Kitty
Running Head: SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN
Socialization of Children in Home School vs. Public School
Katrina Brent
Western Governors University
Socialization of Children in Home School vs. Public School
Since the legalization in 1993,
home schooling has evolved as a popular option to provide an education to
children. There are many concerns that both society and parents themselves have
over schooling their children at home. Of those concerns, socialization seems
to be the largest. Since there is no regulation on
socialization for home-educated children, there are many questions surrounding
just how developed the socialization skills of home educated children are in
comparison to their conventionally schooled peers. Over the years, respected researchers
performed various empirical studies to investigate into this matter. Of these
studies, researchers found how critical it is to teach the foundations of
socialization, what type of anti-social behaviors may manifest, and what
abilities public and home school children acquire to become good citizens and
functional members of society. The research delved into the question of
isolation, the success of college, and what type of adult results from
different educational backgrounds. This leads us to the
question: Is socialization more of an issue when a family schools their child
at home in comparison to public school families? After years of research, there is a resounding
answer to this question. NO! Home schooled children are not at a disadvantage
in socialization compared to their public schooled peers. They are actually at
an advantage.
In a U.S poll taken in 1985, of the families
who had participated, 16 % had considered home schooling as a good option to
educate their children, whereas in 2001, 41 % of the families had shown home
schooling to be a good option (Basham, Merrifield,
& Hepburn, 2007). According to a study conducted by the Department
of Education in the 1990-91 school year, between 250,000 and 300,000 children
of school age were provided education in their home, while in 2007, the number
of children getting their education at home increased to 1.5 million. (U.S.
Department of Education, 2008)
In today's
society, the term socialization is often misinterpreted. The American
Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (socialize, n.d.) defines
socialize as;
so·cial·ize (sō'shə-līz')
v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es
v. tr.
- To place under government or group ownership or control.
- To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable.
- To convert or adapt to the needs of society.
v. intr.
To take part in social activities.
so'cial·i·za'tion (-shə-lĭ-zā'shən) n., so'cial·iz'er
n.
Most of U.S. society interprets socialization to mean
conversing, getting along, and being able to handle oneself in a social
situation. They see socialization as something you should acquire through an
institution such as a school system.
There are many different viewpoints on the lives of home
educated children. For instance, a West Virginia judge (State v. Riddle, 1981
in Stough, 1992) characterized home school environments as places in which
parents keep their children in “medieval ignorance and quarter them in
Dickensian squalor beyond the reach of the ameliorating influence of social
welfare agencies, and separate their children from organized society in an environment
of indoctrination and deprivation so that the children become mindless automations incapable of coping with life
outside their own families.”
This same judge stereotyped
home schooled children as “shy, passive, and lethargic” due to perceived
segregation from their community (State v. Riddle, 1981 in Stough, 1992)
In traditional schools, parents and educators argue that
children learn various important skills, like the ability to work in groups,
the ability to handle various interpersonal conflicts, and the ability to
sacrifice personal interests for the betterment of team. All these skills are
essential for leading a balanced life in society. Critics very often point out
that homeschooled children lack all these skills because they feel home-educated
children can be enveloped in “the protective cocoon of the home” (P. Aiex,
1994).
However, research has shown
that the opposite is true for the home school community. Society is starting to
question if they had been wrong in the aspect of home schooled children lacking
the essential skills needed to function and become extremely well mannered
individuals of society due to the results of various studies.
Chatman-Carpenter’s (1992) study
revealed that the numbers of social contacts that children taught at home are
exposed to is almost identical to the number of social contacts as that of the
public educated children. However, according to Chatham-Carpenter (1992), a more
significant focus is on the quality of children's social interaction, and not
the quantity of time spent with others.
Holt (1981) stated,
“People are
best able, and perhaps only able, to cross the many barriers of race, class,
custom, and belief that divide them when they are able to share experiences that
make them feel good. Only from these do they get a stronger sense of their
own, and therefore other people's, uniqueness, dignity, and worth.” Holt found that with the public school
system, this is not something that is a social possibility. He found that the
opposite was true for most conventionally schooled children. Holt found that many
students were convinced they have a low intelligence, that they cannot
accomplish the tasks required, and thus, feel ashamed for being this way. Holt
found that when many students reach this level they will bully, or harass
children they feel are below themselves, such as gifted, special needs, another
race, or a child with a lower social status then themselves. Holt explains how
peer pressure, harassing the timid, or bullying of younger students is not the
exception, but the norm in public school settings.
An example of the way
children acted towards one another in a public school environment as stated by
Holt (1981) was found in an issue of Wired magazine written by P. Graham (2004).
Graham described a lunchroom setup in his junior high. They had labeled the
tables from A (most popular) to E (Special Education). Graham (2004) labeled
his table D. He felt that in this “fiercely competitive environment” for popularity
was very important. Since Graham was on the lower spectrum of popularity, he
felt he was “actively persecuted” and only gained freedom from this when he
performed an act that harmed someone who was lower on the totem pole than he
was.
Stough (1992) later did a
study that supported Holt’s (1981) findings.
Stough (1992) did a study to compare socialization between 30 families,
which had adopted the technique of home schooling and 32 families, which had
followed a conventional schooling process. He found homeschoolers were able to
gain the required skills and knowledge needed for functioning appropriately in society.
The rate was so similar to that of traditionally schooled children, that Stough
believed there was no real difference between these two ways of schooling. Stough,
also, felt the level of self-concept to be the best measuring tool for the
capacity of socialization. Stough found
that homeschoolers had an above average perception of self-concept in
comparison to conventionally schooled children rated at an average level. (Stough, 1992)
With the growing number of parents who send their
children to school as early as 2 and 3 years old, many critics of public
schooling have a growing concern of just how the socialization of these
children are developing. Katz (1993) research showed just how critical it is to teach the
foundations of "social competence” before the age of six years old to
avoid being an “at risk” child for socially inappropriate behaviors. Hartup (Hartup
in Katz,1991) had stated how academics and classroom behavior did not show how
well children would adapt socially as adults. Hartup concluded that how children
got along with other children during their school age years determined their
social behaviors as adults. In regards to social failure, Hartup states how aggressive
and disruptive children tend to be more at risk for socially inappropriate
behaviors than their peers are. (Hartup, 1991 in Katz, 1993)
Katz
(1993) proceeded to come up with what we now call the “The Social Attributes
Checklist” for the early school years to try to help the “at risk” kids at an
earlier age. This list includes things such as empathy for others, transition
skills, humor, expressive and receptive speech, coping skills, and ability to
read social cues. Katz feels that with this checklist in hand, we may be able
to prevent some of the actions that lead to the social norm, such as bullying
and intimidation, in the later school age years.
Burton (1986) lists social behavior, differentness,
family problems and reputation as the four factors that contribute to
anti-social behavior. Burton explains that social skill training, intervention,
nonthreatening social experiences, and cooperative projects are key to
resolving these issues. Burton (1986) explains how adults can oversee the
social lives of their children to restrict how large the group is, reduce the
amount of peer-pressured exposure, and to be open with realistic expectations
in social circles. Public schooled children usually do not have their parents
around when most peer pressure situations arise, thus they feel hesitant to
talk to their parents. (J. Chow, personal communication, May 1, 2009) Unlike
their public schooled peers, home schooled children usually have their parents
around when these situations arise. Mona Delahooke (MACHE, 1998 in Koehler, L., Langness, T., Pietig, S., Stoffel, N., & Wyttenbach,
J., 2002) found that children schooled at home felt more at
ease with talking to their parents. This was due to the home school community
being less peer-oriented, and less peer-dependent resulting from the varied
members of society they were exposed to.
In support of the findings of
Burton (1986), Larry Shyers' (1992) study answered the question of whether or
not homeschooled children manifested issues of deprivation, in regards to
socialization, compared to public schooled children. What he found was that in
observing both groups in free play activities together, the public schooled
children had a many more behavior issues than their home schooled peers. Shyers
theorized that unlike public schooled children, home-educated children have
their parents over peers to model after, resulting in modeling adult behaviors
with fewer conflicts. (Shyers, 1992 in Basham,
Merrifield, & Hepburn, 2007)
To further the
studies of anti-social behaviors, Bates, Burks, Dodge, Fontaine, Lansford,
Pettit, and Price (2003), did four studies on anti-social behavior in children
ranging from 5 to 12 years old in a public school setting. This study showed
that peer rejection lead to many of the anti-social behaviors. Thus, Bates, Burks, Dodge, Fontaine,
Lansford, Pettit, and Price concluded that since home school families tend to
have a closer viewpoint of the people to which their children are around they
acquire fewer anti-social behaviors. This restriction helps to benefit the
overall citizenship of these children. (Arai, 1999)
Another viewpoint from critics of home education is that home schooled
children are isolated from mainstream society. Contrary to the general
perception, involvement of homeschoolers in outside activities is quite large
compared to public schooled peers. Dr. Brian Ray (Socialization? No problem!,
2003) has found that in their everyday life, homeschoolers
are involved in an average of eight social activities on a regular basis. Ninety-five
percent of home schooled children are involved in two or more extracurricular
activities (per week) outside the home. According to Ray, it is very common for
home schooled children to be seen doing different types of voluntary work,
ballet, sports, church, music, boy/girl scouts, 4-H club, part time jobs and
various types of trips and cooperative programs during the day with other home
school families. As a result, they gain opportunities to learn the values of cooperation,
tolerance, and respect for people of all ages and backgrounds. (Socialization? No problem!, 2003)
Research has shown that in comparison, the
widely held perception that public school children have many opportunities to
improve social skills is false. Holt (1981) explains that unless your public
schooled child belongs to a very small school, the chances of them being around
other people very different from themselves are very slim. Holt (1981) explains
how children tend to be grouped in similar circles leading to different paths from
the start of school. These circles narrow as they excel in school, diverting
off in a chosen career path, or academic path. Hence, according to Arai (1999),
the probability of exposure to other ways of life really does not happen in the
public school environment. Arai (1999) had discovered that public school
children have little opportunity to come in close connection with people who
are not of the same age or social status. This hinders some of the essential
socialization skills necessary for their adult lives (Arai, 1999).
As the home
school community gets older, critics wonder what type of citizens they are
becoming. Knowles (1993) performed a
study on 53 home schooled adults, aged around 32 years, to find out what type
of citizens a home-educated environment produced. As the norm for this age
group, two-thirds of these adults were married. He found that each person had
employment, and that everyone was free of any type of welfare or assistance.
Knowles
(1993) found that 40% had attended college and 15% of those individuals had
completed a graduate degree. Knowles
found that almost two-thirds of these adults were self-employed. He deduced
that due to the large number of self-employed adults, it only proved that a
home education enhances an individual’s self-reliance and independence skills.
Ninety-six percent of these individuals stated that they would want a home
education if they had a choice to do it all over again. Of the 53 adults
surveyed, more than 75% felt that home schooling improved their ability to
interact with the various level of society. (Knowles, 1993)
In support of the study done by Knowles (1993), the Home School Legal Defense Association
(Socialization? No Problem!, 2003) asked Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home
Education Research Institute to survey over 7,300 home educated adults to
determine if socialization was a problem for this community as they entered
adulthood. This has been the largest study known to date on the socialization
issue of home and public schooled individuals. (Socialization? No Problem!,
2003) This study showed how this community thrived in work related professions
that required great social skills. Many home-educated adults have continued to
serve in their community. The study showed how 71.1 % of home schooled adults
were doing such jobs as coaching our sports teams, volunteering around town,
and participating in church work. The study compared this to only 37% of adults
who volunteered in the entire U.S. population. Eighty-eight percent of home-educated
adults participated in organizations such as community groups, unions,
professional organizations and churches, as compared to fifty percent of all
U.S. adults. Ray recorded that 58.9% of home-educated
adults would consider themselves “very happy” with life, compared to only 27.6%
of the general U.S. felt this way. Ray, also, discovered that 73.2% found life
exciting, compared to 47.3% of the general U.S. population. Thus, according to
Ray, this study has shown how much of an advantage these adults had in society
for having an education at home (Socialization? No Problem!, 2003).
Home schooling has
continued to grow in spite of the criticism from members in U.S. society.
Several empirical research studies have shown how society’s anxiety over
socialization in home schooled children has no solid base. Research has shown that home
schooling offers a much higher opportunity for children to learn social skills
and to become well-regarded members of society. Studies have shown how anti-social behaviors manifest at a smaller rate
in home schooled children in comparison to publicly schooled children. Peer
pressure is not something that is a concern in this community due to the
foundations of socialization taught on a personal varied level. Research
studies show how isolation is not the norm, and that homeschooled children
participate in not only many activities, but also at an average above
conventionally schooled children. Research has shown how college preparation is
not a concern, and home schooled children are able to communicate quite well
with their peers and adults. Research has shown that homeschooling offers a
much higher opportunity for children to socialize and become well-regarded
members of society. Many studies do admit that
there is a limit to their research
since they can only study the home schooled families that volunteer for these
projects. The research done has found that no matter what critics say about
homeschooling, it would be largely incorrect to say that homeschoolers are at a
disadvantage in terms of socialization in comparison to their public schooled
peers.
Aiex, P.K. (1994). Home
schooling, socialization, and creativity in children. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED367040). Retrieved on March 12, 2009, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.
Arai, A.B. (1999). Home
schooling and the redefinition of citizenship. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n27.html
Basham, P., Merrifield, J.,
Hepburn, C. (2007). Home schooling: From the extreme to the mainstream (2nd
ed.). Vancouver, Canada: Fraser Institute.
Bates, J.E., Burks, V.S.,
Dodge, K.A., Fontaine, R., Lansford, J.E., Pettit, G., & Price, J. (2003).
Peer rejection and social information-processing factors in the development of
aggressive behavior problems in children. Child Development. 74(2)
374-393
Burton, C. (1986). Children’s
peer relationships. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED265936).
Retrieved March 10, 2009, from EBSCOHost ERIC database.
Chatham-Carpenter, A. (1992).
Home vs. public schoolers' relationships: Differences in social networks. Annual
meeting of the Speech Communication Association. Chicago, IL.
Graham, P. (2004). Why nerds
are unpopular. Wired, 12(12).
Holt, J. (1981). Teach
Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education. New York: Delacorte Press.
Katz, L. & McClellan, D.
(1993). Young children's social development: A checklist. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED356100). Retrieved on March 10, 2009, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/socialdev.html
Knowles, J.G. (1993)
Study-Home educated children not disadvantaged. University Record, University
of Michigan.
Koehler, L., Langness, T.,
Pietig, S., Stoffel, N., & Wyttenbach, J. (2002). Socialization skills in
home schooled children versus conventionally schooled children. Murphy
Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Socialize. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of
the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved June 14, 2009, from Dictionary.com
website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialize
Stough, L. (1992). Social and emotional status of home schooled
children and conventionally schooled children in West Virginia. Unpublished
Master’s thesis, University of West Virginia. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No.ED353079). Retrieved on March10, 2009, from EBSCOHost
ERIC database.
Socialization? No problem!
(2003) Home School Legal Defense Association. Purcellville,
VA. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Socialization.asp
U.S Department of Education
(2008). 1.5 million homeschooled students in the United States in 2007.
Retrieved on March 12, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf
Topic: Are home
schooled children at a disadvantage emotionally and socially compared to public
schooled children?
Aiex, N. (1994) Home
schooling and socialization of children. (ERIC Clearinghouse on
Reading English
and Communication. Bloomington, IN. No. ED372460)
Retrieved March 12, 2009 from ERIC
database.
This report covers varies different areas of
the research done on home vs. public
schooled children. The report starts off with
examples of how the home schooled
community has exploded in a ten
year time span. The report then covers some of
the main reasons parents have chosen to teach their kids at home. The
author then goes
into depth on the socialization studies that
illustrate home schooled children are on thesame level as public schooled
children when it comes to social skills. The author
concludes that more research based studies do need to be conducted. This
report
shows some of the social differences in the communities of home school
and public
school children that result in statistics showing that home schooled
children are not at a
disadvantage. This report has been reviewed
by the Department of Education and
reviewed for accuracy. (N. Aiex, 1994)
Aiex, P.K. (1994). Home schooling, socialization, and creativity in children.
(IES Institute of Education Sciences No. ED367040).
Retrieved March 12, 2009 from ERIC database.
This digest starts off by explaining the process in which home schooling
has become
prevalent in today’s society. The author then
explains how the stereotypes associated
with home schooling families are a false
portrayal of what an actual home schooling
family is like using research based studies as examples. Next, the
author describes the
studies that have shown how home schooled
children have exceeded in creativity
compared to their public schooled peers. This digest concludes with a
personal
interview with a home school family. The family explains their reasons,
methods, and
feelings on social and academic issues. The quality of this digest is
very vast in the
subject area of home schooling, and shows proven studies on the benefits
of this
choice by many parents. This digest is peer reviewed by the Board of Education and
cited in numerous credible reports.
(P.Aiex, 1994)
Arai, A.B. (1999, September) Home schooling and the Redefinition of Citizenship.
[electronic journal] Education Policy Analysis Archives (7) 27. Retrieved March
10, 2009
from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n27.html
The
author breaks down the arguments of citizenship, objectively, between public
school and home school children in four different areas. The breakdown
is based on
socialization, elitism, collage preparation,
and parental rights. The author starts with the
perspective from the public school. From this perspective, there is a
major lack of
citizenship in the home school community. The author then describes the
process of
how the definition of citizenship has changed over the years. Next, the
author shows
the perspective from the home school community on citizenship of their
children. This
perspective shows that good citizens do come
from home schooled environments. The
author continues with proven research that
shows how the home school community
has continued to raise children with good
citizenship skills. The author concludes with
the realization that both communities produce
productive citizens, but in different ways
of one another. This digest has many proven results from
research studies done on the
social aspect of children in both home and
school communities. This digest is from a
peer-reviewed scholarly electronic journal based at Arizona State
University.
(Arai, 1999)
Basham, P., Merrifield, J., Hepburn, C., (2007, October) Home
schooling: From the
extreme to the mainstream (2nd ed.). Vancouver, Canada: Fraser Institute.
Retrieved March 10, 2009 from
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/Homeschooling2007.pdf
This book is a compilation of many research based studies showing the
differences in
home schooled children compared to their
public and private schooled peers. Some
differences that are explained in this book include the social status of
the parents,
financial position the families are in, education background, and the
emotions’ of the
children being schooled. This book shows how many stereotypes of home
school
communities are false and misleading. The subject of cost comparisons is
brought up,
showing averages for the costs in teaching in both environments. This
book explains
some of the extra benefits home schooled children now have with the
advancement in
technology- such as the internet. The authors
do concede that more long term research
studies do need to be conducted to attain a better idea, but conclude
that the majority
of home schooled children are not at a disadvantage compared to their
public
schooled peers. I find that the variety of
research done will lead my paper to a
descriptive idea of what life is like for
these two communities. The accuracy of this
paper is peer reviewed and taught in many
courses across Canada.
(Basham, Merrifield, & Hepburn, 2007) (Basham et al., 2007)
Bates, J.E., Burks,
V.S., Dodge, K.A., Fontaine, R., Lansford, J.E., Pettit, G., & Price, J
. (2003, March/April) Peer rejection
and social information-processing factors in
the
development of aggressive behavior problems in children. Child
Development.
74(2) pp.374-393
This paper demonstrates four studies on anti-social behavior of
children. Two of the
four studies followed children for 3-4 years. The first study showed a
consistent
pattern of early aggression in children with a consistent peer rejection
as they grew
older. The second study showed how early rejection lead to an aggressive
nature as
they grew older. The last two of four studies done, reflected on the
first two studies,
showing how rejection leads to anti-social behavior. I plan to use this
paper in laying
background information leading to inclusion
of my topic question. The quality of this
source is peer reviewed, and placed in a scholarly publication.
(Bates, Burks, Dodge, Fontaine, Lansford, Pettit, & Price, 2003) (Bates et al., 2003)
Belfield, C. (2004, January) Home-schooling in the US. [(Occasional Paper No. 88)
[electronic version] National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education,
Teachers College: Columbia University. New York, NY
The author covers many subjects in this paper. The author starts off by
explaining
some of the reasons families’ home school their children. Then the
author of this paper
shows the methods used to “evaluate home-schooling in terms of freedom
of choice,
efficiency, equity, and social cohesion.” It is explained that the
results can not be
100% accurate due to the limitation of available home school family’s
available and
precise equality. The author explains in detail his evaluations of the
freedom of choice
and efficiency with in person and research
based testing. It is shown that in the area of
social cohesion, that most data
is based on previously done studies. This paper will
help to show how the home schooled community is not disadvantaged over
the
methods used to school them. The quality of this paper is very solid
with the
informative background, cited studies, and explanation that it is
difficult to have
accurate numbers due to the limited amount of home schooled families who
step
forward. (Belfield, 2004)
Burton, C. (1986) Children’s peer relationships. (ERIC Clearinghouse on elementary and
early childhood education Urbana IL. No.ED265936) Retrieved March 10, 2009 from
ERIC database
The author starts off by explaining the consequences of having poor
relationships with
ones peers. The author informs on how “critical are skills that are
needed to initiate
and maintain relationships and resolve social conflicts.” The author
then explains four
key factors in contribute to anti-social behavior and four strategies to
help overcome
the difficulties these children face. The author give adults ideas of
things they can do to
help the children along, but stresses that
the method need to be tailored to the child. I
will be to show how important having a social circle is in relation to
the overall well-
being of the child with some of
the research shown here. The quality of this paper is
peer reviewed and shows the
importance of peer relationships. (Burton, 1986)
Chatham-Carpenter, A. (1992 October 29-November 1) Home
vs. public schoolers'
relationships: Differences in social networks. Presented at annual meeting of the
Speech Communication Association, Chicago, IL. No.ED361784
Retrieved March 10, 2009 from ERIC database
This paper starts off with results from previous studies to show a
foundation for the
current study the author is performing. The research that the author
performed was
done on 21 homes schooled children and 20
public schooled children in Oklahoma.
The author reviewed the data gathered in regards to the frequency of
contact with
children their own age, various ages and adults. The author continued to
review data
on which types of relationships they had, and in what ways they were
supported, in
regards to overall closeness to parents and peers. The conclusion was
that home
school children interact with just as many people as public schooled
children, but did
show that being home schooled caused less support and peer influence by
public
school children. This paper will allow me to show the biggest
differences in the two
communities in relation to peer pressure and
over all support of the child. The quality
of this paper was reviewed by peers, presented at an annual meeting and
cited in many
resources. (Chatham-Carpenter, 1992)
Holt, J. (1981) Common objections to homeschooling. Teach
Your Own: A Hopeful Path
for Education. (Chapter 2) New York: Delacorte Press.
In this excerpt, Holt answers some of the most common questions and
concerns in
regards to home schooling. Some questions
that he covers are socialization issues,
conformity issues, and qualification issues. Holt then goes on to answer
some
questions about the days schedule, and if a
parent is qualified enough to teach. Holt
covers the subjects of patience, time and environments of some home
schoolers. This
Q & A session will allow me to show background
on current concerns and how to
eliminate those concerns. The quality of this
excerpt is from a widely known and
respected man whom is known as “The Father of Home Schooling". Holt
has
published many works, led the home school
community in court battles and presented
in many forums from community meetings to Universities. (Holt, 1981)
Katz, L. & McClellan, D. (1993) Young children's social development: A checklist. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Urbana, IL.
No.ED356100. Retrieved from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/socialdev.html
This digest informs how critical it is to teach the foundations of
"social competence”
before the age of six years old. This digest then informs on how the number
one
predictor of future adult relations directly
relate to how the children get along with their
peers, and not academics. This digest stresses the importance of
consistent testing in
both formal and informal settings to be sure the results are accurate.
The digest informs
that the child should fall into the “usually”
category to be not at risk. There is mention
of leeway based on cultural differences. We then see the list for “The
Social Attributes
Checklist”. This checklist will allow me to
show how the critical skills are based on
what parents do for their children in the home, before any type of
school is introduced.
The quality of this source is reviewed by The
Board of Education, used in educational
psychology courses. (Katz & McClellan, 1993)
Koehler, L., Langness, T., Pietig, S., Stoffel, N., &
Wyttenbach, J. (2002) Socialization skills
in home schooled children versus conventionally schooled children. Murphy
Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
This paper is in the perspective of an Occupational therapist. This
paper starts out
showing the conflictions in the current
studies available. This team set out to disprove
the conflicts. In a study of 7 home school
and 16 public school children using the
Social Sills Rating System (SSRS), they came upon results of home
schooled children
being at an advantage over public school
children socially. The study was voiced as
unbalanced, but was consistent with the
majority of studies done in this area. The
conclusion is that a much broader and specific study does need to be
done when
access to the home school community is more accessible. I intend to show
a different
perspective on the social issues from a
non-teacher based study. The quality of this
study is based on the academic influence of
the University of Wisconsin.
(Koehler, Langness, Pietig, Stoffel, & Wyttenbach, 2002) (Koehler et al, 2002)
Stough, L. (1992) Social and emotional status of home
schooled children and
conventionally schooled children in West Virginia.
Unpublished master's thesis,
University of West Virginia. No.ED353079. Retrieved
March 10, 2009 from ERIC database.
This study was done in West Virginia between 30 home schooled children
and 32
public schooled children. There were three
measurement tools used to define this
study. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-
Classroom Edition was used for
parental input. The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was used to measure
how the
student saw themselves in relation to their environment. The Kinetic
Drawing System
for Family and School was used to determine the emotional state and
their “perception
of relationships”. This study concludes there is very little difference
between schooling
environments in these areas. This study will
allow me to show a more in depth look at
how the two communities see the problems of
social aspects from a first person
viewpoint. The quality of this source is shown with the University association,
peer
reviewed, and cited in many reputable works. (Stough, 1992)
Socialization? No problem! (2003) Home School Legal Defense Association.
Purcellville, VA. Retrieved March 10, 2009 at http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Socialization.asp
This report shows some of the
results from the largest study done on the home school
community. Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research
Institute
performed a study of 7,300 adults whom were
home schooled as children. This article
shows statistical results in the areas of college admissions, job
placement, community
involvement, dedication to civic duties,
overall emotional health, and appreciation of
being a home school child. The results have shown there are many advantages
to
home school environments. This study, also,
showed how the stereotype of a home
schooled child being unsocial is false and misleading. This report will
be my main
based study for this is the largest and most accurate study done to date.
The
information this study gives will help to show a background, set the
answer to my topic
question, and base my facts with a proven
study. The quality of this source is of high
quality due to the background of Dr. Ray, his numerous appearances at
conferences,
and source of information for researchers,
home educators, attorneys, legislators,
policy makers, and media. (HSLDA, 2003)
U.S Department of Education (2008, December) 1.5
million homeschooled students in the
United
States in 2007. Issue brief. NCES 2009-030.
This brief shows in a detailed table the estimated number of home
schooled families in
the U.S. for the year of 2007. These numbers
are compared with the 1999 and 2003
reports showing the increase in numbers. This
brief then graphs out the reasons most
families choose to home school. The most
prevalent reason is shown to be the growing
concerns in the school environment. Religious conviction is then shown
to be a close
second to the reasons why families are home
schooling. I will be using this report to
show how fast home schooling is growing, and
background for the concern of social
issues. This source is of high quality due to the Department of
Education that writes
this report in an unbiased tone.
(Department of Education, 2008)
(DOE, 2008)
