coding method of the grounded theory model and through the development and testing of propositions. The central research question which guided theory generation was as follows: 'How do parents within the Perth metropolitan area in the state of Western Australia deal with educating their children with intellectual disabilities from a home base over a period of one year?' The central proposition of the theory generated is that parents do so through progressive modification and that this involves them progressing through three stages over a period of one year. The first stage is designated the stage of drawing upon readily-available resources. The second stage is designated the stage of drawing upon support networks in a systematic fashion. The third stage is designated the stage of proceeding with confidence on the basis of having a set of principles for establishing a workable pattern of home schooling individualised for each circumstance. This theory provides a new perspective on how parents deal with the home schooling of their children with intellectual disabilities over a period of one year. A number of implications for further theory development, policy and practice are drawn from it. Several recommendations for further research are also made.