Richard G. Medlin
Professor of Psychology
Dr. Medlin grew up in DeLand and attended Stetson as an undergraduate, majoring in psychology and participating in the Honors Program. He graduated summa cum laude and received the Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award in 1975. After working at a school for developmentally disabled children, he entered the Developmental Psychology program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a Ph.D. in 1982. Dr. Medlin returned to Stetson as a visiting instructor in the Psychology Department and eventually became a full professor in 1996. For several years, he also taught a seminar for Master of Arts in Counseling students at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.
Outside the classroom, he served as the faculty sponsor of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, wrote articles for the magazine Homeschooling Today, and played basketball at every opportunity. Since 2002, chronic illness has limited his activities, but he now edits the Psychology Department newsletter and continues to do research on homeschooled children.
Education
- Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- B.A., Stetson University
Research
- Dr. Medlin has been studying the cognitive and social development of homeschooled children since 1993. His review article "Homeschooling and the question of socialization" is cited in a variety of journal articles, books and other publications, and hundreds of Web sites in many different languages refer to it.
- So far, Dr. Medlin's research has shown that homeschooled children's scores on achievement tests are much higher than the average for students attending public schools, and also higher than would be predicted from their IQ scores alone. They are confident in their academic skills and enjoy reading more (and math less) than other children. Their creativity is well above the average for public school students, whether measured by drawing pictures, telling stories or solving math puzzles.
- Homeschooled children also do well on tests of social skills, such as cooperation, assertiveness, empathy and self-control. Their ability to think through moral problems, their intentions to act unselfishly, and their positive social behaviors such as sharing, helping, and complying are at least as good as those of other children, and are probably better.
- Homeschooling parents are aware of most of their children's learning style preferences—the specific ways in which they learn best—and, for some of these preferences, the more accurate the parents' perception, the higher the children's achievement scores. In his most recent study, Dr. Medlin informed parents of their children's learning style preferences and how to teach in ways that complemented them, then tested children to see if their achievement scores and enjoyment of learning improved.
Courses
- Introduction to Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Childhood Behavior Disorders
- Senior Project
Publications
- Medlin, R. G. (in press). "Homeschooling and the question of socialization revisited." Peabody Journal of Education.
- Sharick, H. M. and Medlin, R. G. (in press). "Compliance in homeschooled children." Home School Researcher.
- Medlin, R. G. (2010). "Learning style and academic achievement in homeschooled children." Home School Researcher, 25 (4), 1-9.
- Medlin, R. G. (2007). "Homeschooled children's social skills." Home School Researcher, 17 (1), 1-8.
- Kingston, S. T. and Medlin, R. G. (2006). "Empathy, altruism, and moral development in homeschooled children." Home School Researcher, 16 (4), 1-10.
- Medlin, R. G. and Blackmer, R. E. (2000). "Academic intrinsic motivation in homeschooled children." Home School Researcher, 14 (2), 1-6.
- Medlin, R. G. (2000). "Homeschooling and the question of socialization." Peabody Journal of Education, 75 (1,2), 107-123.
