homework in primary school could it be made more child friendly

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HOMEWORK IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: COULD IT BE MADE MORE CHILD-FRIENDLY?

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Homework plays a crucial role in the childhood environment. Teachers argue that homework is important for learning both school subjects and a good work ethic. Hattie (2013, p. 39) referenced 116 studies from around the world which show that homework has almost no effect on children's learning at primary school. Some studies have also found little effect on the development of a good work ethic or that homework may be counterproductive as children develop strategies to get away with doing as little as possible, experience physical and emotional fatigue, and lose interest in school (Cooper, 1989; Klette, 2007; Kohn, 2010). The present article argues that the practice of homework in Norwegian primary schools potentially threatens the quality of childhood, using Befring's (2012) five indicators of quality. These indicators are: good and close relationships, appreciation of diversity and variety, development of interest and an optimistic future outlook, caution with regards to risks, and measures to counteract the reproduction of social differences. The analysis builds on empirical data from in-depth interviews with 37 teachers and document analysis of 107 weekly plans from 15 different schools. The results show that the practice of homework potentially threatens the quality of childhood in all five indicators. The findings suggest that there is a needfor teachers to rethink the practice of homework in primary schools to protect the value and quality of childhood.

Homework, work-life balance, children's perspectives, quality indicators of childhood, work ethic

Introduction

Homework is defined as work teachers tell pupils to do outside of school hours (Cooper, 1989). Amounts of homework vary among teachers, schools, and countries. There's little data on how much time primary school pupils spend on homework, but according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and various educational research partners there are large differences among countries in how much time 15-year-old students spend doing homework. These numbers are based on students' self-reports on time spent per week doing homework or other studying assigned by teachers (OECD, 2014). As seen in Fig. 1, Finland, Korea, and the Czech Republic are the three countries with the lowest reported weekly times spent on homework. Norway is in the middle.

These numbers are based on self-reporting from 15-year-old students, and we cannot be sure about the degree to which this is also the case for primary school pupils. In the case of Norway, numbers from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 show that 50% of pupils in fourth grade spent less than 1 hour per day doing homework. A further 28% spent between 1 and 2 hours per day on homework, and 10% spent as much as 2-4 hours per day (Ronning, 2010).

In Norway, teachers are, in theory, free to choose whether or not to use homework with their students. At the same time, legislation instructs municipalities to provide 8 hours of homework support per week at school. Non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross provide homework support to help children and families who have problems. It has also become big business to sell homework support to families who are struggling or who want something else from their family time.

Results from the TIMSS from 2003 to 2011 show that the volume of homework has increased over time (Valdermo, 2014). In 2009, Gronmo and Onstad presented TIMSS results showing that homework was corrected and given feedback by teachers to only a small extent. These authors argued that if homework is not corrected or connected to what is going on in the classroom it might leave the impression that homework is just something that should be done and not something from which to learn. They argued that Norwegian teachers should rethink homework in all subjects and make it more useful for learning (Gronmo & Onstad, 2009). What is surprising is that the idea of leaving an impression that homework is just something that should be done does not seem to be a problem that teachers and schools relate to. Doing something because it should be done is based on the idea that homework is a tool for teaching pupils a good work ethic. This is rarely mentioned in educational research and seldom subject to discussion. One explanation may be that schools as institutions have a strong need to maintain their hegemony and therefore feel endangered when academics ask critical questions about the school as an organization or about pedagogical practices (Aronowitz & Giroux, 1993). Apple (1982) argued that teachers and schools often blame problems on pupils or parents to avoid rethinking their practices. It is therefore of great academic importance to address these topics. The enormous gap in qualitative research on homework also makes it important to conduct research in this area.

Ronning's analyses of the TIMSS results for Norway from 2007 showed that pupils from low socioeconomic backgrounds who were assigned a large amount of homework had lower achievement than pupils with similar backgrounds who were assigned less homework. The study also showed that among the pupils who did homework, pupils with low socioeconomic backgrounds spent more time doing homework than pupils with high socioeconomic backgrounds did. There were also more pupils with low socioeconomic backgrounds who reported that they did not spend any time on homework (Ronning, 2010). This means the practice of homework has ethical issues that make it important to examine the practice in depth.

This article will present results showing how the practice of homework can endanger childhood in different ways. The health sector in Norway has reported an enormous increase in stress-related diseases among children over the past five years. It is now expected that 30% of children will have stress-related diseases during their childhood and that for 10-15% of them the disease will be so serious that they will need health services (Broyn 2016). After Hattie's (2013) findings, one cannot argue that this is the price we have to pay for children in primary school to learn, but some will argue that it is the price that must be paid to teach children a good work ethic. This article therefore includes reasoning about work ethics.

Before describing the present research, I will first consider what is implied by work ethics and consider previous research on homework and work ethics. I will then discuss Befring's (2012) five indicators of a high-quality childhood, namely:

1. Good and close relationships,

2. Appreciation of diversity and variety,

3. Development of interests and an optimistic future outlook,

4. Caution with regard to risks, and

5. Measures to counteract reproductive processes.

The Norwegian general curriculum states that "pupils' achievement is clearly influenced by the work habits acquired during their early years at school." Moreover, "good work habits developed at school have benefits far beyond the school framework." This is justified by the premise that school should prepare children for "the tasks of working and social life" (The Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training, 2015, p. 27). The curriculum does not describe what is meant by good work habits. So, what is meant by good work habits or a good work ethic and what does research say about the statement "pupils' achievement is clearly influenced by the work habits acquired during their early years at school"?

Work ethics are traditionally linked to adults' work and social lives. Weber laid much of the foundation for discussions of work ethics in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, published in 1904-5. The capitalist work ethic was then understood as the driving force behind industrialization, economic growth, and capitalism in North-west Europe and North America. A work ethic may be defined as "beliefs about the moral superiority of hard work over leisure or idleness, craft pride over carelessness, sacrifice over profligacy, earned over unearned income and positive over negative attitudes toward work" (Andrisani & Parnes, 1983, p. 104). Research has shown that the capitalist work ethic is now shared universally, albeit with cultural variations (Modrack, 2008, p. 7).

The capitalist work ethic consists of four dimensions. These are belief in hard work, avoidance of leisure, independence of others, and asceticism, i.e. abstaining from pleasure and enjoyment and even causing oneself distress. The same dimensions can be found in Islamic work ethics, but unlike capitalist ethics, here time is divided into three parts: one for rest, one for work, and one for religious, social, and family activities (Modrack, 2008; Rice, 1999; Shirokanova, 2015, p. 618). Good work ethics are also regarded as including not wasting time, being honest and diligent, persevering, and aiming at perfection.

Asian cultures are known to have high work ethics. A survey showed that one in five Japanese companies reported staff who are in danger of dying from overwork. "Karoshi" means death from overwork and such cases began being recorded in 1987. Every year, there are hundreds of deaths recorded as karoshi (E24, 2016).

The values of the capitalist work ethic have been criticized for not having any value in themselves but merely being an instrument for the reproduction of social inequality as a precondition for the organization of production in society (Juul, 2010; Befring, 2012). Increased production and economic growth have resulted in threats to the environment and people's health. The French philosopher André Gorz argued that a work ethic as we know it is passé and can no longer be said to be relevant to current or future work or society. He argued that such a work ethic has become obsolete and that it is no longer true that increased production means increased work or that increased production will lead to an improved way of life. According to Gorz, current and future working life and society require us to produce and work differently. In light of this perspective, two new approaches to work ethics have appeared: "a work-life balance" and "working smart" (Ford, 2014). So what does a work-life balance mean and can it be called a work ethic? A work-life balance approach to work ethics emphasizes, similarly as with Islamic work ethics, a division between focus at work and focus on being a human (Goleman, 2013). In Islamic work ethics, religion is the reason for doing various things during a day. With a work-life balance, activities are based on what research has found to be the most efficient for people to be able to focus on work and work smart when working. Research has concluded that a balance in life is important for efficiency. This approach differs from that of the capitalist work ethic, which emphasizes working as much as possible and that working more will help you work better. Since the main argument for a work-life balance is that it will make people more efficient, it shares the main goal of a capitalist perspective on work ethics. Research has shown that meditation, spending time in nature, and doing something truly enjoyable are the most important things we can do in our spare time in order to work smarter when we work (Goleman, 2013). For some people, this will mean activities such as spending time with family or friends, praying, and being outside. We see that this runs contrary to the familiar work ethic of working hard, disconnecting from nature, and avoiding anything that is fun or pleasurable.

There is research showing that homework can help pupils develop good work habits, such as following instructions, setting goals, organizing work, allocating time, and discovering strategies for dealing with mistakes, difficulties, and disturbances (Bempechat, 2004; Cooper et. al 2006; Corno & Xu, 2004) but the literature is not unambiguous. There are studies showing a negative correlation between homework and the acquisition of good work habits and work ethics. One literature review studying 100 articles and books about study techniques for pupils found that 88-95% were about organizing time, reading techniques, test preparation, and notetaking techniques (Hadwin & Tevaarwerk, 2004). It remains up for discussion how useful these skills are for students' future working lives. In a video observational study of a fifth-grade classroom, Klette (2007, p. 352) found that a group of observed boys had established what she called a minimum strategy culture regarding homework. She also found that some pupils finished their maths homework immediately and some procrastinated on it. There were few indications of pupils doing some work every day in accordance with the idea that long-term and repeated work would lead to good results. This study found that both students who did things quickly and those who procrastinated sometimes could go for up to 12 days before they did any maths after school hours. This shows the importance of being clear when assigning homework about what is actually meant by a good work ethic and good work habits.

Quality indicators of childhood

Childhood has two functions. First, it has great intrinsic value because of its essence that is fundamentally important to protect. Second, childhood is the foundation for personality development throughout life (Befring, 2012, p. 30). Although childhood is primarily part of the private family, it is also institutionalized in that the child spends considerable time at school. Children at primary school stand with one foot in their family and one foot in their school. Homework can be a tool to create cooperation between the two realms.

Befring (2012) introduced five quality indicators of childhood: good, close relationships and networks; appreciation of diversity and variety; development of interests and optimism; caution regarding risks; and prevention of reproductive processes. Most important for children are good, close relationships and networks. This implies that families need support and encouragement to manage their responsibilities. The family must have suitable working conditions for these responsibilities. It is important to emphasize that families are far less well prepared than school professionals are to work at learning tasks. The modern family is very serious about parenting, but it is stressful and demanding to combine this with work. There may also be financial or personal problems in the family.

Appreciation of diversity and variety is also an important indicator of a good childhood; this involves nurturing the particular qualities of each individual child. The greatest threat to this is what Befring calls the positivistic educational concept. This means one-dimensional teaching that tries to force all learners into a single mold, and Befring argues for renewal in this area. An important point is that children are not small adults. Children are very different from adults in terms of their perceptions of the world, their interests, and their activity and other life needs. Play is important in understanding children's basic characteristics (Befring, 2012). Good conditions for play can be very important for harmonious cognitive and socio-emotional learning and development (Smith, 2003; Dale, 1996).

The third indicator of a good childhood is the development of interests and optimism. Children need something to be involved and interested in, and this is where play and leisure activities are key. According to Vygotsky (1978), pleasure is the most significant feature of play. Play is also characterized by the creation of imaginary situations with imaginary activities. Because their actions are detached from the environment around them, children can act independently of what they perceive. When children play, they rise above the physical limitations of their environment. In play, the environment ceases to dominate the child. Play is a state where the child shakes off reality for a while and has the opportunity to try out ideas and realize wishes in "another kind of make-believe world" (Vygotsky, 1978). Because play is such an important part of childhood as well as being important for sound learning and development, it is essential to allow children time to play freely and to include the form and content of play in educational methods to some extent. The second part of this indicator is an optimistic outlook. The key here is experiences of mastery and the development of a belief in self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997).

With regard to children's interest, Montessori has presented some interesting perspectives. One of the most profound observations made by Montessori was that it is natural for children to work and that they love doing so (Montessori, 1936, 2009). She was convinced that children had hidden abilities that were overlooked by educators, and she spent her life trying to show how these abilities could be activated. Montessori found that children had great capacities for self-training as well as for concentration and self-discipline when their work suited their stage of development. She also noticed that children had a great ability to persevere and repeat activities. She viewed this as an internal resource for the child to retain and develop what was learned, noting that such an internal resource could not be forced. The teacher's role is crucial in this; according to Montessori, inner motivation is aroused by exploration and testing in school, nature, and the community.

Caution with regard to risk is the fourth indicator. Deadlocked issues in family interactions are a specific area where caution is needed. Families who experience such problems must not be left to themselves but need to receive help as soon as possible (Befring, 2012, p. 108). Another risk factor is learning difficulties, where early interventions are needed, tailored to the individual child.

The fifth and final indicator is about prevention in terms of systematic efforts to prevent harm, limit risks, strengthen children's resilience to risk, and provide support to those with unacceptable behavior. These points are generally relevant to homework, but it is perhaps more important to work proactively to prevent the reproduction of social inequality because of the enormous consequences involved.

This article is based on data from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews of teachers and a document analysis of weekly plans for grades 1 to 7 at 15 primary schools in Norway. The purpose was to find out why and how primary school teachers assign homework. Data were collected in a pilot study in autumn 2012 and in a complete study in autumn 2015. All project participants in the project signed a consent form that guaranteed anonymity and informed them that the interview data would be used in research into homework practices.

Participants

Project participants were qualified teachers with primary school experience. All had experience with teacher-parent contact, except for one who was a subject teacher. Two participants also had further qualifications in special education. Two had become deputy heads and one was a headmaster. They were all asked to respond based on their experience as primary school teachers. There was a range of ages and years of experience. Each teacher interviewed was also asked to submit three weekly plans. All weekly plans were from the autumn term, as that was when the data were collected. Ten people were interviewed in 2012. Four interviews were lost because of problems with the recordings. Other work demands meant that it was three years before I had the opportunity to involve students in more research. In 2015, 32 additional teachers were interviewed. One teacher participated in both data collections. The analysis included 37 interviews; 26 interviewees were women (aged 30 to 67 years) and 11 were men (aged 28 to 62). Participants were from 15 schools, all of which were used for teaching practice by 0stfold University College.

The selection criterion for study participants was primary school teaching experience. One criterion for selection in 2015 was not having participated in the 2012 pilot study. This was to elicit a wide variety of responses, not because they could not provide important information after some time. I chose to include both interviews with the single informant who participated in both 2012 and 2015 because the questions were different between the two interviews. Using random sampling seemed to be a good strategy because students had been asked to find respondents at their training schools. I also assumed that most teachers could give valuable information about the topic.

First, the schools and training teachers were informed about the research project at an informational meeting at 0stfold University College. They were told that students would make contact to conduct interviews for the project. All informants worked at teaching practice schools, but not all were practice teachers. The students made contact and arranged for the interviews.

The study was based on a small sample of teachers and schools and thus does not provide a basis for generalization to all Norwegian schools or teachers. However, the design forms the basis for analytical generalization (Yin, 1994).

The criterion for selecting weekly plans was that they should represent ordinary weeks and the usual way of assigning homework. Informants could choose the weeks included. All of them submitted weekly plans except for one informant whose homework practice did not involve weekly plans.

The study might be criticized because students in basic courses were used as research assistants. There were many variables related to data collection over which I had no control. In 2012, I received the audio files and transcribed them myself. In 2015, in contrast, students submitted transcriptions from interviews, not audio files. This had the advantage of students gaining valuable experience by doing work for a real research project and reflecting on the topic at the same time as providing valuable data collection that could be used by undergraduate students as well as my colleagues and me. The final database was made available to one bachelor's degree student in 2013 and six in spring 2016. Student involvement enabled in-depth interviews with many more teachers from more schools than if I alone had been responsible for all data collection. To ensure optimal quality, students received a detailed introduction to the interview method and transcription with practical exercises. They were also provided with an interview guide and were asked to stick to the questions provided. At least two students conducted each interview together.

Semi-structured interviews

I decided to use semi-structured interviews to aid in the comparison of data emerging from the interviews. Two interview guides were used, one for each data collection. These were developed in a workshop in collaboration with the students who were to conduct the interviews, after which I assessed them for quality. The interview guide used in 2012 was slightly shorter and had rather more open questions on how and why homework was assigned. There were also questions about the respondent's attitude regarding the public debate about homework. This is why I call this study a pilot study. The 2015 interview guide was used to elaborate on some issues that arose after the data collection in 2012; these included opinions on a homework-free school, what were considered examples of good and bad homework, how respondents felt about the critical reflection on the practice of homework, and whether they felt they had real freedom in methods. It could be argued that using the same interview guide for both data collections would have been preferable, but, inspired by grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1999), I chose to use the second data collection to go into greater detail on the data that had emerged from the first collection, which had been more like a pilot study.

With so many different interviewers, the quality of the interviews varied. In one of the interviews from 2012, one student went too far in asking leading questions to try to convince the given teacher that homework was not good. These efforts apparently did not affect the teacher's opinions, but it may have affected the clear way in which she expressed them. I believe that the asymmetry between the teachers and students in the interview was positive in that leading questions would influence the answers. As mentioned earlier, I lost four interviews from 2012 due to damaged audio files. In 2015, the transcriptions show that most interviewers did a good job of following the interview guide and asking follow-up questions. In some of the interviews, it was clear that the interviewer was not very committed to the questions. The atmosphere seemed somewhat formal and the answers were short and revealed little information. The interview guide encouraged interviewers to ask for examples and follow up answers. The transcriptions show that on several occasions they did so. Some interviews resulted in more information and stories than others did. I believe that would have been true in any case. All interviews were included in the data collection.

For this qualitative study, I chose a design that combined in-depth interviews with an analysis of weekly plans because sometimes informants provide in interviews a representation of their practice that is more politically correct or positive than a faithful description would be. Analyzing weekly notes in addition to the interviews should enhance the reliability of the study (Glaser & Strauss 1999).

Another way of ensuring reliability was collecting data on a larger scale after several years (Tjora, 2010). Expanding the range of teachers, grades, and schools has strengthened the data. To further enhance the data, I could have chosen to observe teachers' practice of assigning homework in the classroom and their meetings with parents, but this was not possible at the time. Klette (2007) has also used video observational studies to examine how work schedules are prepared and followed up. Interviews with pupils and their parents also could have provided a more comprehensive understanding. Such interviews are planned as well as potentially observations of pupils and parents. The analysis combined open, selective, and axial coding of the data (Robson, 2002).

In terms of work ethics, the results show that one reason for assigning homework to primary school pupils is to enable them to learn a good work ethic that would benefit them later in life. One teacher said, "I think about work ethics and making an effort and taking responsibility for homework ... because you can't get everythingforfree in this world and they need to find out that it costs something."

The results also show that the predominant way of assigning homework was in line with what Befring (2012) called the positivistic school tradition. Some teachers said that they practise in this way even though they do not think it is a good method. One teacher said:

We often base general homework on the textbooks. It gets to be very automatic. It would probably be a good idea to shake up that mindset a bit. It's been the samefor at least the 10 years I've been working.... You often just take the next three exercises in the book and assume that it's good enough homework.

Analysis of weekly plans shows that the most homework was assigned in Norwegian, mathematics, and English classes, with homework sometimes being assigned in religious education, social studies, and science classes and seldom or never in practical subjects such as arts and crafts, physical education, and food and health. The usual way of assigning homework is to assign the same work to all pupils in a class. Pupils with special needs often get their own weekly schedule; there are typically three or four of these per class. Homework is assigned on average 15 times per week to primary school pupils, regardless of age. Such homework primarily consists of reproducing information and is taken from the textbook or sheets of paper copied by teachers. Learning vocabulary, reading, words of the week, practice for dictation, handwriting, and sums are the most usual types of homework. "Revision of familiar material" is often the justification for the choice of exercises and the practice of homework. The consequences of not doing homework are reported as: being required to do it during a break, detention, a letter to parents, or no consequences at all. Analysis of the weekly plans also shows that it is the pure capitalist work ethic which is being cultivated, while we see no trace of elements such as meditation, being in nature, or doing something enjoyable. Rather, the results reveal scant appreciation of the value of what pupils really enjoy.

In terms of good, close relationships, several teachers mentioned pupils and parents who go too far when homework is to be done, meaning, for example, that the homework is done because the pupil has a guilty conscience or is afraid of negative consequences and/or that the parents push their children too hard. One teacher said, "It's not a matter of life and death to do the homework. It should only be done if it's a positive experience for the kids. You don't learn anything when mum and dad are sitting there yelling at their kids to do their maths." The interviews contained many examples of conflicts due to homework, often because it was difficult for students to get help at home. One teacher expressed this idea as follows:

You might have parents who force their child to sitfor two hours doing homework that they may not understand or that they find difficult because homework has to be "perfect" and "look nice". And that leads to a bad atmosphere and maybe some wet eyes, and then I kind of think you've gone a bit too far.

The results show that maths homework in particular made parents feel incompetent and inferior, and they contacted teachers about their challenges in helping their children. Some teachers stated that they had managed to create a good culture where parents were welcome to contact them and say they are having problems. Several said that such problems for parents normally increase with their child's age. They said that things are fine for most parents when their children are in first or second grade, that this is often followed by more problems from third to fifth grade, and that it can be very difficult for parents to help sixth and seventh graders and so the level of conflict increases.

The interviews reveal that many teachers found that families have problems with stress and time pressure after school hours due to recreational activities. Yet, the common perception is that pupils should spend 30-60 minutes per day on such activities.

With regard to the appreciation of diversity and variety, the results show that this is given little attention in homework practices; all pupils generally get assigned the same homework. In maths, pupils are sometimes allowed to choose the level of difficulty. Moreover, there may be voluntary exercises in addition to the mandatory ones. The type of homework does not vary much: great emphasis is placed on reading and writing in all subjects. Homework requires reproduction of knowledge rather than allowing pupils to involve their own world. There also seemed to be a widespread belief that homework should take priority over both family life and leisure activities. One teacher said, "I make it clear that homework should be given priority over other things. And if homework is neglected repeatedly, we contact the home."

Interests and a positive future outlook were also rarely catered to in homework practices. Pupils were mostly assigned the same homework irrespective of their level, leading to great variation in self-efficacy behavior. Responsibility for adapting work was usually handed over to pupils and parents; they had to contact the teacher if they thought the work was too much or too difficult. However, teachers' opinions of very good homework were that it should give pupils a feeling of mastery and be about topics they could investigate and find interesting. Very good homework, according to the teachers, should satisfy the following criteria:

* Be adapted to the pupil's interests and abilities.

* Provide challenges and opportunities for mastery.

* Include exciting, investigative work involving the student's house, family, or friends.

* Inspire creativity through drawing or technology.

In relation to caution regarding risk, some teachers said they are reluctant to be too hard on pupils who have not done their homework because they may have all sorts of reasons for not doing it. Some pupils have their own homework plan. None of the teachers took special account of differences between families before assigning homework; everyone was assigned the same work. Teachers had three different views of parents' role in homework. One group thought parents should not play any role and pupils must cope by themselves. For another group, the parents' role is to make pupils do homework and check if it has been done. A third group believed that parents should make pupils do homework and help them with it. They will find the solution, but few reflected on how homework poses a risk in itself because it is done outside of school hours in a learning environment that the teacher has little control over. There was a naive belief that the learning environment at home is better and quieter than that at school.

Teachers generally believed they could always find a solution for a pupil to get homework done or to do less. Few considered not assigning homework. This is illustrated in the following example:

Many of them have a hard time at home. Cramped space and no room for any good experiences around [homework]. You find marital breakups and lots of that difficult stuff when you mess around with people's spare time. So you need to be sensitive; I think that's really important. So we don't tellpeople what to do in their private lives. Then homework doesn't work in a positive way. Then you just have to react quickly.

Finally, the results revealed little reflection on the prevention of the reproduction of social inequality in homework practices. Nevertheless, many teachers mentioned examples of this. One problem is that parents are responsible for helping pupils and contacting the teacher about adapting work to their child; many will not call or will wait too long before contacting the teacher. One teacher explained that he is happy to get calls from parents who do not understand the homework:

There may be some who don't get so much help at home, and if they didn't understand it at school, then they struggle. I've had calls from parents asking if I can explain it to them because they didn't understand it themselves. It's mostly weak pupils who struggle, and their home may not be very nice, so they haven't got the knowledge to learn it. Then they ring me. I say, "If you have any questions, just ring me" We're a small school so I know most of them. So if they talk for 15 minutes, it's OK with me.

Another teacher explained how social inequalities could increase through homework: "The ones who have too many leisure activities care less about school.... And then it's the weakest ones who opt out of homework and the best educatedparents who might get even better pupils because they help their children to a very different degree"

This article examined how homework is used as an instrument to teach pupils a good work ethic and how this threatens a high-quality childhood. The results reveal a need for more child-friendly homework practices.

Good, close relationships

The results show that teachers clearly realized that homework can threaten good, close parent-child relationships because it may lead to conflicts. These conflicts are connected to finding time for homework, getting started, completing it, and sometimes how it should be done. This is consistent with findings from other studies. In a survey of 500 US parents, 30% reported that homework was one of the main sources of stress and disagreements in the family (Blazer, 2009). In another survey, 50% of parents reported discussions with their children about homework that involved crying and shouting, and 22% admitted that this frustration had led to their doing the homework for the child (Johnson et al., 2006).

If homework is to support good, close relationships between parents and children, it should not be excessive. It is also important that both parents and children perceive homework as being meaningful and useful. One way to achieve this could be to assign homework in different subjects, involving fewer repetitive exercises. Teachers are responsible for working out how homework can enhance child-parent relationships.

Appreciation of diversity and variety and the opportunity to develop interests and optimism

Kohn (2007) argued that most teachers assign homework based on a philosophy where they say, "We've decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night (or several times a week), later on we'll figure out what to make them do." This involves little emphasis on choosing work that pupils will enjoy or benefit from or that will meet parents' need for information about their child's development.

Teachers have a clear idea of what is meant by very good homework. It should be adapted to the pupil's interests and abilities; provide challenges and opportunities for mastery; include exciting, investigative work involving the student's house, family, or friends; and encourage creative activity. The major challenge is what prevents teachers from assigning such homework. If these criteria are to be met, it will be difficult to assign all pupils the same homework. Pupils will have more influence on homework and the teacher will risk encountering resistance from colleagues and parents who want to maintain the old system. Given Montessori's theory of pupils' innate desire for learning and Vygotsky's arguments for the benefits of play, there are more than enough pedagogical arguments for the new criteria. Since arguments that traditional homework does not promote learning have been insufficient to change practice, teachers may lack arguments that very good homework encourages the kind of work ethic that work and society need and is in accordance with indicators of a good childhood. Parents could be told that the capitalist work ethic can also be learned at home or in leisure activities. Kohn (2007) argues that it is better to learn the value of repetition and hard work in leisure activities because it is easier to see the purpose of the practice and to achieve results quickly.

Instead of downplaying children's leisure time, teachers and parents should look to transfer its value to school. A Norwegian study found a positive correlation between school performance and sport participation among adolescents, while those who spent substantial time on computer games did well in English (Sletten, Strandbu, & Gilje, 2015).

Caution with regard to risks

One negative effect of homework is that parents often give inadequate or poor help. The current study shows that teachers have a varied set of parents to deal with. Berglyd (2003) divided parents into groups: positive, helpful, and skillful ones; critical ones; uncertain ones; irresponsible ones; and those with illnesses or problems. Educated parents can found be in all of these groups. All pupils are assigned the same homework, irrespective of such differences. In this regard, teachers show caution if a pupil has not done the homework, but not by adapting the content, translating the weekly newsletter for immigrant parents, or assigning no homework to children with sick parents or parents with bad experiences from their own schooling. What happens when simple homework such as the word of the week meets critical or uncertain parents? What happens when one pupil learns vocabulary with positive, well-educated parents, while other pupils learn it with uncertain parents? Clearly, the home and family is a variable that involves risk. In order to exercise caution in relation to this risk, it is necessary to assess when parents can definitely provide good help with homework. One teacher said that textbooks should include guidelines for parents to help them feel more secure about what they are doing. Another teacher distinguished between three levels of solving a task. The lowest level is when a pupil solves it by seeing others solve it. The second level is when a pupil can solve it by asking or cooperating with others. At the third level, the pupil can solve it alone. This could form the basis for what we might call confidence steps. Only when a pupil is at the third step can he or she do the work at home without being at risk of poor parental help. The key here is that pupils cannot be assigned the same homework, but their teacher must ensure the quality of their homework in advance. For example, parents should not be reading tutors for pupils who cannot read or who read with difficulty. The purpose of homework could be to inform parents of what the pupil is able to do. This way of thinking about confidence allows for more exploratory and creative tasks without definitive answers, while repetitive work is done at school with professional help.

Using these confidence steps could also help to prevent the school from reproducing social inequality, which is the fifth indicator of a good childhood. Self-instructive learning can be done at home. Several of the teaching aids originally created by Montessori are now available as apps and computer programs.

The results show that the practice of homework has a bias towards theory that needs to be remedied. Befring argued that pupils choosing vocational jobs may feel inferior and unhappy because they are not good at theory. He wrote that in practice, despite good policy goals, schools are organized such that pupils who will make important contributions to society through practical work must first fulfil educational duties where they are subdued and degraded (Befring, 2003, in Befring, 2012, p. 219). It is very important that homework is not practiced as such a duty but instead allows for diversity, variety, interest, and optimism for all pupils. In primary school, it is vital to consider how play and pleasure can be more prominent: if not at school, at least in leisure time. According to Vygotsky, this is important for children to be able to process their learning. Goleman argued that it is important to do something enjoyable so as to be able to focus better when it is time to work, even for adults. Montessori claimed that she had identified resources in children which teachers had not noticed. Perhaps some of these resources will become more visible if homework practices are based on children's perspectives.

This study reveals that the practice of homework in primary school rests on an ideology linked to the capitalist work ethic that there is good reason to reflect critically on. This work ethic threatens key quality indicators of childhood, such as good, close relationships; variety and diversity; optimism; caution regarding risk; and the prevention of reproductive processes. The capitalist work ethic has also outlived its usefulness for future society and working life (Ford 2014).

Homework is too widespread and risky to have key documents be unclear as to how and why it should be practiced. Educational plans should have a clear policy to ensure that homework also enhances pupils' health, wellbeing, and learning. In connection with this, the concept of confidence steps should be involved and homework should be linked to the three factors that lead to smarter work and a better work-life balance, namely meditation, time in nature, and doing something truly enjoyable (Goleman 2013).

There is still very little research on pupils' and parents' thoughts on why and how homework is practiced, and more research is clearly needed. Teachers in this study emphasized the enormous time pressure they are under, which means that pupils must do homework to complete the syllabus. Is the syllabus too big and the school day or year too short and, if so, is homework the ideal solution? This area also requires greater understanding and more research.

Andrisani P. J., & Parnes, H. S. (1983). Commitment to the work ethic and success in the labour market: A review of research findings. In J. Barbrush, R. J. Lampman, & S. A. Leviatan, et al. (Eds.), The work ethic. A critical analysis (pp. 101-120). Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association Publications.

Apple, M. (1982). Education and Power. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Aronowitz, S., & Giroux, H. (1993). Education still under siege (Second edition). Westport, Conneticut: Bergin and Garvin.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

Bandura, A. (1999). A social cognitive theory of personality. In L. Pervin, & O. John (Ed.), Handbook of personality (Second edition) (pp. 154-196). New York: Guilford Publications.

Befring, E. (2012). Skolen for barnas beste: Kvalitetsvikar for oppvekst, læring og utvikling. [School for the childrens best: Quality indicators for upbringing, learning and development]. Oslo: Samlaget.

Bempechat, J. (2004). The motivational benefits of homework: A social-cognitive perspective. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 189-196.

Berglyd, I. W. (2003). Skole og hjem samarbeid - avstand og nærhet. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

Blazer, Ch. (2009). Literature review homework. Miami, FL: Research services.

Broyn, T. (2016). Stress blant barn og unge. [Stress among children and young people]. Bedre Skole, (3), 38-40. Retrieved from https://www.utdanningsforbundet.no/upload/ Tidsskrifter/Bedre%20Skole/BS_3_2016/7724-BedreSkole-0316-Stress.pdf

Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1-62.

Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 227-233.

Dale, E. L. (1996). Læring og utvikling - i lek og undervisning. In I. Braten (Ed.), Vygotsky i pedagogikken (pp. 43-73). Oslo: Cappelen Akademiske Forlag.

E24. (2016, October 9). Undersßkelse: Japanere'jobberseg tildode. [Research: Japanese work themselves to death]. Retrieved from http://e24.no/jobb/japan/undersoekelse-japanere-jobber-segtil-doede/23815775

Ford, N. (2014). "The crisis of work", by Andre Gorz Retrieved from http://abolishwork.com /2014/ 12/01/the-crisis-of-work-andre-gorz/

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, R. D. (1999). The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Routledge.

Goleman, D. (2013). Focus: The hidden driver of excellence. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing India.

Gronmo, L. S., & Onstad, T. (2009). Tegn til bedring. Norske elevers prestasjoner i matematikk og naturfag i TIMSS 2007. Oslo: Unipub.

Hadwin, A., Tevaarwerk, K., & Ross, S. (2005). Are we teaching students to strategically self-regulate learning? A content analysis of 100 study skills textbooks. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, April 11-15, 2005, Montreal, QB.

Hattie, J. (2013). Synliglæring -forlærere. [Visible learning for teachers]. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

Johnson, J., Arumi, A. M., & Ott, A. (2006). Balancing the educational agenda. American Educator,, (Fall 2016), 18-26.

Klette, K. (2007). Bruk av arbeidsplaner i skolen - et hovedverktoy for a realisere tilpasset opplæring? [Workplans in school - a tool for individualizing education?]. Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 91(4), 344-358.

Kohn, A. (2006). The homework myth. Why our kids get too much of a bad thing. Philadelphia, PA: First Da Capo Press.

Modrack, S. (2008). The protestant work ethic revisited: A promising concept or an outdated idea? (WZB discussion paper no. SP I 2008-101). Berlin, Germany: Social Science Research Center Berlin, research unit: Labour Market Policy and Employment.

Montessori, M. (1936, 2009). Barndommensgâte. [The mystery of Childhood., Original title: Il segreto dell'infanzia]. Oslo: Montessori Forlaget.

OECD. (2014). Table C7.4. Learning environment, by type of school (2012). In Education at a glance 2014: OECD Indicators (Chapter C: Access to education, participation and progression).

Rice, G. (1999). Islamic ethics and the implications for business. Journal of Business Ethics, 18(4), 345-358.

Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (Second edition). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Ronning, M. (2010). Homework andpupil achievement in Norway: Evidence from TIMSS. Retrieved from https://www.ssb.no/a/publikasjoner/pdf/rapp_201001/rapp_201001.pdf

Shirokanova, A. (2015). A comparative study of work ethic among Muslims and Protestants: Multilevel evidence. Social Compass, 62(4), 615-631.

Sletten, M. A., Strandbu, Ä., & Gilje, 0. (2015). Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 99(5), 334-350.

Smith, P. K. (2003). Play and peer relations. In A. Slater, & G. Bremner (Eds.), An introduction to developmental psychology (pp. 311-333). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

The Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training. (2015). Den generelle del av lærerplanen. [The general part of the curriculum]. Retrieved from http:// www.udir.no/laring-og-trivsel/ lareplanverket/generell-del-av-lareplanen/

Tjora, A. H. (2010). Kvalitative forskningsmetoder i praksis. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

Valdermo, O. H. (2014, May 7). Lekser i TIMMS og i norsk skole. Bedre Skole. Retrieved from http://utdanningsforskning.no/artikler/lekser-i-timss-og-i-norsk-skole/

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Weber, M. (1995). Denprotestantiske etikk og kapitalismens and. Oslo: Pax Forlag.

Yin, R. (1994). Case study research. Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Corresponding author

Kjersti Lien Holte

Departement of Health and Social Science, 0stfold University College, Norway

E-mail: [email protected]

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Homework in Primary School: Could It Be Made More Child-Friendly?

Homework plays a crucial role in the childhood environment. Teachers argue that homework is important for learning both school subjects and a good work ethic. Hattie (2013, p.39) references 116 studies from around the world which show that homework has almost no effect on children’s learning at primary school. Some studies have also found little effect on the development of a good work ethic or that homework may be counterproductive as children develop strategies to get away with doing as little as possible, experience physical and emotional fatigue, and lose interest in school (Cooper, 1989; Klette, 2007; Kohn, 2010). The present article argues that the practice of homework in Norwegian primary schools potentially threatens the quality of childhood, using Befring’s (2012) five indicators of quality. These indicators are: (1) good and close relationships, (2) appreciation of diversity and variety, (3) development of interest and an optimistic future outlook, (4) caution with regards to risks, and (5) measures to counteract the reproduction of social differences. The analysis builds on empirical data from in-depth interviews with 37 teachers and document analysis of 107 weekly plans from 15 different schools. The results show that the practice of homework potentially threatens the quality of childhood in all five indicators. The findings suggest that there is a need for teachers to rethink the practice of homework in primary schools to protect the value and quality of childhood.

Klíčová slova

[1] Andrisani P. J., & Parnes, H. S. (1983). Commitment to the work ethic and success in the labour market: A review of research findings. In J. Barbrush, R. J. Lampman, & S. A. Leviatan, et al. (Eds.), The work ethic. A critical analysis (pp. 101–120). Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association Publications.

[2] Apple, M. (1982). Education and Power. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

[3] Aronowitz, S., & Giroux, H. (1993). Education still under siege (Second edition). Westport, Conneticut: Bergin and Garvin.

[4] Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

[5] Bandura, A. (1999). A social cognitive theory of personality. In L. Pervin, & O. John (Ed.), Handbook of personality (Second edition) (pp. 154–196). New York: Guilford Publications.

[6] Befring, E. (2012). Skolen for barnas beste: Kvalitetsvikår for oppvekst, læring og utvikling. [School for the childrens best: Quality indicators for upbringing, learning and development]. Oslo: Samlaget.

[7] Bempechat, J. (2004). The motivational benefits of homework: A social-cognitive perspective. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 189–196. | DOI 10.1207/s15430421tip4303_4

[8] Berglyd, I. W. (2003). Skole og hjem samarbeid – avstand og nærhet. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

[9] Blazer, Ch. (2009). Literature review homework. Miami, FL: Research services.

[10] Brøyn, T. (2016). Stress blant barn og unge. [Stress among children and young people]. Bedre Skole, (3), 38–40. Retrieved from https://www.utdanningsforbundet.no/upload/Tidsskrifter/Bedre%20Skole/BS_3_2016/7724-BedreSkole-0316-Stress.pdf

[11] Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. White Plains, NY: Longman.

[12] Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987–2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1–62. | DOI 10.3102/00346543076001001

[13] Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 227–233. | DOI 10.1207/s15430421tip4303_9

[14] Dale, E. L. (1996). Læring og utvikling – i lek og undervisning. In I. Bråten (Ed.), Vygotsky i pedagogikken (pp. 43–73). Oslo: Cappelen Akademiske Forlag. E24. (2016, October 9). Undersøkelse: Japanere jobber seg til døde. [Research: Japanese work themselves to death]. Retrieved from http://e24.no/jobb/japan/undersoekelse-japanere-jobber-segtil-doede/23815775

[15] Ford, N. (2014). " The crisis of work", by Andre Gorz. Retrieved from http://abolishwork.com/2014/12/01/the-crisis-of-work-andre-gorz/

[16] Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, R. D. (1999). The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Routledge.

[17] Goleman, D. (2013). Focus: The hidden driver of excellence. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing India.

[18] Grønmo, L. S., & Onstad, T. (2009). Tegn til bedring. Norske elevers prestasjoner i matematikk og naturfag i TIMSS 2007. Oslo: Unipub.

[19] Hadwin, A., Tevaarwerk, K., & Ross, S. (2005). Are we teaching students to strategically self-regulate learning? A content analysis of 100 study skills textbooks. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, April 11–15, 2005, Montreal, QB.

[20] Hattie, J. (2013). Synlig læring – for lærere. [Visible learning for teachers]. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

[21] Johnson, J., Arumi, A. M., & Ott, A. (2006). Balancing the educational agenda. American Educator, (Fall 2016), 18–26.

[22] Klette, K. (2007). Bruk av arbeidsplaner i skolen – et hovedverktøy for å realisere tilpasset opplæring? [Workplans in school – a tool for individualizing education?]. Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 91(4), 344–358.

[23] Kohn, A. (2006). The homework myth. Why our kids get too much of a bad thing. Philadelphia, PA: First Da Capo Press.

[24] Modrack, S. (2008). The protestant work ethic revisited: A promising concept or an outdated idea? (WZB discussion paper no. SP I 2008-101). Berlin, Germany: Social Science Research Center Berlin, research unit: Labour Market Policy and Employment.

[25] Montessori, M. (1936, 2009). Barndommens gåte. [The mystery of Childhood., Original title: Il segreto dell'infanzia]. Oslo: Montessori Forlaget.

[26] OECD. (2014). Table C7.4. Learning environment, by type of school (2012). In Education at a glance 2014: OECD Indicators (Chapter C: Access to education, participation and progression).

[27] Rice, G. (1999). Islamic ethics and the implications for business. Journal of Business Ethics, 18(4), 345–358. | DOI 10.1023/A:1005711414306

[28] Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (Second edition). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

[29] Rønning, M. (2010). Homework and pupil achievement in Norway: Evidence from TIMSS. Retrieved from https://www.ssb.no/a/publikasjoner/pdf/rapp_201001/rapp_201001.pdf

[30] Shirokanova, A. (2015). A comparative study of work ethic among Muslims and Protestants: Multilevel evidence. Social Compass, 62(4), 615–631. | DOI 10.1177/0037768615601980

[31] Sletten, M. A., Strandbu, Å., & Gilje, Ø. (2015). //Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 99(5), 334–350.

[32] Smith, P. K. (2003). Play and peer relations. In A. Slater, & G. Bremner (Eds.), An introduction to developmental psycholog y (pp. 311–333). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

[33] The Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training. (2015). Den generelle del av lærerplanen. [The general part of the curriculum]. Retrieved from http://www.udir.no/laring-og-trivsel/lareplanverket/generell-del-av-lareplanen/

[34] Tjora, A. H. (2010). Kvalitative forskningsmetoder i praksis. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

[35] Valdermo, O. H. (2014, May 7). Lekser i TIMMS og i norsk skole. Bedre Skole. Retrieved from http://utdanningsforskning.no/artikler/lekser-i-timss-og-i-norsk-skole/

[36] Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[37] Weber, M. (1995). Den protestantiske etikk og kapitalismens ånd. Oslo: Pax Forlag.

[38] Yin, R. (1994). Case study research. Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

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Homework’s implications for the well-being of primary school pupils—perceptions of children, parents, and teachers.

1. Introduction

1.1. homework—perspectives of students, teachers, and parents, 1.2. homework practices in primary education in romania, 1.3. present study, 2. methodology, 2.1. design, data collection methods, and procedures, 2.2. participants, 2.3. data analysis, 3. research findings, 3.1. homework not liked by students.

3.2. Students’ Negative Reactions When Doing Homework

3.3. Homework That Makes Children Feel Good

3.4. Homework Students Like

3.5. Checking and Assessing Homework

3.6. Suggestions for Improving Educational Practices Regarding Homework

4. Discussions

5. conclusions, author contributions, institutional reviewer board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Negru, I.; Sava, S. Homework’s Implications for the Well-Being of Primary School Pupils—Perceptions of Children, Parents, and Teachers. Educ. Sci. 2023 , 13 , 996. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100996

Negru I, Sava S. Homework’s Implications for the Well-Being of Primary School Pupils—Perceptions of Children, Parents, and Teachers. Education Sciences . 2023; 13(10):996. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100996

Negru, Iasmina, and Simona Sava. 2023. "Homework’s Implications for the Well-Being of Primary School Pupils—Perceptions of Children, Parents, and Teachers" Education Sciences 13, no. 10: 996. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13100996

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Homework tips for supporting children in primary school

Homework can be a sticking point for busy families.

After experts questioned its relevance for primary schoolers, many of you weighed in on Facebook, disagreeing on how much, if any, homework is the right amount for this age group. 

So, what is beneficial? And what are some strategies to help make it a less stressful part of the day for both parents and kids?

What's the value in homework?

Grattan Institute deputy program director Amy Haywood says there is value in homework — particularly set reading — for primary school-aged kids.

Ms Haywood, based in Naarm/Melbourne, says time spent reading independently or with an adult "is a really good use of time because it builds up the vocabulary".

In addition to reading, other key skills such as maths can be a focus.

"In classes is where they're doing a lot of the learning of new content or skills, and then outside the school might be opportunity to practise."

She says there's "clear evidence around practice leading to mastery, and then the mastery having an impact on students' engagement in school, [and] their confidence with taking on different learning tasks".

There's also a case for homework in later primary years as you might want them to build some of those study habits before they go into secondary school.

But, she says "schools need to be careful about what homework they are setting".

Communicate with the school

Ms Haywood encourages parents to speak to teachers if they have concerns about set homework.

"[Teachers] may not necessarily realise that a student is spending a lot of time or needing quite a bit of help.

"That new information is very useful for a teacher because it means that they can go back and understand what they might need to reteach and any misconceptions that they need to go over."

Find the best time for your family

Parenting expert and family counsellor Rachel Schofield says finding the best time for homework in your family's routine is important.

Based in New South Wales' Bega Valley, on traditional lands of the Yuin-Monaro Nations, she says for some families fitting it into the morning routine is easier.

It's also about when parents and caregivers are in "the best shape" to help, "because if you've got a kid that's battling homework, you're going to have to be in emotionally good shape".

"If you're really stressed at the end of the day, then that's probably not the best time."

Ms Schofield says "parents have incredibly busy lives" but if you can carve out the time "homework can become a place where you actually get to slow down and stop".

She says children below the age of 10 need a lot a supervision and shouldn't be expected to do homework independently.

Why homework straight after school might not work 

Ms Schofield says kids "need decompression time after school".

She says there's an understandable tendency among busy parents to get homework out of the way as soon as possible, but this could be working against them.

Snacks, play and time to offload are usually what primary-aged kids need, Ms Schofield says.

Some time to play and connect with a parent after school can be "really helpful".

Even 10 minutes "can make the whole trajectory of the evening go differently", she says.

Ms Schofield says kids can come home with "a lot of emotional stuff" and rough-and-tumble-play can be a good way to spend time with them and help them decompress after school.

Ms Schofield says you can also try and engage with your child 'playfully' if they are refusing to do homework.

It's tempting to be stern and serious in response, but she says treating it more "goofily" by poorly attempting to complete it yourself or asking your child for help with a task might get a better result.

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• Homework and Study
• Primary Education

NEWS • 13 May 2022

Primary school children get little academic benefit from homework

Paul Hopkins, Lecturer and Researcher in Education, on the usefulness of homework for primary school pupils.

Homework: a word that can cause despair not just in children, but also in parents and even teachers. And for primary school children at least, it may be that schools setting homework is more trouble than it’s worth.

There is evidence that homework can be useful at secondary school. It can be used to consolidate material learnt in class or to prepare for exams.

However, it is less clear that homework is useful for children at primary school (ages 5 to 11) or in early years education (ages 3 to 5).

What is homework for?

There are no current guidelines on how much homework primary school children in England should be set. In 2018 then education secretary Damien Hinds stated that “We trust individual school head teachers to decide what their policy on homework will be, and what happens if pupils don’t do what’s set”.

While there is not much data available on how much homework primary school pupils do, a 2018 survey of around 1,000 parents found that primary pupils were spending an average of 2.2 hours per week on homework.

The homework done by primary school children can include reading, practising spellings, or revising for tests. Charity the Education Endowment Foundation suggests that the uses for homework at primary school include reinforcing the skills that pupils learn in school, helping them get ready for tests and preparing them for future school lessons.

Homework can also act as a point of communication between home and school, helping parents feel part of their child’s schooling.

However, the 2018 Ofsted Parents’ Panel – which surveyed the views of around 1,000 parents in England on educational issues – found that 36% of parents thought that homework was not helpful at all to their primary school children. The panel report found that, for many parents, homework was a significant source of stress and negatively affected family life.

Little academic benefit

Not much academic research has been carried out on the impact of homework for children in primary school. The available meta-studies – research that combines and analyses the findings of a number of studies – suggest that homework has little or no positive benefit for the academic achievement of children of primary school age. A central reason for this seems to be the inability of children to complete this homework without the support provided by teachers and the school.

Some research has suggested that primary pupils lack the independent study skills to do homework, and that they are not able to stay focused on the work.

What’s more, homework may actually have a negative effect if parents set unrealistic expectations, apply pressure or use methods that go counter to those used at school.

Homework may also increase inequalities between pupils. High achievers from economically privileged backgrounds may have greater parental support for homework, including more educated assistance, higher expectations and better settings and resources.

However, it is possible that setting homework for primary school children has benefits that cannot be easily measured, such as developing responsibility and independent problem-solving skills. It could also help children develop habits that will be useful in later school life.

A common task set for homework in primary schools is for children to read with their parents. There is some evidence that this has a positive impact as well as providing enjoyment, but the quality of interaction may be more important than the quantity.

If the purpose of homework is to develop the relationship between home and school and give parents more stake in the schooling of their children then this may well be a positive thing. If this is its purpose, though, it should not be used as a means to improve test scores or school performance metrics. For the youngest children, anything that takes time away from developmental play is a bad thing.

Rather, any homework should develop confidence and engagement in the process of schooling for both children and parents.

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November 30, 2022

Is homework useful for kids? If so, what age should it start?

by Brian Gravel, Tufts University

A tricky aspect of being a professor of education with school-aged children is that I am frequently asked to comment on issues of pedagogy and policy.

One of my favorite topics involves the myriad questions around homework . When should kids get it? Are kids getting enough? Are they getting too much? What's the point?

Researchers have explored various aspects of homework for decades, asking questions about its efficacy in raising achievement scores and measuring forms of engagement, and if it can support certain kinds of learning goals.

Across the board, the educational community has consistently shown that the positive impacts of homework—in its present forms—are minimal at best.

Some middle school and high school students might score higher on achievement tests when they do homework. But we can't find evidence that it supports elementary school learning, and we have ample evidence of its harmful impact, like contributing to children's exhaustion, reducing time for play, and contributing to overall disinterest in school.

My 10-year-old son believes the purpose of homework is "to bore you." When asked for a more thoughtful response the question of its purpose, he says "I don't really know. Maybe to remember what you've been doing at school?"

Let me be clear—I do not believe homework in its current forms should exist at the elementary level, and I have deep skepticism of its utility at the middle and high school levels as well. This is more than opinion—it's the product of having studied how people learn, personal experience , and reading research on the topic. (See Alfie Kohn's writings on homework —they offer much to consider.)

Homework tends to be the place where the most rote, dull, and uninspired kinds of schooling tasks flourish: memorizing, repetition, reproduction. These contribute to what Ira Shor, notable educational philosopher and collaborator of Paulo Freire, called the great "endullment"—the "dulling of students' minds as a result of their nonparticipation."

If we believe education can empower students to be critical examiners of their worlds, to build ideas and connections, and to gain facility with communicating their thinking, then we must rethink "homework."

I would love it if we could shift the conversation away from whether homework "works" or whether students should be assigned homework, toward what homework could be. That's because, while we can remove it from elementary schools (and we should), it is likely not going away.

We should ask questions like "Why homework?" and "What could we ask students to explore at home?" And, "How could home be a place to further explore ideas, histories, and relationships that surface in conversations at school?" Or—here's a radical idea—we could ask students themselves what kind of work at home would feel engaging and meaningful to them.

Homework could invite students to continue thinking, reflecting, and building relationships among experiences in school and in other places in their lives. In fact, students are doing this kind of work already—making sense of what they encounter in school, in whatever forms that took.

I think of homework as extending and expanding the conversations of the classroom, with space for students to exercise their own creativity and agency in exploring those ideas along the lines of their choosing. Homework could be one way students bring their stories, histories, cultures, and identities into the classroom space to support their learning and participation.

The very notion of "homework" creates a somewhat false distinction in how learning and relationships transcend the spaces of one's life—school might feel different for students if it were a place to make sense of things happening in their lives.

A conversation about homework also allows us to question the nature of the learning environments in school. If the classroom work is rote, discrete, and shallow—then the thinking that students are doing outside of class might be along the lines of "why are we doing this work?" The teachers I work with are eager for more creative freedom in their classrooms, and perhaps questions about homework might provide opportunities for that.

I would be thrilled if we could collectively explore these dynamics of homework—what opportunities it provides, what harms it enacts—and what new possibilities could be imagined for work at home that supports the project of making schooling a meaningful experience for students.

Provided by Tufts University

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How Beneficial Is Homework for Students in Primary School?

Do Primary School Students Need to Do Homework?

• First Online: 12 October 2016

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• Natalie Dobell 4  

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As I grew up I developed a positive view on the value of homework, thanks to regular support from my nanna, a retired primary school teacher, and from having cystic fibrosis, which made homework vital for me when I had to spend time in hospital. While I hated the homework, the transition back to class would have been difficult without it, and I am grateful that the teachers put in extra effort to keep me from falling behind. In my current practicum I had thus thought that homework would be beneficial, as a majority of this class were below average in reading and spelling. However, while my mentor teacher sometimes tried to assign homework, it was always completed by just the same few students and never by the others. When I investigated the issue further by asking many teachers about it, the majority thought that homework benefitted students’ reading, some stating that homework worksheets were particularly useful for upper primary students. Even so, from my practicum experiences, reading many articles, and discussions with teachers, parents and students, I have come to the conclusion that homework is not beneficial for all primary school students. There are many factors to consider, such as the socioeconomic levels of the class, the students’ academic abilities, and whether the students will require assistance and if that is available to them.

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Homework: Facts and Fiction

Baker, F. (n.d.). The great homework debate. http://www.kidspot.com.au/school/primary/homework/the-great-homework-debate . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

MacGibbon, A. (2009, September 21). Life after school: All homework, no play. The Sydney Morning Hearald . http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/life-after-school-all-homework-no-play-20090920-fwt2.html . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). (2009). Education at a glance 2009: OECD indicators . http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/educationataglance2009oecdindicators.htm . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

Paton, G. (2014, October 5). Homework ‘damages’ primary age pupils. The Telegraph . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11140668/Homework-damagesprimary-age-pupils.html . Accessed 29 Jan 2016.

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Dobell, N. (2017). How Beneficial Is Homework for Students in Primary School?. In: Geng, G., Smith, P., Black, P. (eds) The Challenge of Teaching. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2571-6_32

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Vyhledávací dotaz Hledání

Homework in Primary School: Could It Be Made More Child-Friendly?

Roč.21, č.4 (2016) studia paedagogica: childhood.

Kjersti Lien Holte

https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2016-4-1

Homework plays a crucial role in the childhood environment. Teachers argue that homework is important for learning both school subjects and a good work ethic. Hattie (2013, p.39) references 116 studies from around the world which show that homework has almost no effect on children’s learning at primary school. Some studies have also found little effect on the development of a good work ethic or that homework may be counterproductive as children develop strategies to get away with doing as little as possible, experience physical and emotional fatigue, and lose interest in school (Cooper, 1989; Klette, 2007; Kohn, 2010). The present article argues that the practice of homework in Norwegian primary schools potentially threatens the quality of childhood, using Befring’s (2012) five indicators of quality. These indicators are: (1) good and close relationships, (2) appreciation of diversity and variety, (3) development of interest and an optimistic future outlook, (4) caution with regards to risks, and (5) measures to counteract the reproduction of social differences. The analysis builds on empirical data from in-depth interviews with 37 teachers and document analysis of 107 weekly plans from 15 different schools. The results show that the practice of homework potentially threatens the quality of childhood in all five indicators. The findings suggest that there is a need for teachers to rethink the practice of homework in primary schools to protect the value and quality of childhood.

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[6] Befring, E. (2012). Skolen for barnas beste: Kvalitetsvikår for oppvekst, læring og utvikling. [School for the childrens best: Quality indicators for upbringing, learning and development]. Oslo: Samlaget.

[7] Bempechat, J. (2004). The motivational benefits of homework: A social-cognitive perspective. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 189–196. | DOI 10.1207/s15430421tip4303_4

[8] Berglyd, I. W. (2003). Skole og hjem samarbeid – avstand og nærhet. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

[9] Blazer, Ch. (2009). Literature review homework. Miami, FL: Research services.

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[11] Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. White Plains, NY: Longman.

[12] Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987–2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1–62. | DOI 10.3102/00346543076001001

[13] Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 227–233. | DOI 10.1207/s15430421tip4303_9

[14] Dale, E. L. (1996). Læring og utvikling – i lek og undervisning. In I. Bråten (Ed.), Vygotsky i pedagogikken (pp. 43–73). Oslo: Cappelen Akademiske Forlag. E24. (2016, October 9). Undersøkelse: Japanere jobber seg til døde. [Research: Japanese work themselves to death]. Retrieved from http://e24.no/jobb/japan/undersoekelse-japanere-jobber-segtil-doede/23815775

[15] Ford, N. (2014). " The crisis of work", by Andre Gorz. Retrieved from http://abolishwork.com/2014/12/01/the-crisis-of-work-andre-gorz/

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[20] Hattie, J. (2013). Synlig læring – for lærere. [Visible learning for teachers]. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

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[23] Kohn, A. (2006). The homework myth. Why our kids get too much of a bad thing. Philadelphia, PA: First Da Capo Press.

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Homework in primary school: could it be made more child-friendly?

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Khan Academy Blog

Making Homework Easier: Tips and Tools for Parents 

posted on September 20, 2023

By Stephanie Yamkovenko , group manager of Khan Academy’s Digital Marketing Team.

Homework can present challenges for parents and children alike. You naturally want to provide support for your child’s learning journey and ensure they are reaching their full potential. In this blog post, we will delve into practical strategies to assist your child with their homework. From fostering understanding and offering encouragement to breaking down tasks and implementing rewards, we will explore a variety of effective approaches to help your child achieve academic success.

Step 1: Set Up Your Child for Success

Your child’s study environment can have a significant impact on their homework performance. Create a space that is free from distractions like the television, smartphones, or noisy siblings. The study space should be comfortable, well lit, and have all the necessary materials your child might need, such as pens, papers, and textbooks. If your child’s workspace is noisy or uncomfortable, they may have difficulty focusing on their homework, resulting in lower productivity. 

For example, if you live in a small apartment, consider setting up a designated corner with a small desk or table where your child can focus on their work. You can use dividers or screens to create a sense of privacy and minimize distractions.

If the only place to do homework is in the dining room or kitchen, try to establish a routine where the area is cleared and organized before study time. This can help signal to your child that it’s time to concentrate and be productive.

Remember, it’s important to adapt to your specific circumstances and make the best of the available space. The key is to create a dedicated study area that promotes focus and minimizes interruptions regardless of the size or location of your home.

Try Confidence Boosters for Your Child Here!

Step 2: make it fun.

It’s important to make homework fun and engaging for your child. Here are some examples of how you can do it:

• Use games : Incorporate educational games like card games, board games, or puzzles that align with the subject your child is learning. For instance, use Scrabble to practice spelling or Sudoku to enhance problem-solving skills.
• Turn it into a challenge : Create a friendly competition between siblings or friends by setting goals or time limits for completing assignments. Offer small rewards or incentives for accomplishing tasks.
• Make it interactive : Use hands-on activities or experiments to reinforce concepts learned in class. For science or math, conduct simple experiments at home or use manipulatives like blocks or counters to visualize abstract concepts.
• Use technology : Explore online educational platforms or apps that offer interactive learning experiences. There are various educational games, virtual simulations, and videos available that can make homework more enjoyable.
• Incorporate creativity : Encourage your child to express their understanding through art, storytelling, or multimedia presentations. For example, they can create a comic strip to summarize a story or make a short video to explain a concept.

Remember, by making homework enjoyable, you can help your child develop a positive attitude towards learning.

Step 3: Use Rewards

Rewards can be a powerful motivational tool for children. Offering positive reinforcement can encourage them to complete their homework on time and to the best of their ability. 

Here are some examples of rewards our team has used with their children:

• Extra screen time: “I use Apple parental controls to add screen time on their iPad.”
• Access to a favorite toy: “My eight year old has a drum kit, which drives us all up the wall. (Thanks, Grandma!) But when they’ve been doing a lot of school work, we put on headphones and let him go nuts.”
• Praise for a job well done: “Specific, measurable praise is what works best.” 
• Trip to the park: “A trip to the park is good for everyone, especially for the kids to run around with the doggos.”
• Movie night: “I know every word and song lyric in Moana ; we now reserve showings for good behavior.” 
• Stickers or stamps: “Gold stars were such a thing growing up in the 80s; turns out they still work.”
• Stay up a little later: “An extra 30 minutes feels like a whole day for my young ones; use this reward with caution as it can become the expectation!”

So, celebrate your child’s efforts and encourage them to continue doing their best.

Step 4: Break Down Difficult Tasks

When facing daunting homework assignments, follow these step-by-step instructions to break down the tasks into smaller, manageable chunks:

• Understand the requirements and scope of the task.
• Break down the assignment into individual tasks or sub-tasks.  
• Splitting the middle term
• Using formula
• Using Quadratic formula
• Using algebraic identities
• Determine the order in which tasks should be completed based on importance or difficulty. 
• Start with the easiest task. Begin with the task that seems the least challenging or time-consuming.
• Progress to more challenging tasks: Once the easier tasks are completed, move on to more difficult ones.
• Take breaks: Schedule short breaks between tasks to avoid burnout and maintain focus.
• Check completed tasks for accuracy and make any necessary revisions.
• Finish the remaining task(s) with the same approach.
• Celebrate small achievements to boost confidence and keep motivation high.

By following these steps, you can make daunting homework assignments more manageable and less overwhelming for your child.

Step 5: Get Targeted Help

If your child is struggling with homework, it might be worth considering seeking personalized assistance. You have the option to search for professional tutors or explore online tutoring platforms, such as Khan Academy’s AI tutor, Khanmigo .

This AI tutor can offer personalized guidance and support tailored to your child’s specific needs, helping them grasp complex concepts and practice essential skills. Incorporating this approach can effectively complement your child’s learning and enhance their homework performance.

Enhance your child’s learning and boost homework performance!

Homework can be a challenge for both parents and children. But with the right approach, you can help your child overcome difficulties and support their learning. Encourage and understand your child, create a comfortable environment, break down difficult tasks, use rewards, get professional help when needed, and make it fun. With these tips and techniques, you can help your child achieve success, develop a love for learning, and achieve academic excellence. Remember that each child learns differently, so it’s essential to adjust your approach to meet their unique needs.

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The best way to learn and teach with AI is here. Ace the school year with our AI-powered guide, Khanmigo. 

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Why homework doesn't seem to boost learning--and how it could.

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Some schools are eliminating homework, citing research showing it doesn’t do much to boost achievement. But maybe teachers just need to assign a different kind of homework.

In 2016, a second-grade teacher in Texas delighted her students—and at least some of their parents—by announcing she would no longer assign homework. “Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance,” she explained.

The following year, the superintendent of a Florida school district serving 42,000 students eliminated homework for all elementary students and replaced it with twenty minutes of nightly reading, saying she was basing her decision on “solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students.”

Many other elementary schools seem to have quietly adopted similar policies. Critics have objected that even if homework doesn’t increase grades or test scores, it has other benefits, like fostering good study habits and providing parents with a window into what kids are doing in school.

Those arguments have merit, but why doesn’t homework boost academic achievement? The research cited by educators just doesn’t seem to make sense. If a child wants to learn to play the violin, it’s obvious she needs to practice at home between lessons (at least, it’s obvious to an adult). And psychologists have identified a range of strategies that help students learn, many of which seem ideally suited for homework assignments.

For example, there’s something called “ retrieval practice ,” which means trying to recall information you’ve already learned. The optimal time to engage in retrieval practice is not immediately after you’ve acquired information but after you’ve forgotten it a bit—like, perhaps, after school. A homework assignment could require students to answer questions about what was covered in class that day without consulting their notes. Research has found that retrieval practice and similar learning strategies are far more powerful than simply rereading or reviewing material.

One possible explanation for the general lack of a boost from homework is that few teachers know about this research. And most have gotten little training in how and why to assign homework. These are things that schools of education and teacher-prep programs typically don’t teach . So it’s quite possible that much of the homework teachers assign just isn’t particularly effective for many students.

Even if teachers do manage to assign effective homework, it may not show up on the measures of achievement used by researchers—for example, standardized reading test scores. Those tests are designed to measure general reading comprehension skills, not to assess how much students have learned in specific classes. Good homework assignments might have helped a student learn a lot about, say, Ancient Egypt. But if the reading passages on a test cover topics like life in the Arctic or the habits of the dormouse, that student’s test score may well not reflect what she’s learned.

The research relied on by those who oppose homework has actually found it has a modest positive effect at the middle and high school levels—just not in elementary school. But for the most part, the studies haven’t looked at whether it matters what kind of homework is assigned or whether there are different effects for different demographic student groups. Focusing on those distinctions could be illuminating.

A study that looked specifically at math homework , for example, found it boosted achievement more in elementary school than in middle school—just the opposite of the findings on homework in general. And while one study found that parental help with homework generally doesn’t boost students’ achievement—and can even have a negative effect— another concluded that economically disadvantaged students whose parents help with homework improve their performance significantly.

That seems to run counter to another frequent objection to homework, which is that it privileges kids who are already advantaged. Well-educated parents are better able to provide help, the argument goes, and it’s easier for affluent parents to provide a quiet space for kids to work in—along with a computer and internet access . While those things may be true, not assigning homework—or assigning ineffective homework—can end up privileging advantaged students even more.

Students from less educated families are most in need of the boost that effective homework can provide, because they’re less likely to acquire academic knowledge and vocabulary at home. And homework can provide a way for lower-income parents—who often don’t have time to volunteer in class or participate in parents’ organizations—to forge connections to their children’s schools. Rather than giving up on homework because of social inequities, schools could help parents support homework in ways that don’t depend on their own knowledge—for example, by recruiting others to help, as some low-income demographic groups have been able to do . Schools could also provide quiet study areas at the end of the day, and teachers could assign homework that doesn’t rely on technology.

Another argument against homework is that it causes students to feel overburdened and stressed.  While that may be true at schools serving affluent populations, students at low-performing ones often don’t get much homework at all—even in high school. One study found that lower-income ninth-graders “consistently described receiving minimal homework—perhaps one or two worksheets or textbook pages, the occasional project, and 30 minutes of reading per night.” And if they didn’t complete assignments, there were few consequences. I discovered this myself when trying to tutor students in writing at a high-poverty high school. After I expressed surprise that none of the kids I was working with had completed a brief writing assignment, a teacher told me, “Oh yeah—I should have told you. Our students don’t really do homework.”

If and when disadvantaged students get to college, their relative lack of study skills and good homework habits can present a serious handicap. After noticing that black and Hispanic students were failing her course in disproportionate numbers, a professor at the University of North Carolina decided to make some changes , including giving homework assignments that required students to quiz themselves without consulting their notes. Performance improved across the board, but especially for students of color and the disadvantaged. The gap between black and white students was cut in half, and the gaps between Hispanic and white students—along with that between first-generation college students and others—closed completely.

There’s no reason this kind of support should wait until students get to college. To be most effective—both in terms of instilling good study habits and building students’ knowledge—homework assignments that boost learning should start in elementary school.

Some argue that young children just need time to chill after a long day at school. But the “ten-minute rule”—recommended by homework researchers—would have first graders doing ten minutes of homework, second graders twenty minutes, and so on. That leaves plenty of time for chilling, and even brief assignments could have a significant impact if they were well-designed.

But a fundamental problem with homework at the elementary level has to do with the curriculum, which—partly because of standardized testing— has narrowed to reading and math. Social studies and science have been marginalized or eliminated, especially in schools where test scores are low. Students spend hours every week practicing supposed reading comprehension skills like “making inferences” or identifying “author’s purpose”—the kinds of skills that the tests try to measure—with little or no attention paid to content.

But as research has established, the most important component in reading comprehension is knowledge of the topic you’re reading about. Classroom time—or homework time—spent on illusory comprehension “skills” would be far better spent building knowledge of the very subjects schools have eliminated. Even if teachers try to take advantage of retrieval practice—say, by asking students to recall what they’ve learned that day about “making comparisons” or “sequence of events”—it won’t have much impact.

If we want to harness the potential power of homework—particularly for disadvantaged students—we’ll need to educate teachers about what kind of assignments actually work. But first, we’ll need to start teaching kids something substantive about the world, beginning as early as possible.

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Is homework useful or necessary?

An updated norwegian education act is currently being considered. several researchers are sceptical about the benefits of homework..

We are used to homework being part of a school’s learning programme, but homework is not mandated by the state and is only one of several options that schools have.

The Education Act currently includes no clear authorisation for assigning homework. It is therefore up to individual municipalities, schools and teachers whether they want to use homework as part of the educational scheme.

The Norwegian Ministry of Education believes that the new Education Act should specify that an individual school can require students to do assignments and homework outside of school hours.

Researchers and teachers in the field of pedagogy in the university and college sector met to discuss and submit their response to the proposed new Education Act:

“We wonder what knowledge the Ministry has based its statement on. A decision authorising homework would be a serious setback for the development of homework-free/homework-aware schools and especially for researching the topic.”

More about their input is included later in this article.

Changed opinion about homework usefulness

Opinions about homework in school vary widely, and more research is needed on the effect that homework has on learning. A research project at NTNU on homework-free schools has captured interesting results.

Per Egil Mjaavatn is a researcher and associate professor affiliated with NTNU. He previously supported homework as a positive tool for the learning outcomes of children and adolescents. During the course of the research project, he changed his mind.

Need more knowledge

The city council in Trondheim wanted to try out a homework-free project in some of the city’s elementary schools in order to gain experience with a different way of working in schools. NTNU’s Department of Education and Lifelong Learning was asked to evaluate the experiment.

The purpose of the project was to improve the knowledge base about attitudes towards, and experiences with homework in primary school – and about the effects of homework.

Although the homework-free project had to be scaled back and eventually discontinued due to the COVID pandemic, the researchers made several interesting discoveries.

In the 2019/2020 school year, Flatåsen and Stabbursmoen schools were homework-free with two extra school hours a week, while Byåsen and Romulslia schools were homework-free with no change in the timetable.

All four schools were in Trondheim municipality. Four control schools that gave traditional homework assignments as well as homework help at school were also involved in the trial project. Pupils in 5th through 7th grade participated.

Homework-free option reduced family conflicts

90 per cent of the children in schools with no homework experienced having more time to spend with family and friends. They also found that the level of conflict at home was less, as did more than half of the parents.

The parent of a child in a homework-free school with an extended school day said: “Fewer conflicts around homework, no need to fuss and follow up on whether homework was done. Better atmosphere in the home."

Another parent said: “Good for the family, but little control over my child’s development."

The parent of a child in a homework-free school with no timetable changes said: “There was less arguing about homework and when it had to be done. But I also think that the school hours should be extended if the no-homework policy continues next year."

Does homework promote or inhibit motivation?

A lot of students are tired of homework. A whopping 83.8 per cent of the pupils who took part in the trial project responded that they get bored with school because of homework.

Fewer than half the teachers believed that homework helps make pupils more interested in their schoolwork. The majority of parents (79 per cent) and teachers (89 per cent) believed that giving pupils homework is primarily dictated by tradition in Norwegian schools.

Some parents reported in their comments that pupils became more motivated about school and performed better during the homework-free period. Other parents said the opposite: the lack of homework made pupil motivation and performance worse.

Parents with an immigrant background were more positive about homework than the general parent average.

Girls missed homework

Only 28 per cent of the pupils in the homework-free schools believed that homework is necessary for them to learn everything that is expected of them. 20 per cent responded that they missed homework, and especially the girls at the homework-free schools missed having homework.

In the control schools with traditional homework, 70 per cent of the pupils would prefer not to have homework, yet 74.5 per cent of these pupils agreed with the statement that homework is necessary for learning.

Mathematics seems to be in a special position: a clear majority in all three informant groups believed that mathematics homework is necessary to get enough problem-solving practice.

Parents and teachers prefer different solutions

More than half of the parents would like to have an arrangement of an extended school day and no homework. Such a solution would satisfy both their desire for no homework and less homework stress at home.

A clear majority of the teachers preferred an ordinary school day with homework.

A pupil at a homework-free school with an extended school day said: "Not having homework was great. I'd rather be at school longer than have problems with homework at home."

Does homework contribute to increased inequality?

One task of schools is to reduce social differences in society. A clear majority of parents (75 per cent) believed that homework leads to greater differences between children of parents with different educational backgrounds.

The teachers disagreed with the parents in this regard. Only 39 per cent of the teachers believed that homework contributes to increased differences between children with different socio-economic backgrounds.

Homework should be a repetition of familiar material. Nevertheless, 95 per cent of the pupils answered that they got help at home to do their homework in Norwegian and mathematics.

“In other words, students aren’t able to do a lot of the homework that’s being assigned on their own, which seems demotivating. The pupils who had homework were less interested in these subjects than the pupils who didn’t have homework,” Mjaavatn says.

75 per cent of parents said they had to help their children with homework.

“Parents have different levels of preparation for helping their children with homework, and this can result in different learning conditions for children,” Mjaavatn says.

A majority of parents believed that homework also leads to greater differences between students’ academic levels.

Here too, the parent responses differed from those of the teachers. Only a third of the teachers shared the parents’ opinion.

How much time should children spend on homework?

Parents expect more homework with increasing age. The parents’ responses differed significantly here, with fathers wanting more time per week for homework than mothers.

Teachers’ homework expectations were slightly higher than those of parents in terms of what they perceive to be an appropriate amount of time spent on homework in a normal school week.

On average, the teachers suggested 3.27 hours per week for 5th graders and 3.55 hours for 7th graders.

Responses scattered

The researchers write in their report that they do not have measures of the impact that can show whether the homework-free project had an effect on the pupils’ effort and learning.

“But we’ve gained an understanding of the opinions held by pupils, parents and teachers on this issue. The answers vary widely, and we’ve concluded that the question of whether homework promotes learning and motivation depends on whom you ask.”

New Education Act

Now, back to the new Norwegian Education Act, which is out for review. Just over 30 pedagogical researchers and teachers in the university and college sector have gathered to craft a response relating to homework in particular.

“The answer to the question of whether homework is useful and necessary depends on who is given it and for what purpose. Whose perspectives are taken into account when issues relating to homework are formulated? Homework is a complex phenomenon that involves a lot of different players,” Elisabeth Rønningen at NTNU says. She is one of the authors of the text.

How teachers justify their views on homework

A qualitative study that examined how and why teachers give homework in elementary school showed that teachers justify homework by saying that:

• homework provides more learning.
• pupils should make the learning their own.
• homework helps students develop good work habits.
• homework is a good way to collaborate with children’s homes.
• schools depend on parent participation to meet all the competency targets.
• homework gives students time and peace to reflect on, repeat and automate their basic skills.

Thin knowledge base

The problem is that the knowledge base for these justifications is very thin, the researchers write in their response. For example, research shows no clear connection between homework and learning.

Australian school researcher John Hattie refers to 161 studies which conclude that homework has little or no effect on learning, least of all in primary school.

The literature review on homework research from the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training (2021) includes no reference to studies that can document a strong connection between homework and pupils’ learning.

The review states that Norway showed no significant correlation between the time pupils spend on homework and their results in mathematics, according to the PISA survey.

Homework can lead to poor work habits

Nor does the research show any clear connection between homework and the development of good work habits in pupils. In Harris Cooper and colleagues' research summary, they found that homework can lead to developing bad work habits just as well as good ones.

Homework can lead to rushing assignments, doing tasks with little commitment and care, copying from the internet or getting others to do the tasks for them.

Stress and conflict-filled family relationships

In the experts' response, they argue that there needs to be a clear connection between homework and the development of good work habits if it is to be used as an argument for the Education Act to authorise schools to be able to require pupils to do school work after school hours.

The practice of giving homework assignments can be counterproductive . Holte’s research from 2016 showed that homework can contribute to destroying close and positive relationships between parents and children, because homework can lead to increased stress levels and conflict-filled relationships at home.

In their response, the researchers and teachers propose that the wording of the new law be changed to:

The school cannot require pupils to do assignments outside of school hours (homework).

A formulation like this sets a clear boundary against a teaching practice for which no good evidence exists and which can have very negative consequences both at an individual and societal level. This formulation is most in line with what we know today, they write

Read the full consultation response here (link in Norwegian).

Harris Cooper et al. 'Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003', Review of Educational Research , 2006. Abstract.

K.L. Holte. Homework in Primary School: Could It Be Made More Child-Friendly? Studia paedagogica: Childhood , 2017.

This article/press release is paid for and presented by NTNU

This content is created by NTNU's communication staff, who use this platform to communicate science and share results from research with the public. NTNU is one of more than 80 owners of ScienceNorway.no. Read more here .

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Why homework has merit and can be a force for good

The brouhaha about the need to abolish school homework, as if it was a recently invented form of cruelty to children, needs perspective and reasoned discussion.

I come, not to bury homework, but to praise it.

Recent discussions about cancelling homework for good seem to be focused almost entirely on the needs of time-poor parents, rather than the benefits to students.

In spite of the protestations that schoolwork – set by teachers to complement classroom learning – must be abolished with immediate effect, the facts are that there are myriad benefits accruing to your child from homework that we should not lose sight of.

Painting homework as the enemy of busy children misses the bigger and more nuanced picture. The idea that it should be cancelled outright seems like a knee-jerk reaction to what amounts to a modern family time-management issue. And it must be noted that generations of children have survived the imposition of homework, and many have even thrived.

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This line of thinking also misses the whole purpose of home-based assignments.

Homework is an important bridge between school and the home. It allows parents to be part of a child’s educational journey and to contribute in a meaningful way. It keeps the channels of communication about what happens in school open, an important consideration.

[  Homework: ‘If educators saw the stress it causes, they would be horrified’ Opens in new window  ]

To suggest that a broad array of extracurricular activities should take precedence entirely over home-based school work is misguided at best. It also sidesteps the fact that many children in homes where money is too tight to mention will be the biggest losers here, as they won’t be spending their time being ferried from one draughty hall to another for ballet or tai chi lessons.

Comparing attending school to going to work as an adult misses the point by a country mile, and amounts to an erroneous justification for such a move. Education is a lifelong journey. If you demonise homework you are giving a child the message that schoolwork/learning is a negative thing. Learning is a wonderful thing. That’s a really worthwhile message to pass on to your children.

However, that is not to say that there is, or at least should be, an optimum amount of work set by a teacher that is age-dependent. If you haven’t 20-30 minutes to spare with your smallie, then the issue is a lifestyle one set up by you, rather than the school one. I am perplexed by parents who believe that their child’s formal education is solely the remit of the school. There is only so much one teacher with up to 30 pupils in a class can do. Issues with a child’s ability to learn will likely be picked up faster on a one-to-one basis at home rather than in a busy classroom.

[  How homework can help children feel happier Opens in new window  ]

Conversely, if you have a very fast learner, you can encourage them to do more to ensure they don’t get bored and lose interest.

Additionally, homework tasks can allow the parent to expand the content to include other ideas and different content. Homework also teaches your child the importance of beginning and finishing a task, a worthwhile life skill.

As a parent I have enjoyed being part of my child’s learning journey. I have fond memories of a little head at the kitchen table calling out “Mum” followed by questions about the meaning or spelling of a word. “Why is the sky blue” stands out vividly as a taxing question that we both had fun establishing the facts for, compliments of Mr Google.

Learning can be fun and that is an important message for parents to give their children. Parents are key educators too. The importance of a visit to the local library and the luxury of time to read a book is arguably more beneficial to a child than contorting their fingers around the neck of a violin. Time to stop, to think and just to be is underrated in modern life, where being busy all the time is considered desirable.

That being said, I think some reworking of homework is overdue. The tedium of completing workbooks being a case in point. Teachers should be encouraged to set stimulating and more creative tasks as homework also. The very idea of written wellbeing homework is faintly ridiculous. It doesn’t take a genius to say “Homework this evening is to dance for 15 minutes to your favourite music.”

[  Why do parents allow children to continue doing homework when they can just opt them out? Opens in new window  ]

The proliferation of after-school activities is also an undoubted indicator of affluence. You would need to ask why one fairly small child needs to attend ballet, violin, swimming, piano, GAA, chess, martial arts, drama, art, French and the rest. Bragging rights for parents shouldn’t form part of the equation, but they often do.

If homework is abolished in primary schools, as sure as night follows day, it will also be dropped at second level too. Given that the Irish examination system is a written one – with many subjects based on essay-style answers – the inability to write well and succinctly will be an impediment to success. Practice does make perfect.

Traditionally, teachers work fewer hours to compensate for time spent correcting homework. There is nothing to stop any parent dropping a note to the teacher to say that no homework was completed last night as we were otherwise engaged.

The bottom line here is that if extracurricular activities are preventing your child from doing homework, the issue is perhaps the out-of-school schedule rather than the homework.

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How to help your kids with homework (without doing it for them)

Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Monash University

Lecturer, Monash University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers . Parent involvement in their child’s learning can help improve how well they do in school. However, when it comes to helping kids with homework, it’s not so simple.

While it’s important to show support and model learning behaviour, there is a limit to how much help you can give without robbing your child of the opportunity to learn for themselves.

Be involved and interested

An analysis of more than 400 research studies found parent involvement, both at school and at home, could improve students’ academic achievement, engagement and motivation.

School involvement includes parents participating in events such as parent-teacher conferences and volunteering in the classroom. Home involvement includes parents talking with children about school, providing encouragement, creating stimulating environments for learning and finally – helping them with homework.

Read more: What to do at home so your kids do well at school

The paper found overall, it was consistently beneficial for parents to be involved in their child’s education, regardless of the child’s age or socioeconomic status. However, this same analysis also suggested parents should be cautious with how they approach helping with homework.

Parents helping kids with homework was linked to higher levels of motivation and engagement, but lower levels of academic achievement. This suggests too much help may take away from the child’s responsibility for their own learning.

Help them take responsibility

Most children don’t like homework. Many parents agonise over helping their children with homework. Not surprisingly, this creates a negative emotional atmosphere that often results in questioning the value of homework.

Homework has often been linked to student achievement, promoting the idea children who complete it will do better in school. The most comprehensive analysis on homework and achievement to date suggests it can influence academic achievement (like test scores), particularly for children in years seven to 12.

But more research is needed to find out about how much homework is appropriate for particular ages and what types are best to maximise home learning.

Read more: Too much help with homework can hinder your child's learning progress

When it comes to parent involvement, research suggests parents should help their child see their homework as an opportunity to learn rather than perform. For example, if a child needs to create a poster, it is more valuable the child notes the skills they develop while creating the poster rather than making the best looking poster in the class.

Instead of ensuring their child completes their homework, it’s more effective for parents to support their child to increase confidence in completing homework tasks on their own.

Here are four ways they can do this.

1. Praise and encourage your child

Your positivity will make a difference to your child’s approach to homework and learning in general. Simply, your presence and support creates a positive learning environment.

Our study involved working with recently arrived Afghani mothers who were uncertain how to help their children with school. This was because they said they could not understand the Australian education system or speak or write in English.

However, they committed to sit next to their children as they completed their homework tasks in English, asking them questions and encouraging them to discuss what they were learning in their first language.

In this way, the parents still played a role in supporting their child even without understanding the content and the children were actively engaged in their learning.

2. Model learning behaviour

Many teachers model what they would like their students to do. So, if a child has a problem they can’t work out, you can sit down and model how you would do it, then complete the next one together and then have the child do it on their own.

3. Create a homework plan

When your child becomes overly frustrated with their homework, do not force them. Instead, together create a plan to best tackle it:

read and understand the homework task

break the homework task into smaller logical chunks

discuss how much time is required to complete each chunk

work backwards from the deadline and create a timeline

put the timeline where the child can see it

encourage your child to mark completed chunks to see the progress made on the task

4. Make space for homework

Life is busy. Parents can create positive study habits by allocating family time for this. This could mean carving out one hour after dinner for your child to do homework while you engage in a study activity such as reading, rather than watching television and relaxing. You can also create a comfortable and inviting reading space for the child to learn in.

Parents’ ability to support their child’s learning goes beyond homework. Parents can engage their child in discussions, read with them, and provide them with other ongoing learning opportunities (such as going to a museum, watching a documentary or spending time online together).

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The Value of Parents Helping with Homework

Dr. selena kiser.

• September 2, 2020

The importance of parents helping with homework is invaluable. Helping with homework is an important responsibility as a parent and directly supports the learning process. Parents’ experience and expertise is priceless. One of the best predictors of success in school is learning at home and being involved in children’s education. Parental involvement with homework helps develop self-confidence and motivation in the classroom. Parents helping students with homework has a multitude of benefits including spending individual time with children, enlightening strengths and weaknesses, making learning more meaningful, and having higher aspirations.

How Parental Involvement with Homework Impacts Students

Parental involvement with homework impacts students in a positive way. One of the most important reasons for parental involvement is that it helps alleviate stress and anxiety if the students are facing challenges with specific skills or topics. Parents have experience and expertise with a variety of subject matter and life experiences to help increase relevance. Parents help their children understand content and make it more meaningful, while also helping them understand things more clearly.

Also, their involvement increases skill and subject retention. Parents get into more depth about content and allow students to take skills to a greater level. Many children will always remember the times spent together working on homework or classroom projects. Parental involvement with homework and engagement in their child’s education are related to higher academic performance, better social skills and behavior, and increased self-confidence.

Parents helping with homework allows more time to expand upon subjects or skills since learning can be accelerated in the classroom. This is especially true in today’s classrooms. The curricula in many classrooms is enhanced and requires teaching a lot of content in a small amount of time. Homework is when parents and children can spend extra time on skills and subject matter. Parents provide relatable reasons for learning skills, and children retain information in greater depth.

Parental involvement increases creativity and induces critical-thinking skills in children. This creates a positive learning environment at home and transfers into the classroom setting. Parents have perspective on their children, and this allows them to support their weaknesses while expanding upon their strengths. The time together enlightens parents as to exactly what their child’s strengths and weaknesses are.

Virtual learning is now utilized nationwide, and parents are directly involved with their child’s schoolwork and homework. Their involvement is more vital now than ever. Fostering a positive homework environment is critical in virtual learning and assists children with technological and academic material.

Strategies for Including Parents in Homework

An essential strategy for including parents in homework is sharing a responsibility to help children meet educational goals. Parents’ commitment to prioritizing their child’s educational goals, and participating in homework supports a larger objective. Teachers and parents are specific about the goals and work directly with the child with classwork and homework. Teachers and parents collaboratively working together on children’s goals have larger and more long-lasting success. This also allows parents to be strategic with homework assistance.

A few other great examples of how to involve parents in homework are conducting experiments, assignments, or project-based learning activities that parents play an active role in. Interviewing parents is a fantastic way to be directly involved in homework and allows the project to be enjoyable. Parents are honored to be interviewed, and these activities create a bond between parents and children. Students will remember these assignments for the rest of their lives.

Project-based learning activities examples are family tree projects, leaf collections, research papers, and a myriad of other hands-on learning assignments. Children love working with their parents on these assignments as they are enjoyable and fun. This type of learning and engagement also fosters other interests. Conducting research is another way parents directly impact their child’s homework. This can be a subject the child is interested in or something they are unfamiliar with. Children and parents look forward to these types of homework activities.

Parents helping students with homework has a multitude of benefits. Parental involvement and engagement have lifelong benefits and creates a pathway for success. Parents provide autonomy and support, while modeling successful homework study habits.

• #homework , #ParentalInvolvement

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