Does Home Schooling Improve Creative Thinking and Social Competencies among Children? Home Schooling in Israel.

Homeschooling is on the rise in many Western countries, reflecting families' growing preference for teaching their children at home, in a family environment. This increasing trend has a social derivative, as learning at home may develop alternative competencies. The objective of this research is to examine the effectiveness of homeschooling by analyzing the levels of creative thinking and social competencies among homeschoolers and by comparing these abilities to those of traditional learners. Participants included 549 schoolchildren between the ages of 8 and 12 (280 homeschoolers and 269 public school students). The participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires: 1) the Creative Thinking Drawing Production (TCT-DP) questionnaire to evaluate their creative thinking, and 2) the Social Competencies Rating System (SSRS) questionnaire to evaluate their social competences. The findings of the multiple regression analyses indicate that homeschoolers exhibit higher level of creative thinking and higher social competencies than traditional learners. Policy implications highlight the need to develop creative thinking and social competencies among traditional learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]