Meanings of homework and implications for practice

Theory Into Practice, Summer, 2004 by Pamela M. Coutts

Many of the discussions in both the popular and academic press assume that the key participants and stakeholders have the same understandings about homework and its meanings. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, in the widely reported tension and conflict in families about homework completion, one contributing factor may be the meanings students, parents, and educators ascribe to homework and the purposes it fulfills. This article examines how research has considered these varying meanings and perceptions and how they may impact student attitudes and behaviors toward homework. The article argues that the positive outcomes of homework frequently cited by parents (such as motivational, academic, and life skills benefits) are less recognized by children, especially elementary students. In most cases, the mismatch is likely to be between the student focus on proximal costs of homework and the adult focus on long-term benefits. The implications of these understanding for practitioners is then discussed.

I get nothing out of homework. I know everything that's in it and it's boring and a waste of time. It would be better if you actually learned something from homework. You only learn things at school so what's the point of doing it again at night? You've had six hours at school. It means I can't ride my bike and play outside with my friends. (Mike, Grade 5)

The benefits are when he goes to high school, he's already used to doing it. It's time management. He knows he has to do it and he has to take the consequences if he doesn't. He's not too young to have that responsibility. It's a life lesson that there are things you have to do on a daily basis whether you really want to do them or not. It also reinforces what they've learned during the day. (Mike's mother)

NOT ALL CHILDREN RESENT HOMEWORK. Indeed, some parents report their preschooler requests homework, either real or pretend, in an effort to emulate their older siblings. They see it as work and as signifying a more grown-up status. Why then does homework frequently become a chore and a source of dispute by the time children are in middle school? One contributing factor is that parents and children often hold very different views about the topic. As a consequence, the opportunities for conflict and resistance arise when opinions expressed about homework's purpose and benefits are as discrepant as those held by Mike and his mother.

Homework itself, as other articles in this issue illustrate, is a complex issue. There is tremendous variety in its practices, in the type and amount of work assigned, where and when it is completed (with or without parental involvement), and whether or not it is graded by teachers. All of these factors may be linked to the young student's attitudes to homework. Within this article, however, I am focusing on one particular aspect: views about the purpose of homework and the likelihood of parent-child agreement about those views. Throughout, as above, I will illustrate the theoretical issues with quotations from a study in progress of interviews with Australian parents and their children about the purpose, costs, and benefits of homework.

The Adult Viewpoint: "It's Life--We Have to Do Things"

   Homework is to teach the child later in life they
   have responsibility and they have to be disciplined
   to get things done. It's life--we have to do things. It
   teaches the child to think for themselves. It's a stepping
   stone to future education and how the system
   works. To get good marks and get into University
   they have to put the work in. (Father of Jane, Grade
   4)

The research literature (Epstein, 1988) recognizes a number of established reasons why teachers assign homework. These can be grouped as (a) academic functions (e.g., to complete unfinished work, revise, drill, consolidate, prepare, expand on concepts introduced in the classroom); (b) more general socialization purposes (e.g., to encourage responsibility, study skills, or time management)what Epstein and Van Voorhis (2001) call "personal development;" (c) home/school/community communication; and (d) school and system requirements (e.g., to ease time constraints in a crowded curriculum). Obviously, not all reasons apply in any one situation and those designated functions are not equally applicable across stages of schooling. In general, however, parents see homework's potential benefit largely as achievement-related; it leads to increased success on classwork and fosters attitudes and habits that lead to successful future learning. These beliefs, of course, are supported by research that has consistently shown a positive correlation between time spent on homework and achievement for high school students (Cooper & Valentine, 2001).

Parents are often future-oriented when thinking about the potential benefits of homework, as illustrated in the quotation from Jane's father. Other more abstract benefits are also strong in parental viewpoints: the emphasis on the development of qualities such as responsibility, self-regulation, and time management emerge in reports from parents of young elementary children (Warton, 1998; Xu & Corno, 1998). One difficulty for children is that these future benefits may have limited immediate relevance. Little research, however, has investigated whether individual parents' views about the purpose of homework are tailored to the understandings and needs of their children. It is tempting to propose that the more direct educational objective of completing homework to improve academic achievement will become more salient to parents as the child progresses through the educational system and encounters an increasing emphasis on formal assessment procedures and feedback.