Impact and Challenges of Homeschooling on the Socialization of Primary School-Aged Children in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examined the impact and challenges of homeschooling on the socialization of primary school-aged children in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper was to explore the impact and key challenges of homeschooling on the socialization of primary school-aged children in the Nigerian context. The paper acknowledged that homeschooling while offering a range of educational benefits such as the ability to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of the child and the potential for one-on-one attention, has its unique challenges for the social skills development of primary school children which include limited peer interaction, parental oversight and involvement, sociocultural factors among others. These challenges result to potential consequences on the socialization of the child such as social and emotional challenges which in turn affects the mental health and well-being of the child, academic and professional implications and so on. The paper also suggested strategies to enhance socialization in homeschooling such as promoting structured social opportunities, fostering peer interaction through technology, developing mentor relationships, encouraging extracurricular engagement amongst others. It was concluded that the success of these strategies could showcase how beneficial homeschooling can be, particularly during emergencies that tend to halt school attendance abruptly. This can even prompt advocating for the legalization of homeschooling practice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Homeschooling, Socialization, Primary school-aged children.