Date

8-2019

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Rebecca, M. Lunde

Keywords

Homeschool, Trait Emotional Intelligence, Social Isolation, Rural, Remote, Alaska

Disciplines

Education | Psychology

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and feelings of social isolation in children that homeschool in rural and remote areas of Alaska. The topic of social isolation has continued to be prominent in the homeschool research. Tenuous claims resulting from studies that lack methodological rigor and representative sample sizes have perpetuated the debate by producing disparate conclusions with inherent limitations. This study acknowledged, that given a particular set of circumstances, the likelihood that an individual will experience feelings of social isolation increases. The compounding of conditions such as geographic isolation, time spent without access to a peer group, and extremes in seasonal conditions, contribute to a reasonable concern about the susceptibility to feelings of social isolation for homeschoolers in rural and remote areas of the state. The purpose of this study was to add to the homeschooling research by investigating the relationship between TEI, as measured by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Children’s Short Form (TEIQue-CSF), and feelings of social isolation, as measured by the Children’s Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale, in a distinct population with practical application. This study found a statistically significant relationship between the variables, which should compel a change of focus from the unproductive social isolation debate, toward a more useful exploration of potential measures to prevent, mitigate, or alleviate feelings of social isolation and the associated harmful effects.

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