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Rachel Mc Cabe 

BSc [Hons] Applied Psychology

I am a soon to be graduate of the IADT Applied Psychology degree, specialising in the practice path of the course. I am interested in the areas of social psychology and educational psychology, which helped to formulate my idea for my thesis, on the impact schooling type had on college students academic self efficacy and social skills. Others areas i have an interest in include forensic psychology and abnormal psychology. I hope to progress into the area of abnormal psychology in the future, to become a clinical psychologist.

Home is Where the Learning is: An Investigation into Homeschooling in Ireland

The number of parents choosing to home school their children in Ireland slowly increasing. Research has indicated the benefits of home schooling can include better social skills, academic self efficacy, forming closer relationships with peers and better emotional regulation skills. Although the community of home schoolers in Ireland is small, there is still a profound lack of research exploring the benefits of home schooling in Ireland. This study aimed to explore the impacts schooling type had on students academic self efficacy and social skills in third level education.


Project Objectives

My thesis aimed to explore what impact schooling type (home schooling, traditional schooling or a mix of both) had on students' academic self efficacy and social skills when they got to third level education. Although there is sufficient evidence in the benefits of home schooling being conducted in America there is a lack of research in Ireland as to what the impacts home schooling can have on children, specifically compared to students who were traditionally schooled. This study aimed to fill the gap in the literature specifically in relation to Irish based research, and to explore the potential differences in homeschooling and traditional schooling.


Project Outcomes

The expected results of this project were that home schooled children would have higher social skills and higher levels of academic self efficacy. However, these variables were not found to be significantly effected by students schooling type. Students who were home schooled and traditionally schooled showed no difference in their academic self efficacy scores and their social skills.The findings of this study will have relevance for parents who may wish to home school their children and possibly researchers who are also interested in the area of home schooling as a choice of schooling in Ireland. With the growth of this community in Ireland, hopefully more research may be conducted in the area, and more definitive results can be suggested.

Applied Psychology
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