Home-schooled kids don't lag in social skills.

Youngsters taught at home by parents don't lag in social development when compared with those of the same age who attended conventional schools, a University of Florida study says.

The study compared behaviors and social development test scores of two groups of 70 children ages 8 to 10. The study found no big difference between the two groups in self-concept and assertiveness as measured by the social development tests. However, videotapes of the children at play showed that youngsters who were taught at home by their parents had consistently fewer behavioral problems, according to psychotherapist Larry Shyers, who did the study for his doctoral dissertation at the University's College of Education.

He said the study suggests that children taught at home behave better because they tend to imitate their parents, while traditionally schooled children model themselves after other children in the classroom. "Traditionally schooled children were considerably more aggressive, loud and competitive than homeschooled children of the same age," he said.

Home-schooled children score as high or higher on standardized achievement tests than children in conventional schools, said Shyers.

--Summarized from the Ann Arbor News, 7/22/92