Written by Rebecca Berger
Homework assigned by teachers is an imposition on family time that has not been proven to benefit elementary school (kindergarten through grade 5) students. Educators in the United States have been researching homework for over 80 years without arriving at definitive conclusions about its purpose or efficacy.
Homework is a term applied to many activities that take place outside of school. Personal and family educational activities like music lessons and church functions are not termed homework, while activities intended to supplement schoolwork, such as tutoring programs, may be referred to as homework. Harrison Cooper, a preeminent homework scholar, defines homework as “tasks assigned to students by schoolteachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours” (Homework, p. 7, as cited by Cooper & Valentine, 2001). This definition is used widely by researchers (Cooper & Valentine, 2001; Trautwein & Köller, 2003; Lacina-Gifford & Gifford, 2004; Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001). For purposes of examining the efficacy of homework, I used Cooper’s definition.
Most teachers and parents believe that homework increases student achievement, and there is research evidence to support this belief (Cooper & Valentine, 2001), but a positive correlation between time spent on homework and increases in individual student achievement has not been confirmed (Trautwein & Köller, 2003). A disaggregation of data on homework time and achievement by grade levels revealed a near zero correlation for students in grades 3-5, and a weak (r = .07) correlation for grades 5-9 (Cooper & Valentine, 2001). Further research is needed to investigate factors other than time spent on homework that would cause it to effect change in achievement (Warton, 2001).
Homework serves as a bridge between home and school, between teachers and parents (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001). The schoolwork children do at home may show parents that learning is happening at school (Lacina-Gifford & Gifford, 2004) and provide an opportunity for parent-child interaction (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001). Some parents may enjoy supervising their children’s successful completion of homework, but others feel frustrated that teachers or their children expect them to re-teach material that should have been learned during the school day. Parent-teacher communication as well as parent-child interaction should be accomplished by means other than homework. Putting children in the position of fulfilling the needs of adults puts them at risk of developing negative attitudes about homework and schooling in general (Hoover-Dempsey, Battiato, Walker, Reed, DeJong, & Jones, 2001).
A deciding factor against the use of homework in elementary school is its effect on student motivation. Proponents of homework as a means of teaching personal responsibility should be aware of the cost involved in the practice. In their study of third graders doing homework, Corno and Xu (2004) propose that homework is the “job of childhood” (p. 227) and present homework responsibilities as analogous to adult jobs. The weakness of their case is that children are not miniature adults, and, as the authors admit, “Repeated negative experiences can . . . prematurely burn them out” (Corno & Xu, 2004, p. 232). Children who are developing autonomy as students need instruction and supervision that are supportive and not intrusive or coercive. Ginsberg and Bronstein found that as parental involvement in regulating their children’s homework increased, students’ dependence on external motivators increased, and their academic progress decreased (1993, pp.1468-1469). Students who do work to please parents or teachers, or, even worse, to avoid punishment, rather than to satisfy an intrinsic desire to learn, are not developing self-regulation or autonomy. They are more likely developing skills for underachievement (Ginsberg & Bronstein, 1993; Katz, Kaplan, & Gueta, 2010; Bembenutty, 2011).
There are high stakes involved when choosing to use homework as a tool in developing personal responsibility. Teachers ought to promote autonomy by providing supervised independent study in school and allow parents to teach their children to be responsible through experiences that are the purview of the family.
Homework is securely entrenched in American schooling practices, and its potential to bolster student achievement rarely is questioned by parents, teachers, or students. Like many practices in education, its popularity waxes and wanes with the prevailing political and economic climate (Kralovec & Buell, 2000). It is unlikely that American schools and parents will abandon homework, but at the elementary school level, teachers ought to give thoughtful, in-depth attention to this issue. Homework is neither necessary nor helpful in the schooling of kindergarten to grade 5 students.
Rebecca Berger, MS Ed, is the director of Wisconsin Center for Gifted Learners in Milwaukee WI. She received both her BS and MS from Martin Luther College and has served as a teacher in WELS schools.
References
Bembenutty, H. (2011). Meaningful and maladaptive homework practices: The role of self-efficacy and self-regulation. Journal of Advanced Academics, 22(3), 448- 473.
Cooper, H., & Valentine, J. C. (2001). Using research to answer practical questions about homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 143-153.
Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory Into Practice, 43 (3), 227-233.
Epstein, J. L., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2001). More than minutes: Teachers’ roles in designing homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 181-193.
Ginsburg, G. S., & Bronstein, P. (1993). Family factors related to children’s intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientation and academic performance. Child Development, 64(5), 1461-1474. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.ep9402220355
Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Battiato, A. C., Walker, J. M. T., Reed, R. P.; DeJong, J. M., & Jones, K. P. (2001). Parental involvement in homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 195-209.
Katz, I., Kaplan, A., & Gueta, G. (2010). Students’ needs, teachers’ support, and motivation for doing homework: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Experimental Education, 78(2), 246-267. doi:10.1080/00220970903292868
Kralovac, E., & Buell, J. (2000). The end of homework: How homework disrupts families, overburdens children, and limits learning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Lacina-Gifford, L. J., & Gifford, R. B. (2004). Putting an end to the battle over homework. Education, 125(2), 279-281. 8
Trautwein, U., & Köller, O. (2003). The relationship between homework and achievement: Still much of a mystery. Educational Psychology Review, 15(2), 115-144.
Warton, P. M. (2001). The forgotten voices in homework: Views of students. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 155-165.
I want to remind everyone reading this post that another post about homework appeared on November 15, 2013, “Homework: Purpose, Value and the Teacher’s Role” by Drew Kock. If you haven’t read it, you should take a few minutes to do so.
Assigning homework, like many teaching practices, ought to be based on the needs of and benefit to each student.
This is a very well-written essay with strong support. We do have to consider the effects of too much homework on the family. Why is the assignment going home? Was there time to do it in school? Does the work require the parent(s) to help? Are the parents able to help with a lesson if they did not expect it or are not familiar with it? Is it actually assigned with the thought that it should be done at home? Consider the effect of adding the “flipped classroom” with regard to this issue where the lesson occurs at home . It is good to think about these things and to find out what is happening at home. We should look at how heavy the backpacks are.
I enjoyed your blog post very much, and I agree wholeheartedly with limiting homework in the early elementary grades. Beside your conclusion I also especially liked this part:
“There are high stakes involved when choosing to use homework as a tool in developing personal responsibility. Teachers ought to promote autonomy by providing supervised independent study in school and allow parents to teach their children to be responsible through experiences that are the purview of the family.”
As a homeschooling parent whose children are now grown and married I love hearing things like that said.
I think kids need time to be kids and parents need to time to spend with their children as a family. The family unit has significant effect on student success and I don’t think more homework accomplishes much especially in earlier grades.
I’ll have to look for it but Mr. Mueller from Watertown, WI had a great paper on homework if I recall correctly. Does anyone have a link for it? Not sure if he has it online anywhere.
I found that taking more care in giving assignments and shortening them up to give the experience needed instead of thoughtless volume made for better work by students.
Proportionate work volume to work time in school cuts homework, allows time for teacher assistance, and cuts correcting time and unnecessary busy work for teachers and students.
Students done early can take on challenge work or read books they enjoy and choose, which adds to personal growth and enjoyment of learning.
As with many aspects of education, the pendulum can swing from one extreme to the other. Way too much homework would be one extreme; no homework would be another. A blessing of our Lutheran schools is our ability to weigh all aspects of a certain issue in education and work toward a solution that incorporates the best of everything. Too much homework can certainly be a problem; in my opinion, no homework would also create problems. Moderation (balance) in homework, as with many things in life, may be a good approach.
Thank you for your feedback. I do appreciate that every situation is different. I believe that parents are ultimately responsible for their own children’s education and that includes choosing an appropriate school setting and supporting your child in that setting.
My research paper from which I distilled this post contains a paragraph that touches on the role of homework in teaching personal responsibility. Here is some of the text that I cut in the process: “Children who are developing autonomy as students need instruction and supervision that are supportive and not intrusive or coercive. Ginsberg and Bronstein found that as parental involvement in regulating their children’s homework increased, students’ dependence on external motivators increased, and their academic progress decreased (1993, pp.1468-1469). Students who do work to please parents or teachers, or, even worse, to avoid punishment, rather than to satisfy an intrinsic desire to learn, are not developing self-regulation or autonomy. They are more likely developing skills for underachievement (Ginsberg & Bronstein, 1993; Katz, Kaplan, & Gueta, 2010; Bembenutty, 2011). There are high stakes involved when choosing to use homework as a tool in developing personal responsibility. Teachers ought to promote autonomy by providing supervised independent study in school and allow parents to engage their children in learning to be responsible through experiences that are the purview of the family.” In a nutshell, there are more authentic ways than homework to foster personal responsibility.
I certainly do not care to imply that there is never any value in studying at home. I have raised this issue because homework it is not as significant as many believe it to be especially before middle school. If you and your child are happily working on his school work at home, it is likely that he is benefitting from it.
I do not know with any certainty how common it is to give children in grades K-5 homework, but I know that in North Shore communities in the Milwaukee area, it is commonly perceived to be desirable. In my 20 years teaching in this area, I encountered parents who wanted their children to have homework for two main reasons: 1) They wanted to see what their children were doing in school, and 2) They wanted their children to be occupied while at home. Each of these purposes was really serving the parent and not the child.
As a Christian parent and grandparent, I want my children to know the truths of God’s Word. We have God’s Word in our home, and I appreciate having Bible passages, Luther’s Small Catechism, and countless hymns committed to memory. I believe that memory work can be constructed as classwork and as an entree to a Christian discussion in the home. I think that the efficacy of assigning memory work should be empirically studied, but I do know the power that it has in my life and the lives of others.
Your question about an incomplete math assignment is one I often encounter when I discuss homework with other educators and parents. The short answer is, “It depends.” Does the student understand the process and merely needs more time to do the repetitions required to embed it? Or is he or she unable to finish while at school because he or she has not really understood it? A teacher ought to assess the real needs of the student and the benefit of sending the work home. It truly is not a “one size fits all” situation.
Finally, I would encourage teachers to take a look at their practices and consider whether homework assignments have a purpose that balances the pitfalls I have cited.
Even if an adult is motivated enough to work that long, and many are, they make their own choices about time management. The bigger point is that elementary school is for learning, and learning is much more than training in the habits needed in adulthood.
I have to agree. On a side note: If people want to compare children to adults, what adult goes to work for 8 hours and then is thrilled and motivated to come home and basically “go back to work” for another 2-4? We pretty much discourage a 12 hour work day for anyone, but especially for children.
Is it common for teachers to give assignments that are intended for the purpose of giving Kindergarten through grade 5 students work to do at home? I suppose memory work could be included in this category. What about a math assignment that a student doesn’t complete at school so he has to finish it at home? Is that included in the “homework” that is referred to?
I am not sure how to respond to such a generalization concerning the quality of American Education. In our public school district they have removed the homework requirement from the junior high school and it has caused many problems for the high school. Students are ill-equipped to move on into high school because there have been no clear expectations for the students in the junior high. In our elementary public schools there is little emphasis on homework as well. In the MacIver Institute report on the quality of our public school districts, Milwaukee ranked last followed by Racine and then came the Watertown Public School District. I am not sure why people make such sweeping generalizations in the educational field. Often research to back up their claims comes from their doctorate work. This is where we get most of our “new” catch phrases in the educational field. I am neither for a great deal of homework for elementary students nor am I opposed to homework for elementary students. I think we need to be very careful as we cite “research” in the educational field that paints a broad sweeping picture of American education. Rather we should look at the results of our educational system. Where their is accountability, parent involvement, and thoughtful and caring teachers, the results are very positive for the students. Where there is little accountability and a lack of parent involvement the results seem to be very negative. Research is important and vital in the educational field but we must remember that educational research is mostly “qualitative research” with some “quantitative research” on the side. The basic premise to “qualitative research’ is that you can prove anything you set out to prove. In conclusion I would encourage us to follow the facts in the educational field which need to be based on the outcomes of our educational efforts. In schools with accountability including homework and strong parental involvement the results are very positive. So be careful before we throw out these sweeping generalizations about “homework” and how bad it is. Homework may be the best thing ever for many students. Our WELS Schools are living proof of how a positive Christ-centered environment can benefit any student – homework included or not!
Fred Uttech – MS in Educational Leadership – Principal St. Mark’s Watertown WI
As a parent of a child who needs that added reinforcement of lessons learned at school, I appreciated having the opportunity to work with my child in supplementing what he has been taught at school because in his situation he greatly benefits. He has the added burden of ADD and school can often be too much of distraction for him to absorb lessons taught in the classroom. There are many other children in this position but it does take a parent interested in doing that work with their child, which isn’t always the case. Another factor I did not see addressed in this article is the teaching of personal responsibility that a child can develop by having to complete assignments independent of classroom control. One solution for the parent who wishes these added helps for their child is to get these assignments as a supplement they request from the teacher. Just some thoughts.
Thanks for taking on such a controversial issue! I have been fascinated with the growing conversation around the value of homework, particularly where research challenges the assumptions that most teachers make about the benefits of that work.
I do wonder if there might be tangible benefit for elementary grade students (particularly in grades 3-5) to engage in well-constructed homework activities from time to time that support classroom learning? Perhaps this work may not come as frequently, but I would have some concern about removing all expectations for a student outside of the walls of the classroom even at the elementary level.
I would also encourage teachers to be as critical of the work expected of students in the classroom during the school day. They will want to take every opportunity to engage their students in formative assessment activities, providing regular and specific feedback throughout. No matter where the work may be done, students need to see the connection between their efforts, even struggles, and the learning process.