Effect of Homeschooling on Social Development - Term Paper Example

EFFECT OF HOMESCHOOLING ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Student’s Name Course University City (State) Date Abstract Home schooling has been a traditional educational method until recently. Children acquired education from home at a time when public schools were not a common occurrence. In developed countries, home schooling is quickly rising and rebranding itself as a well-respected and legitimate method of educating children. However, homeschooling has several drawbacks. Children who attend home school programs spend most of their isolated from the real world. In essence, they need to build up on their socialization skills that would assist them in learning how to interrelate. Social development affects and offers exposure to common social situations to a child. While a community may not be culturally or religiously diverse, children attending public schools still acquire more exposure to diversity as compared to home schooled children. Effect of Homeschooling on Social Development Introduction It is a norm for parents and guardians to consider a number of factors before sending their child to school. They often need the facts regarding each option they have when considering virtuous educational designs. An important consideration they also make relates to the outcomes of using certain types of schooling paradigms. The argument for public schools states that children get more benefits when they attend public schools. Opponents of homeschooling argue that children going through home schools are often socially deprived and backward. According to Koehler, for example, children attending home school programs are more socialized (2002). Although research is limited, homeschooling adversely affects social development, as it reduces the ability of a learner to interact with peers. Home schooling had been a traditional educational method until recently. Children used to acquire education from home settings at a time when public schools were not a common occurrence. Public schools started being in existence from the mid-nineteenth century (Medlin 2011). Views regarding home schooling, on the other hand, started from a small uprising in the few past decades. Home schooling is an unconventional method of educating the current children. As an education method, home schooling has received both dispute and support. In the past, home schooled children were rare but, currently, they are increasingly becoming mainstream. In developed countries, home schooling is quickly rising and rebranding itself as a well-respected and legitimate method of educating children. However, many people in the society still question the negative effects created by home schooling. The significant question a parent gets when home schooling his or her child is if the child gets adequate socialization. The concern is valid since parents primarily teach children. Learners acquire knowledge at their own homes where they do not have exposure to their age mates on a daily basis. Opponents and proponents of the homeschooling debate present passionate arguments regarding why socializing is either achieved or not. Based on various research on the socialization of homeschooled children, it is evident that children do not acquire enough socialization when restricted only to schooling in their homes. According to Romanowski, through a combination of various external activities like home school groups, community groups, summer school, community college, and summer camps, socialization will be achieved (2006). Therefore, the socialization achieved by the home schooled children who undertake the external activities may not be compared to the socialization levels acquired by the traditional school environments (Koehler 2002). Since the number of parents deciding to choose home schooling for their children is rising significantly, this paper will consider the arguments against and for home schooling. Children need to build up on their socialization skills that would assist them in learning how to live together. Social development also affects and offer’s exposure to common social situations to the child. Literature and research show varied opinions between the two types of education. It specifies that parents make choices based on their personal needs and circumstances. Various countries and states provide different requirements and guidelines regarding teaching methods implemented in home schools (Romanowski 2006). In home schooling, the parent is responsible for the resources and actual teaching of the student. The parent may teach the child or use special home schooling services offered at increased fees. Socialization Socialization is described as a process in which children starting from infancy get the accumulated knowledge, beliefs, and habits of a society through training and education for adult status. Essentially, socialization is an individual’s ability to relate to the outside world. Both sides of the home schooling debate believe the path they choose is the best method of acquiring socializing skills (Koehler 2002). However, the differences in the home schooling debate are centered on the qualification of socialization and the methods used to obtain the socialization skills. Parents who choose homeschooling for their children believe the children have all opportunities to acquire the necessary socialization skills used to interact with the rest of the world (Aasen 2010). They assert that the children are more socialized as compared to children attending traditional public schools. The parents are also strongly against the unconstructive socialization that children acquire from traditional school environments. Some parents claim that the socialization process in traditional school environments entails general peer pressure, immoral discussions, teasing, gossip, and bullying. Therefore, choosing home schooling is the best method of protecting their children from such behavior. Parents of home schooled children emphasize that children acquire socialization skills by engaging in exterior activities and through adult interactions. As a result, children do not need the unconstructive peer pressure acquired in traditional school environments. Opponents of home schooling state that children cannot acquire socialization skills in isolated home schooling environments. Based on their view, home schooled children are exposed to sheltered lives that do not provide group dynamics and peer pressure, which are important in providing coping skills (Karniol 2010). The children would also not be ready to enter effectively into the real world setting regarding group settings and interactions. Opponents of home schooling also state that children in home school settings are not exposed to beliefs and competing ideas provided in group settings. Children attending home school are only exposed to beliefs and ideas from their parents, which leads to a denial of the opportunity to acknowledge and accept beliefs and ideas of other individuals. Home Schooling and Social Development A search on the Internet provides various articles from parents who state that their children attended home school programs and do not have any social development issues (Cole 2008). They claim that the children did not get any problems when integrating into the world. However, the articles have a specific inherent bias, since the parents of the home schooled children are the significant proponents of the debate. Similar searches provide articles where adults who went through home school programs feel that they missed something important in the traditional school environments. Children need socialization skills that ensure they are ready for the outside world. Children who attend home school programs spend a part of their time isolated from the real world. The isolation ensures they are not exposed to various group dynamics and the capability of developing coping skills (Murphy 2014). Generally, children need to thrive in three related areas: home, school, and peers. Home schooling environments combine the three related aspects into one component, which would be confusing and difficult for children. Parents whose children are in home school environments quickly point out that issues raised by people against home schooling are misguided. They claim that home schooled children are better prepared for real world situations since they have hands on experiences and learn through emulating adults instead of their peers (Marcovici 2014). Such parents have a narrow idea regarding the meaning of social development. No parent would like his or her child to go through immoral exposure or bullying. However, the real world is filled with circumstances that parents cannot protect their children from. When children are exposed to peer-pressure and bullying, they learn how to relate with their peers and solve issues, which may be similar to circumstances they will face in the real world. Home schooled children who imitated their parents would ultimately turn to their age group in the real world. Bullying and peer pressure are not just traditional school environment occurrences (Koehler 2002). They also occur throughout an individual’s life like pecking orders and corporate politics. Children should be aware of how to deal with various situations throughout their lives. Many home schooled children entering the real world acknowledge the various difficulties associated with their version of socialization. Children from home schooled environments have developed socially, but the development is restricted to other children and adults in the home school program (Medlin 2011). While the children may be productive, involved, and active people, merging with children from traditional school environments will be hard for them. Children from home school environments must begin learning how to interact with children from other schooling environments after being cut off from their friends. Home schooled children also have issues when they get actual social issues with their age mates from the real world. When growing up, the children never got an opportunity to practice dealing with interpersonal issues. For children from home schooled environments, leaving home provides the first opportunity where they form new friendships (Murphy 2014). Children in traditional school environments would have dealt with such issues and would know to handle them. Children from home school environments are not exposed to the bad and good traits that should be avoided or looked for in specific situations. Another reason why the children from home school environments do not acquire adequate social development is due to the inadequate diversity they have access to in their settings. One of the significant reasons behind choosing the home schooling environment is a desire to offer moral or religious instructions to children (Karniol 2010). However, such a desire to offer moral or religious instructions often leads to insulated children who do not have knowledge of the exterior world. Some home school proponents state that most public schools and communities are not culturally diverse, which ensures children attending the schools do not get exposure to diverse cultures (Aasen 2010). While a community may not be culturally or religiously diverse, children attending religious and public schools still acquire more exposure to diversity when compared to home schooled children. Children in home school environments do not receive high levels of diversity due to their insulated homes since parents have full control over the people who socialize with the children (Karniol 2010). Parents in home school environments dictate the specific individuals who encounter their children. When compared to children in public schools, home schooled children may lack tolerance, acceptance, and compassion. The lack of exposure creates a major concern where the children may be unable to accept and appreciate individuals coming from different ethnicities and cultures. Children in home school environments would also have a hard time when they join the learning classroom environment. The children may be forced to learn with other children when they get to the college level. Children are deprived participation in-group settings during their home school environments. Many classes are direct and offer one-on-one tutoring, which differs from a classroom setting that they will meet while in college. Colleges are filled with individuals who are religiously and culturally different. Children from home school environments do not have the social skills needed to cooperate and interact with individuals who are not like them (Karniol 2010). Children in traditional public school settings spend time in the school and community more as compared to children in homeschool settings. They interact with individuals from different cultures, ages, and backgrounds, which ensure they quickly learn how they can appreciate and accept diversity. Enhancing Social Development in Home Schooling Children in home school environments are not exposed to adequate socialization with their age mates and adults. However, various opportunities exist that could be used in ensuring the children gain exposure to other children, which ensures effective and efficient socialization. Examples of alternatives entail community activities like scouts, sports, and theater, volunteering activities, summer school, summer camps, and home school support groups (Cole 2008). Joining a home-school support group provides both the children and parents with peers and individuals with similar ideologies. Children get to interact with other children while parents get to share ideas regarding home schooling with other parents. In the United States, parents can locate support groups in their city and county through government set websites (Aasen 2010). While the support groups offer an interaction option, most support groups are religion centered, which might be a detraction for some families due to non-religious reasons and an attraction for other families. Communities also provide various options for home schoolchildren to acquire socialization exposure with their peers. The exposure opportunities include theater, music, scouts, and sports. A quick, effective, and efficient method of enhancing a child’s exposure to socializing is signing him or her up for a youth sports team. Athletic opportunities offered by communities are adequate for young children in home school environments. Participating in traditional public school activities would entail meeting specific requirements like residency and age requirements. In addition, most communities also offer arts and crafts, dance lessons, and music lessons. Home schooled children can be encouraged to participate in any of the activities depending on their passion and interest. Success or failure of a child is directly connected to the quality of education and care the parent provides. When education and care quality within the home excel, the child would also excel in return (Koehler 2002). When the care and quality offered is inadequate and poor, the child would suffer and not get the education he or she deserves. Parents must enjoy their children’s company. They must consider their passion for specific topics or things and recognize children will be foolish at times. They must respect the children’s’ curiosity while fostering all their inquiries. Home schooling is a time-consuming and tentative task that should be considered seriously for a child to benefit from the program. Limitation The study population for the home schooling program is limited. Some research shows that children who went through home schooling are socially deprived while other research shows that children in home schooling programs had higher self-concepts when compared to conventionally schooled children (Koehler et al. 2002). Other studies showed how children from home schooled environments were more socialized and mature compared to children from conventional programs. The research used to show the difference between conventional schooling systems and home schooling systems implemented unequal sample sizes, small sample sizes that ensured random samples were unavailable, and many parents were biased. More research on effects of home schooling programs on children is required to get accurate information on whether it is negative or positive. Many effects discussed above use specific research, which may not be adequate in showing conclusive arguments for or against home schooling and social development. Deeper studies on the topic are needed since home schooling programs are constantly increasing, specifically in developed countries. Parental bias may be determined through observation and questionnaires instead of relying on the parent’s perception. Conclusion Debate on the topic regarding home schooling or conventional public schooling may continue for some time. Significant studies on schooling programs illustrate that they provide negative outcomes to children, specifically on social development. Since children do not mingle with other peers, they end up failing to get exposure on adequate group dynamics (Marcovici 2014). The children will not get the right methods of coping with specific occurrences that will happen in their life after they leave their home to join their age groups. They will start learning how to accept diversity while cooperating with individuals with different attitudes. References Aasen, SH 2010, "New Followers of an Old Path - Homeschoolers", The Journal for Quality and Participation, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 12-14. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/219160428/246218B73654E0EPQ/1?accountid=45049. [October 11, 2016] Cole, RW 2008, Educating everybody's children: Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners, ASCD. Available from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107003/chapters/Educating-Everybody's-Children@-We-Know-What-Works%E2%80%94And-What-Doesn't.aspx. [October 11, 2016]. Karniol, R., 2010. Social development as preference management: How infants, children, and parents get what they want from one another. Cambridge University Press. Koehler, LD, Langness, TJ, Pietig, SS, Stoffel, NL & Wyttenbach, JL 2002, ‘Socialization skills in home schooled children versus conventionally schooled children’, Journal of Undergraduate Research, pp.469-74. Available from https://www.uwlax.edu/urc/jur-online/PDF/2002/Koehler_Langness_Pietig_Stoffel_and_Wyttenbach.pdf. [October, 11 2016] Marcovici, M 2014, Homeschooling useful alternative or damaging deviation? Books on Demand, Norderstedt. Medlin, RG 2000, ‘Home schooling and the question of socialization’, Peabody Journal of Education, vol. 75, no. 1, pp.107-123. Murphy, J 2012, Homeschooling in America: Capturing and assessing the movement, Corwin Press. Romanowski, MH 2006, ‘Revisiting the common myths about homeschooling’, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, vol. 79, no. 3, pp.125-129. Appendix Read More