Homeschooling and Socialization

I got an A on this paper for Psychology 202 so I figured, since it is an important topic to homeschoolers, I would post it here as well. I touched on the stereotype that homeschoolers tend to be lacking in socialization. I liked my paper, I tried to keep it balanced. The topic is not personally up for debate by myself. It's just something I think about. Here you go: (it's 5 pages long).

Homeschooled Children and the Stereotype of Socialization

Homeschooling stereotypes often bring to mind children holed up in houses with their mothers for hours on end. The child is speculated never to see peers, get outside, or experience life beyond the confines of his parent’s values. These are among the most common stereotypes of homeschoolers but it is by no means an exhaustive list. There are perhaps as many stereotypes surrounding homeschooling as there are homeschoolers themselves. Parents may be accused to be overprotective, religious conservatives while their children are sheltered, social misfits unable to handle the competition of the real world. In fact, the most asked question concerning homeschooled children may be one of socialization, especially if judging by the 287,000 articles on the topic retrieved from a simple Google search on the subject.

This homeschooling misunderstanding raised by critics often comes from good intentions but an incorrect definition. Many wonder when children socialize with peers, which is a different topic altogether than socialization, the learning of cultural norms (Medlin, 2000). Others, however, do bring up the issue of socialization in a legitimate context and definition (Medlin, 2000). Both socializing and socialization are important topics, not to be disregarded as insignificant issues in the lives of the home educated. The issue at hand is whether the social lives of homeschoolers are any less rich and fulfilling than their traditionally schooled counterparts and does socialization as a whole outside the traditional school setting prepare children to be successful in adequately navigating their culture.

Homeschoolers do socialize, they do have friends, and they do take part in extracurricular activities. Chathem-Carpenter looked at the peer interactions of 12-18 year olds over a one month period. On average, the homeschoolers spoke with 49 individuals and the public schooled children with 56, a difference that is not statistically significant (as cited in Medlin, 2000). Both rated their interactions as meaningful but the public schooled children spoke with peers more often and had more personal conversations (Medlin, 2000). Though the public schooled children saw and interacted with more peers, they generally only had three to five close friends (Medlin, 2000). Furthermore, the homeschoolers did not feel their social lives were lacking and few listed “having few friends” as a disadvantage to homeschooling (Medlin, 2000).

As a homeschooling mother to three young children, I find our extracurricular and social outlets to be numerous in this area. As homeschooling becomes more accepted and mainstream there are more groups to join, activities to attend and friends to meet. It does take parental effort, perhaps more so than for the parents of public schooled children, who tend to use school resources for social outlets (Medlin, 2000). Yet, many surveys since the 1980s have found that almost all homeschoolers take part in extracurricular activities outside the home, with one study finding that homeschoolers participate in more activities than schooled children (Medlin, 2000). I find this could very well be true for my family. With the Internet as a valuable resource, access to activities becomes readily available. I am in my local secular homeschool group, one of many groups in my area, which offers a range of weekly activities to participate in. There are many homeschool specific extracurricular classes available outside a group setting, as well. Socializing with neighborhood kids who drop by after school or play dates I have arranged with friends who are driving distance happens multiple times a week. I feel there is much more organization and effort on my part to allow my children both structured and unstructured time to socialize versus when they were in school last year, but the effort is well worth it. Both my oldest children have personal friends they enjoy seeing and hobbies they have time for, but even with our active life, homeschooling allows us downtime as a family.

Given those studies between homeschooled children and public schooled children suggest that homeschoolers receive quality social time on par with traditionally schooled children, it brings up the question of socialization itself. It seems homeschooling families are successfully immersing their children in the values and expectation of the culture without the help of the public school system.

The American Heritage Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (n.d.) defines socialization as:
“Learning the customs, attitudes, and values of a social group, community or culture. Socialization is essential for the development of individuals who can participate and function within their societies, as well as for ensuring that a society’s cultural features will be carried on through new generations. Socialization is most strongly enforced by family, school, and peer groups, and continues throughout and individual’s lifetime.”

As the above definition implies, socialization is important in development and continues outside of a traditional school setting well after childhood. Even so, superintendents in schools have many misconceptions regarding homeschooling families and socialization (Medlin, 2000). Among them is the myth that parents wish to ensure their children’s’ ignorance and a belief that communities at large are evil (Medlin, 2000). Homeschooling parents, however, refute these claims, asserting that socialization best happens in a multiage setting under the guidance of parents and family (Medlin, 2000). In these young, formative, impressionable years, I feel it is important for children to be guided and influenced by parents and other strong adult role models, and this is easy to achieve in my decision to homeschool. In fact, studies have concluded that families’ imparting their own values onto children is not inferior to public school values (Medlin, 2000). To go one step further, albeit risk bias, would be to infer children are better socialized by parents rather than peers (Shaw, n.d.). Studies suggest that when children are with same age peers all day long (as when in a school setting) they compete with them, trying to act and dress like them (Shaw, n.d.). In other words, they become immersed in a lateral peer oriented culture separate from the adult oriented world. But in a parent oriented environment they may be freer to be themselves (Shaw, n.d.). Since they are loved unconditionally and needed in a family, the result may be an independent thinker who is less influenced by what peers think (Shaw, n.d.).

In fact, in one survey of homeschoolers, 2/3 grew up to be self-employed, suggesting that homeschooling fosters self reliance (Moitozo, 2003). In another study looking at sixty homeschoolers, sixty public schooled children and sixty private schooled children who all attended the same college, the homeschoolers came out on top in all leadership areas (Medlin, 2000). It seems homeschoolers are, if anything, receiving better socialization but reasons for this trend are mixed. One theory speculates that, because they are not peer grouped, homeschoolers learn to get along with everyone; another indicates that the individualized learning environment might foster a greater range of knowledge (Medlin, 2000). Finally, it could be that the secure, parent oriented relationships found in many homeschooling families fosters future resiliency (Medlin, 2000). Truth be told, most homeschooling studies suffer from a slew of problems including small sample size, subjective interpretations and no guiding theory (Medlin, 2000).

However, there is one study outlining the socialization of homeschoolers and public schooled children that is frequently cited as being one of the most complete and striking studies to date (as cited in Medlin, 2000). Shyers’ study compared seventy homeschoolers and seventy public schooled children, all eight to ten years old. They were put into groups based on schooling and observers were blind to which group they were watching. Observers on three trials found the public school children loud, competitive and aggressive, while the homeschoolers were polite and cooperative (as cited in Medlin, 2000). Observers also noticed that homeschoolers introduced themselves to each other and sought common interests (as cited in Medlin, 2000). They were gracious game losers and were more likely to exchange numbers for future contact (as cited in Medlin, 2000). The differences between the two groups were so pronounced that Shyers proposed that homeschooling better socializes children than traditional schooling (as cited in Medlin, 2000).

I find it virtually impossible not to provide my children with constant socialization. They accompany me in my daily activities, be it running an errand or meeting a friend. Because of this, I expect a certain level of maturity and behavior from them I would not anticipate had they been accompanied constantly by same age peers in lieu of myself. Because of my constant interaction with them as we go about our daily life, it becomes impossible not to impart cultural values to them, whether we are at the grocery store, a playgroup or chatting with a neighbor. Hence, the results of Shyers’ study seem unsurprising. I would not imply that these values cannot be achieved in a school setting, but they can certainly be achieved in a stable homeschooling family.

A far cry from the stereotype, homeschooled children are engaged in society. More and larger studies on topic of homeschooling and socialization need to be done, especially those touching on the growing number of minority homeschoolers. However, with homeschool students increasing in number every year and the choice becoming more mainstream, it is heartening to see many smaller studies show homeschooled children as both socializing with their peers and integrating into society as successful adults.

(references not included so no one feels a need to use as their own paper! :) )