The Homework Debate- Reinforcement or Busy Work?

Every school year it seems that studies regarding the importance and significance of homework get reported in the media. Is homework a good idea or has it outlived its usefulness?

One the one hand we hear that homework reinforces the material that is being taught in the classroom. It provides parents with an opportunity to see what their children are learning in school and can allow them to participate in both reinforcement and the learning process itself.  It further provides an opportunity for a student to work independently in a comfortable environment and prepare them for the next day’s lessons. It can aid in improving achievement. As the student progresses through the grades, there may be more homework and it begins to take on additional significance. In high school for example, if a student is given a long term assignment, like a research paper, homework allows time for student to do the research and gather and organize the information to produce a quality assignment. In 2006, Professor Harris Cooper of Duke University completed research and wrote a paper about the impact of homework. He found that homework was important especially in grades 7-12, though not as important in the elementary grades. Copper and his team felt that homework could help a student succeed as l long as there wasn’t too much. (You can read a synopsis of this research at http://today.duke.edu/2006/03/homework.html)

There is another side to the homework dilemma. According to Alfie Kohn, a long time educator and author, (including, The Homework Myth), there appears to be no significance evidence that homework assignments improve learning achievement and has little benefit. Kohn stated that …” not a single study has ever supported the folk wisdom that homework teaches good work habits or develops positive character traits such as self discipline, responsibility or independence.” (You can read the entire article by Kohn, The Case against Homework, in the October, 2012 issue of Family Circle Magazine) Many parents seems to agree with Kohn’s philosophy that students spend enough time on task in the classroom ( approximately seven hours a day) and that after school as well as weekend time should be devoted to sports, hobbies, and quality time with family.

Some school districts have decided to eliminate homework altogether and focus on learning in the classroom. The verdict is still out as to whether this is a good move or not. However, as we continually read how American school children are falling behind their peers in other developed nations, it might pay to take yet another look at homework as a learning tool.

For further Reading:

The Homework Myth, Alfie Kohn( c.2006 DaCapo Press)

Seven Steps to Homework Success: A Family Guide for Solving Common Homework Problems by Sydney S. Zentall, Ph.D. and Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. (c.1999, Specialty Press, Inc.)

c. 2012 J. Margolis