Homework is effective, if it’s the right kind
I f there is a more controversial topic in public education than the debate about the value of homework, I have yet to discover it. Homework has become a topic of even greater controversy than report cards, the role of technology or how math should be taught.
Volumes of research support Alfie Kohn, author and lecturer on progressive education, in his conclusion that there is “no consistent linear … relation between the amount of time spent on homework and the child’s level of academic achievement.”
But there is just as much research that claims the opposite.
Then there is the different discussion about whether kids, after school, should be playing outside, getting some exercise, not back at a desk doing homework, but that’s a different discussion.
It is true the amount of homework assigned to students generally increases as students move upward through the grades. One of the reasons for this would be that from Grades 8 through 12, depending on the way a school is organized, a student might meet with from four to six teachers each day. These teachers are not consulting with each other about how much homework each teacher assigns, and that becomes a problem for the student.
Homework might serve different purposes at the elementary and secondary levels. Practice homework, the most common type at the elementary level, is assigned to reinforce material presented in the classroom and to help students master individual skills.
In a study of homework in high schools, researchers found three other types of the most common homework. First, there is “preparation” homework, assigned to introduce students to material the teacher will present in the future.
Second, “extension” homework asks students to apply previously learned skills to different contexts, and third, “integration” homework requires students to produce a product, such as a social-studies or science project, by applying multiple skills.
Where do long-suffering parents fit into all this?
A 2001 review by the Harvard Family Research Project suggests that sometimes parents become involved in homework because they believe they should. They believe that their involvement is invited, expected and valued by school personnel.
The problem here can be confusion of roles. Parents can help most, suggests the Harvard project, by not assuming the teacher’s role.
Parents often assume they can contribute by establishing a quiet nondistracting place for homework, but some kids prefer to be doing homework out in the kitchen where things are happening. Whatever works should be the guiding principle.
The biggie for helping kids with homework is helping them learn to organize their time. Faced with a mountain of work to be done in the evening and teacher deadlines to be met, some kids might react negatively and give up. That’s when tempers flare. Helping kids learn to allocate time will help them meet deadlines.
Professor emeritus Linda Cameron conducted the first Canada-wide study on how much homework Canadian kids are getting and what parents think of that homework.
She found that an important theme throughout the study was that homework-related stress at home between kids and parents was counter-productive and produced more stress at school.
If the amount or kind of homework is creating significant stress on family life, the school needs to know about that.
Paul Bennett, an adjunct professor of education at St. Mary’s University, agrees that excessive homework that causes fatigue or stress in families can do more harm than good. He counsels moderation and reminds parents: “Homework teaches responsibility at a very early age — work habits instilled at the earliest ages are really critical and that homework is a piece of trying to develop that in kids.”
Perhaps the final word, for now at least, comes from a 2009 report from the Canadian Council for Learning entitled Homework Helps But Not Always: “The homework debate is complex, and research examining homework’s effect on student achievement is varied.
“In short, homework is more likely to be effective and improve academic outcomes when assignments are engaging, relevant and meaningful … Thoughtful consideration needs to be given … to the amount and nature of homework assigned, particularly for students at the elementary and junior high-school levels.”