Former Homeschooled Students' Perceptions of Social Skills Attainment

摘要

The literature on homeschooling is profuse. Everything from the origins of homeschooling, to test score statistics, to criticisms and stereotypes of homeschooling have been researched and written about. However, there is a lack of research on the perceptions of homeschooled students themselves, and especially of former homeschoolers who are now in college. These former homeschoolers have the ability to look back at their time spent homeschooling and are able to analyze the various aspects of homeschooling, in particular their social skills attainment. Social skills attainment in former homeschool students was the focal point of this study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to ascertain former homeschooled students' perceptions of whether or not their social skills (cooperation, assertion, self-control, peer relationships, and academic social skills) were acquired during their years of homeschooling.;Data was collected from former homeschooled students (now attending a university) using a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. Pattern-matching was used to identify patterns and themes in the data. Overall, the findings found that although former homeschooled students were aware of society's presuppositions and criticisms of homeschooling, they were not significantly affected by them. Furthermore, participants' perceptions regarding their social skills attainment were confident and positive. Participants exhibited evidence of cooperation, assertion, self-control, positive peer relations, and academic social skills. They were optimistic about their ability to engage in meaningful relationships with others. They felt that they were prepared to interact with people from diverse backgrounds, and they felt that although peer groups are useful in academics, they are not crucial. Themes that presented themselves in the findings were strong family units, independent learning, and extracurricular activities.;The major conclusion of this research was that parents are highly influential in their child's social skills attainment. The emphasis that parents place on their children's interaction with others is directly correlated to how equipped their children will be in maintaining relationships in the real world. If parents shelter their homeschooling children to the point of isolation, their social skills may suffer. If, however, parents are determined to teach their children social skills by creating opportunities for them to engage in social activities with others during the course of homeschooling, then the children will be better prepared for life post-homeschooling.