Like clockwork, debates about the value of homework come around on a regular basis with some parents and schools adamant that students should be set homework every night. Just as adamant on the other side of the argument is the view that children, especially those of primary age, should be allowed to be children and should not spend their evenings hunched over schoolwork.

The truth about homework is somewhere between these extremes. The research into homework makes the following conclusions:

1. Traditional homework in the early years of schooling is not very effective and is better used sparingly. If schools wish to familiarise students with the idea of ‘homework’ they might set a task they call ‘homework’ but which is family friendly and practical.For example:

• Helping with the dishes
• Learning to make the bed
• Reading a book
• Learning how to boil an egg
• Counting and naming the pets in your home.

2. Between Grades 4-6 schools should consider setting short periods (20-30 minutes) of homework 3 or 4 times a week, provided it is relevant. ‘Finish what you started in class’ is a poor reason for homework at this age, as is providing worksheets because ‘parents expect it’. The emphasis at this stage of schooling should be on establishing study habits and learning skills; and the homework should be central to course work, collected routinely and reviewed in class at the next lesson.

3. Once students enter high school homework is more defensible, but once again it must be relevant. Homework for homework’s sake is not good enough. An often quoted rule of thumb is that homework should be assigned on the basis of ten minutes for each grade level up until senior school, at which time the longer the time spent on homework the greater the academic achievement.

One of the problems with homework is that often it takes much longer to complete than teachers estimate and students and parents can find themselves in a constant battle to ‘finish your homework’. Another problem occurs when students don’t understand the task set because it is above their capabilities or they weren’t paying attention in class. Punishing students for not completing homework for either of these reasons is counterproductive.

On the positive side, research is clear about the benefits of homework, especially from Grades 6-12. Schools in which homework is routinely assigned and graded tend to have higher achieving students; the more homework students complete from grades 6 to 12, the better they do in school; the correlation between homework and higher achievement is higher the further a student moves through school; giving homework on a regular basis may improve attitudes towards learning; and parental attitudes with respect to homework have direct positive effects on the children’s attitudes to study at home and, at upper grades, on their classroom achievement.

No matter what the year level there are the same general rules about homework. All homework should be a constructive educational device, take in the needs and circumstances of individual students, necessary and useful, appropriate to the ability and maturity of students, engaging, well explained, and clearly understood by students and parents.

To sum up:

Positive effects	Negative effects
Immediate achievement and learning better retention of factual knowledge increased understanding better critical thinking, concept formation, information processing curriculum enrichment	Satiation loss of interest in academic material physical and emotional fatigue denial of access to leisure time and community activities
Long-term academic benefits learning during leisure time improved attitude towards school better study habits and skills	Parental interference pressure to complete assignments and perform well conflicting instructional techniques
Non-academic benefits greater self-direction greater self-discipline better time organisation more inquisitiveness more independent problem solving	Cheating copying from other students help beyond tutoring
Greater parental appreciation and involvement in schooling	Increased differences between students from low-income and affluent homes

Homework should not be a battle ground where teachers, parents and students are in conflict about how much, what type and how often. Rather it should be a cooperative exercise where teachers have the responsibility to set relevant and meaningful work, and provide timely feedback; students understand why it is important and are set engaging assignments they enjoy completing; and parents back up the school’s homework policy so that students see their parents and their teachers in a cooperative relationship.

Robyn Collins