Do homeschoolers lack opportunities for socialization?
Few criticisms annoy homeschool parents as much as the “socialization question.” Their typical response is to argue that the type of socialization that public schools typically offer is hardly the most desirable or useful sort for later life. Furthermore, they contend, homeschoolers get to interact more with the full range of ages—rather than almost exclusively with their peers—in a greater variety of learning settings throughout the community. It’s true that opportunities abound for all but the most geographically isolated homeschoolers to have significant, face-to-face interactions with those outside their family, including same-age peers. As with questions about academic performance of homeschooling, however, comprehensive empirical evidence about socialization is unavailable. Homeschool advocates routinely cite one particular study—a 2003 report by Brian Ray, commissioned by HSLDA—as evidence that homeschool graduates are engaged citizens, involved in their communities, and leading
