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Two primary school principals debate a homework ban

President Michael D Higgins ignited a national conversation about homework when he told primary school students that he believed schoolwork should be completed in school – and that children should be able to use their time at home for "other creative things".

Simon Lewis, a primary school principal in Carlow, broadly agrees with President Higgins. But Chris Donnelly, a principal in Belfast, staunchly disagrees. In recent days, Mr Lewis and Mr Donnelly debated the issue over WhatsApp, as part of The Conversation from RTÉ's Upfront with Katie Hannon.

Simon Lewis: Hi Chris, great to talk to you. Homework is one of those topics that comes up in the media from time to time as it's an emotive one and it affects family life in a direct way. To give you my own perspective, I broadly agree with President Higgins at primary level.

Chris Donnelly: Hi Simon! I've got to say that, although I’m a great admirer of President Higgins, I’m not with him on this one. I believe that we have to continue to encourage and cultivate parents’ involvement in their children’s education, and the most obvious way of ensuring that is done remains through regular and consistent homework. I do accept that, as teachers, we must constantly review and assess the value and merit of what is included in homework, but in principle I’m in favour of it remaining.

Simon Lewis: Absolutely with you in terms of cultivating parents' involvement in children's education, but I think there are far more effective ways of doing so. Perhaps it might be worth exploring what homework looks like? I think most parents experience homework as finishing off work that wasn't completed or a page or two of a workbook. I think they think every child gets the same work. I think they find it meaningless. I also think, in most cases, they are right. I'm not surprised to hear calls for it to be banned.

Chris Donnelly: We’ve heard so often about the wisdom of the proverb that "it takes a village to raise a child". We can’t nod our heads in agreement with that and yet add the caveat that, when it comes to the 3 Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic – they’re strictly for school alone.

I take the point that some homeworks can be more effective than others, but if we’re serious about promoting parental involvement in kids’ education, then we need to recognise that homework provides the framework and guidance for parents to be involved, and at the appropriate level, for their kids.

Simon Lewis: I don't know if I agree with you completely on that. There are other frameworks that can involve parents without drill and practice exercises in books. I think technology has given us the ability to communicate with families in ways we could have only imagined even 20 years ago. Schools are now equipped with complete communication systems where they can inform and help families with their child's progress in all areas. A teacher can record themselves explaining any concept, they can set individualised tasks and projects, and they can point a family to anything conceivable.

Chris Donnelly: I’ve spent all of my 20-plus years in the vocation as a teacher and school leader in school communities in what might be described as areas of higher socio-economic deprivation, so educational underachievement is an issue very close to my heart.

Children in such communities are statistically much more likely to not realise their full potential, and I have always found that a part of addressing that is to draw parents in closely to their kids’ educational experience. Homework has been integral to that as it provides both a means to guide parents, but also a way of monitoring and essentially holding parents to account, flagging up when intervention may be necessary to ascertain if there were any issues, and to provide suggestions and solutions.

One of the projects I initiated was a "dads and lads" reading initiative in inner-city north Belfast, encouraging fathers to view reading a book with their kid each night as a shared experience akin to taking their child to a football match. For that initiative, Cliftonville Football Club got on board and we were able to hold workshops attended by many, providing ideas and strategies to encourage the fathers to pick up a book each night.

Simon Lewis: That's really interesting. It sounds like we both work in very similar contexts. Funnily enough, we had a very similar programme for reading with children in the evenings as part of a research project on homework at primary level. If homework is to exist, it needs to be meaningful, fun and optional. If possible, it needs to be individualised to a child's needs.

One other point is that if we give homework, we need to focus on the 4Cs – critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication – as well. Again, technology is key here.

Would you think there's such a thing as bad homework?

Chris Donnelly: Oh, absolutely, Simon. I think there’s a real case for rethinking homework for the modern age. Whilst I’m obviously a strong advocate for it, I appreciate that it can come in many forms and not always in a manner that is productive.

I believe, if we perceive its function as being to not simply consolidate pupil understanding of learning themes introduced in class, but also to encourage parental input into children’s learning, then it opens up opportunities to move away from the more mundane worksheet activity and towards encouraging parents to help with, for instance, computer-based activities.

Simon Lewis: What are your thoughts on it being optional?

Chris Donnelly: Not in favour of optional homework. For me, it has to remain a part of what "education" involves for cultural reasons – to ensure buy-in across society.

I’m a great believer that kids learn from what is caught as well as what’s taught. Those incidental chats with the adults in their lives who help with the homework or who see a reference in a homework and take conversation in a different direction, perhaps revisiting a life experience.

We have to keep evaluating what we do as educators and what the impact we are having, in class and at home. That’ll necessitate changing the format and focus of homework as much as it does teaching styles and strategies in class. But getting the parents and grandparents involved in a child’s learning journey on a regular basis can only be a positive development.

Simon Lewis: Completely agree with families being involved in the learning journey. I have to admit I didn't agree with the President when he said that "time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school", because education and learning can and does happen anywhere.

However, whether a school should impose those learning experiences, I would question that. I believe schools can suggest learning activities to families if they feel there would be a benefit, but I believe it is the right of a family not to do it. With so many families much busier than back in our day, with many children spending more and more of their day in childcare, after-school clubs and so on, they have little downtime as it is.

Adding the extra stress of more work seems unjust. I have seen some good examples of schools providing a summary of what is being covered in class and a suggested list of activities on a Monday that can be done any time during the week. I also love the idea of choice boards and the Flipped Classroom concept.

Perhaps we need to reclaim the word "homework?" The mere sound of the word sends shivers down the spines of many people. It was (and probably still is in places) seen as a negative experience? Worse, for me, it is often used as a punishment.

That brings me to the opposite point, which really winds me up. I'm not sure if you ever have this in Northern Ireland. If there's ever a celebrity visitor to a school, often the first thing they will do at an assembly is ask the teachers to give the children the night off from homework! Even our politicians get in on it.

Chris Donnelly: The difficulty I would have with optional homework is that, unfortunately, my experience would lead me to believe that many of the very children who would benefit the most from the additional learning opportunities provided by homework would likely lose out as their parents could be the ones to opt out.

The current understanding and acceptance of what homework entails at least ensures all are aware that input from home is expected and is monitored in the sense that teachers and school leaders will query if and when it is not completed.

I don’t agree about free time for kids. Whilst I get that homework can be a stress point for many parents returning from work at night, the truth is that Irish children have never been more likely to be involved in after-school clubs than they are today, which is a good thing. It’s a question of balance.

Simon Lewis: What happens if a child doesn't do homework and parents are either refusing to do it, or just aren't engaging?

Chris Donnelly: That’s where we, as school leaders, intervene, knowing that their refusal will increase the probability of the child underachieving educationally. We both know there are such cases out there, and identifying the problems and challenges early is key to organising the one-to-one chats with parents, and even possibly seeking to find other ways of supporting the kids.

Simon Lewis: I get that, but for the growing number of families who might be emboldened by the President's call to action, how will you deal with outright opt-out?

Chris Donnelly: The President can speak for himself, of course, but I can’t agree with his central point about educational experiences being confined to school. If we accept that, we are destined to fail in endeavours to close achievement gaps and run the risk of failing to help kids realise their potential.

I think we can agree schools should constantly evaluate the usefulness and value of homework tasks.

Simon Lewis: What would you recommend now as good practice for homework?

Chris Donnelly: Spelling and reading are a given for me – and I’d worry about parents believing they should not have a role in these areas, not least due to how important they are to children’s educational development in the earlier years.

An element of written homework should also be incorporated. We also make use of online maths and reading programmes, which are useful for encouraging adult involvement.

Simon Lewis: It's been great to have this chat. I think, if nothing else, we've made a case that there needs to be more of a conversation about homework and what it looks like in a modern education system. I love how, in the education sector, we can have different views on different things but leave almost every conversation with something new to learn and discover!

Chris Donnelly: Absolutely, Simon. Great to chat with you. Education is always evolving, and we have to keep our minds open to fresh perspectives whilst learning from previous experiences. Thanks again!

Read last week's edition of The Conversation, where we asked Fine Gael Senator and former Government minister, Regina Doherty and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy to debate whether Irish politicians have high standards in public office, here.

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POLL — Should homework be banned?

Tell us what you think.

Do I have homework tonight?

That’s the question on many kids’ minds when the school bell rings at the end of the day.

This week, the topic of homework made headlines in Ireland when President Michael D. Higgins was interviewed by students on the national public broadcaster, RTE.

When asked his thoughts on homework, Higgins replied: “It should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

Soon after, some media outlets in Ireland published headlines saying that Higgins called for a ban on homework.

Although a ban isn’t coming anytime soon, it got us thinking:

• How much homework do you have?
• Would you want homework to be banned?
• What about the benefits of homework?

Sound off, telling us how you feel about homework.

Have more questions? Want to tell us how we're doing? Use the “send us feedback” link below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Mark Humphrey/The Associated Press

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President Michael D Higgins says homework should be banned in Ireland

The country’s favourite leader believes that school activities should end at the school gate and students should be encouraged to engage in more creative pursuits

• 10:39, 21 JAN 2023

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President Michael D Higgins has called for homework to be banned.

The country’s favourite leader has given hope to a new generation of students that the bane of their afterschool evenings could be scrapped. President Higgins argues that this would make time for young people to engage in more creative pursuits outside school hours.

The former Arts Minister believes that school activities should end at the school gate. He was speaking to RTE’s news2day current affairs and news programme for children on the occasion of the programme’s 20th birthday.

Read more: Children being 'corrupted' by drug dealing situation in Oliver Bond flats, Dail told

When asked what his opinion of homework President Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

To mark the show’s two decades on air, students from St Kevin’s National School, Littleton, County Tipperary put questions from RTÉ news2day viewers to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. In a wide-ranging interview, the children asked the President questions like, what was your favourite sport when you were in school?

When you were nine years old what did you want to be? And when did you decide you wanted to be President?

The students also asked the President about his dogs, his official trips abroad, his favourite subject in school, differences between now and when he was a child and his favourite book. The President also spoke to the children about his love of handball and the importance of friendship in their lives.

RTÉ news2day will broadcast some of the President’s interview as part of Friday afternoon’s birthday celebrations at 4.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ News channel and the full interview will be available later on Friday evening on the RTÉ Player. In a message to the children of Ireland and the viewers of RTÉ news2day, President Michael D. Higgins gave this advice: “To stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important. And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.” President Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

He encouraged them to speak Irish in a fun way and to feel free to use whatever bits of the language that they have.

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President of Ireland calls on schools to stop giving pupils homework

Children should be able to use time at home ‘for other creative things’, says michael d higgins, article bookmarked.

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Schools should strive not to give pupils homework where possible, the president of Ireland has suggested.

In an utterance likely to be seized upon by children for years to come, in classrooms far beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle, Michael D Higgins argued that school should not extend beyond the final bell.

“Time in school … should get finished in school,” the president told pupils at a school in County Tipperary this week during a broadcast for RTE.

Children should be able to use their time at home “for other creative things”, Mr Higgens continued.

Reiterating his point, the 81-year-old president added: “I think as much as possible that [homework] should happen in the school and I think it’s more relaxed than it used to be.”

Mr Higgins was asked for his thoughts on homework by pupils at St Kevin’s National School in Littleton, during a broadcast celebrating the 20th anniversary of RTE’s children’s news show – viewers of which sent their questions in for the president.

Asked if he had a message for the children of Ireland, the president, who has been in office since 2011, said: “Stay curious about everything. Make sure you don’t miss the joy of getting information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship, and that nobody is left without friendship.”

Suggesting that children of Ireland place “great value” on friendship, Mr Higgins lamented that this makes it even more tragic when there is an “abuse of phones for bullying”.

Mr Higgins revealed that, having started school himself at the age of seven, his love for reading soon saw him decide that he wanted to be a teacher – and he attended teacher training as an adult before going on to spend 25 years in Ireland’s lower house of parliament Dail Eireann.

It is not the first time that Mr Higgins has offered his thoughts on children’s education. Last year, on his 80th birthday, Mr Higgins suggested that yoga should be taught in schools across Ireland.

Research suggests that Mr Higgins’ is far from alone in his views on homework, at least in the UK.

A 2018 survey of parents by British education regulator Ofsted found that more than a third did not think homework was helpful for primary school children.

Homework is a “huge cause of stress” for many families – and for children with special educational needs or disabilities it can be detrimental to their health, Ofsted was told.

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President Michael D Higgins calls for school homework to be scrapped

President Michael D Higgins stopped by St Kevin's National School in Tipperary where the pupils interviewed him about his dogs, his time in school and his view on homework

• 15:01, 21 JAN 2023

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President of Ireland Michael D Higgins has said he supports the scrapping of homework.

He addressed students of St Kevin's National School, Littleton, Co Tipperary, this week in an episode of RTE's news2day programme.

The President said that schoolwork should be completed in school time so children can use time after school to pursue more creative activities.

Read more: Ireland weather: Met Eireann pin point the end of the cold snap as temperatures skyrocket next week

“People should be able to use their time for other creative things,” he said.

"I think as much as possible that [homework] should happen in the school and I think it’s more relaxed than it used to be.”

He said that not all lessons are learned from books, but that the responsible use of phones is something that he hopes the younger generation will be acutely aware of.

The children of Ireland "have a great value of friendships" and this makes it even more tragic when there is an "abuse of phones for bullying", the President said.

The pupils were also curious about some of the other residents of Aras an Uachtaran - dogs Brod and Misneach.

"He's probably a very famous dog now," said President Higgins of Brod. "He will be 11 in February, which is a very good age for a Bernese Mountain dog and Bród is wonderful.

"He came here at six weeks old, so he's lived all of his life at the Áras..

As for Misneach, he said: "He came during Covid and because I couldn't collect him because of the ban on inter-county travel, he didn't come to me until he was five months old.

"He also didn't have a good journey here, so he's actually shy. He's a beautiful dog."

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'Why I believe homework should be banned', by one primary school student

As the discussion around state exams through the Covid-19 shutdown continues, a separate debate about the very need for homework itself rumbles on. Over the years, many have argued that homework for students in busy modern-day family structures is no longer workable.

This year, the Green Party sought to open a discussion about the banning of homework in future. Here, primary school pupil Misha McEnaney, a fifth class student from Dublin, outlines why he believes homework is more of a hindrance than a help.

IRISH CHILDREN SPEND around 274.5 hours on homework in a year. Is it a waste of time? Generally speaking, homework does not improve academic performance among children, although it may improve academic skills among older students especially lower-achieving kids. Homework also creates stress among students who could be doing other things.

I think it is a waste of time. Here’s why I think so. 

Many students think homework is extremely boring and hard so it increases our stress levels. You might fight with your family or friends and that gives the impression you are angry and irritated when often it’s just because your homework is increasing your stress.

Also, a study by scholar Denise Pope at Stanford shows that out of 4,300 students at high-performance schools, 60% stated that their homework was their primary source of stress.

Movement is more important

I believe that homework eliminates time when you could be exercising, playing sports, carrying out hobbies, reading etc. So when your friends are playing outside or something exciting or important is happening you can’t go out because you’re stuck inside doing your homework. 

Homework messes up your sleep cycles and it causes you to be more tired. After school when you’re tired from working you still have to do your homework, so you don’t deliver your full concentration and that makes your performance not as acceptable as it should be. This can cause your grade to go down and so that defeats the whole point of education to become better and smarter. 

A study from teenink.com shows that students perform best in school when they receive 10–12 hours of sleep each night, while only 15% of teenagers in America reported themselves sleeping eight hours or more on school nights, according to the national sleep foundation of America. Sleep disruption is very bad for our health.

Teacher trust

If you’re completely booked up for the day doing sports or other activities you have no time to do your homework. Your teachers start to trust you less and less and this develops a bad view of you when it’s not entirely your fault. 

It’s also repetitive so you’re doing the same work at school and there’s no effectiveness, it’s not going in. So all that homework becomes a waste because you have already completed it at school. You can also easily get distracted.

Homework takes away revision time for tests and that can affect the test scores. That develops a bad reputation for the student and for the school. The parents then assume that the teaching at the school is bad and they might move school. So the kid might lose friends and over time the school becomes less liked and popular.

All because there is too much homework. 

Bad for the mood

If you don’t sleep enough it can cause mood swings which can affect students’ performance and relationships. To think we can stop all of this by just banning homework makes me wonder why schools still give out homework at all.

People who believe that homework should not be banned have reasonable points and arguments. They believe that doing homework at home can be better for the students and they would receive higher results. 

They also think the parents of the students will have an idea of what type of work they are doing in the classroom, at what scale the student is doing their work and how the student is doing that work. There is absolutely no reason why parents shouldn’t know what the student’s work is like. 

Some people believe that homework boosts interaction between a student and his or her teacher. Homework might develop their presentation skills. They believe that homework is “a remedy against weaknesses”. These can all be done at school. They believe it teaches the students responsibility because they have to make sure that they do their work and not lose it or destroy it. 

They think the students learn much more new information as well as in school. So people think it teaches the students important life skills. They also think it keeps the students busy and entertained. I would argue that these should all be the responsibility of parents, not school.

A shift in the debate

The Green Party in Ireland has promised to explore the banning of homework for primary school children. They also vow to review primary and secondary schools curriculum “to meet the needs of the 21st century”. Catherine Martin, deputy leader of the Green Party, said that “the phasing out of homework is something that definitely should be explored”. 

“This isn’t new, this has been on our policy for the past several years. And I think we really need to have a conversation on how best to develop the creative juices of our children, or really change how we do homework, homework could be, ‘go home and draw a picture of something that means a lot to you’,” she said.

“They’re so young, especially up to the age of seven or eight, it’s a conversation that we need to have”. 

She used the example of Loreto Primary School in Rathfarnham, Dublin, which is currently trialling a “no-homework” programme for all classes except sixth. Ms Martin said that they had found the pilot scheme “amazing” and children were spending a lot more time with their families as a result. 

Mental health considerations

Psychotherapist Mary McHugh believes that we are reducing children’s natural “curious, imaginative and creative” tendencies by “pressuring them to conform”. 

“Our children from the age of three, are being trained to sit still and from five upwards, it’s expected that this is the norm.” McHugh also says that “stress is showing up at an alarming scale and we’re still applying more pressure academically younger and younger”. 

Let’s look at Finland. In Finland, there is no homework in all schools. Finland agrees that there should be no homework because it increases stress, it wastes time etc. Finnish students regularly top the charts on global education metric systems.

Some 93% of Finnish students graduate from secondary school compared to 75% in the USA and 78% in Canada. About two in every three students in Finland go to college which is the highest rate in Europe. The students’ test scores dominate everyone else.  These are the scores for the PISA test (Program for International Student Assessment) 2006.  There are other reasons why Finland’s education system is so good but no homework is definitely an important one. 

Homework increases stress levels among students. It replaces time for hobbies and sports. It messes up your sleep. It can’t always be done and that causes trouble. It’s repetitive. You can develop health problems from lack of sleep.

It takes away time for studying and also when you don’t get enough sleep you can get mood swings and that can affect performance and relationships. There are reasonable arguments for why people who believe that homework shouldn’t be banned are wrong.

We have seen that the Green Party also thinks that homework should be banned and that some schools have already trialled it. We have looked at Finland banning homework and we have seen the impact it has made compared to other countries. This is why I think homework should be banned, not just in my school but in all schools. 

Misha McEnaney is a fifth class student at St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin.

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Stressful homework must be a thing of the past

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Labour education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on the Department of Education to issue a circular to schools on guidance regarding homework levels.

Agreeing with comments recently made by President Michael D Higgins, Deputy Ó Ríordáin said particularly at primary level, students and families should be encouraged to pursue the enjoyment of learning.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin said:

“While homework is up to every individual school and teacher, it may be useful for the Department of Education to issue a circular regarding homework levels, what is an appropriate amount of time to be spent on it across the varying age levels and perhaps point to more practical learnings that families could do together like reading, painting or practicing language skills.

“Many people – children and parents – dread homework and often are concerned that they are not completing it correctly. It takes up a huge amount of time in the evenings that could be spent on extracurricular activities like coding, sports or music, which President Higgins rightly said should be the priority.

“Homework should certainly be a topic of debate at the forthcoming Citizens’ Assembly on Education where it can be examined more thoroughly. However in the medium term, it would be no harm for the Department of Education to issue updated advice and guidance to school communities on best practice in this regard.”

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New research shows children in Ireland spend third longest on homework worldwide

Studious teens spend almost eight hours EVERY week slaving over their books

• 13:17, 19 FEB 2015
• Updated 13:54, 19 FEB 2015

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Attention parents - next time your teen begs for a study break they might really need it.

New research suggests that children in Ireland are the third hardest working in world when it comes to their studies.

New analysis of OECD education data by mapper Omar Sarhan shows that Irish students spend an average of 7.31 hours on their homework every week.

Russia tops the list, where teens toil for 9.75 hours per week on their studies, followed by Italian students, who spend 8.73 hours per week on homework.

Polish schoolgoers are fourth, spending an average of 6.6 hours per week on homework, followed by Spanish students who devote 6.5 hours to their studies every seven days.

Hungary is next (6.22 hours) followed by the US (6.09 hours), Australia (6.04 hours), the Netherlands (5.84) hours and Thailand (5.59 hours).

At the other end of the scale, Finnish teens come out as world's laziest students -spending just 2.78 hours a week on homework.

Korea is next (2.87 hours) followed by the Czech Republic (3.14 hours), the Slovak Republic (3.23 hours) and Brazil (3.32 hours)

But don't give them free reign of the X-box just yet - the 2012 data also shows that Irish kids spent 24.6 minutes less on homework per week than they did a decade earlier in 2003.

Are kids in Ireland spending too much time on homework?

0+ votes so far.

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Irish students do WAY more homework than kids in other countries

IT’S OFFICIAL – IRISH kids have it tough.

Irish students have the second highest amount of homework to get through outside of class when compared to the rest of the world – according to a new study.

The data, compiled by the OECD on 15 year-old students, shows Irish school-goers do an average of 7.3 hours of homework per week – well ahead of every single other country in the study, apart from Italy.

The Italians are the only country ahead of Ireland on the list, with students there putting up with a massive 8.7 hours a week.

As the graph by Forbes shows, we are ahead of the US, France, Germany and nearly every other nation that was part of the worldwide study.

Finland highest education EU ranking yet only 2.8hrs homework p/wk. Ireland 2nd highest 7.3hrs http://t.co/8qRkeTuDd4 pic.twitter.com/501LMCyOi2 — Olivia O'Sullivan (@oliviaos) February 19, 2015

Quite the, eh, achievement for Ireland?

More  16 reasons you should always read over your kid’s homework>

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Irish Polling Indicator

The Irish Polling Indicator , a project maintained by Stefan Müller , combines all Irish opinion polls for the Dáil Éireann into one estimate of public support for the parties. Estimates from the Irish Polling Indicator were reported in the Irish Times, the Financial Times, the Business Post, RTÉ News, The Sunday Times, BreakingNews.ie, and TheJournal.ie.

Scroll down for the latest estimates , interactive graphs , a description of the method , access to the raw data , and blog posts .

Latest Estimates

Download polling data and aggregated estimates

Interactive Graphs

Change in support since the last election, house effects.

The graph below displays the house effects of the polling companies for each party. A positive house effect means that a pollster structurally estimates a certain party higher than the average pollster. The dot indicates the best estimate for the house effect (measured as percentage point differences), the lines display 95% uncertainty margins.

Explore more interactive graphs

Recent Blog Posts

The basic idea of the Irish Polling Indicator, launched in 2014, is to take all available polling information together to arrive at the best estimate of current support for parties. Polls are great tools for measuring public opinion, but because only a limited sample is surveyed, we need to take into account sampling error. By combining multiple polls, we can reduce this error.

Moreover, with so many polls going around it is difficult to get a random sample of voters to participate in any one public opinion survey. And those that do participate might not have a clear idea who to vote for, something that is often adjusted for in polls. This may lead to structural differences between the results of different polling companies, so-called house effects.

The Irish Polling Indicator considers sampling error and house effects when aggregating support for Irish parties.

Read more about the method and technical details

We provide full access to all available polling results (1982–2024) and daily aggregated estimates (1987–2024). We provide the daily estimates and raw polling results in four file formats. A detailed codebook describes both datasets and all variables.

Development Version (Latest Data Release)

First, we release our datasets as a development version which is updated after the release of every poll and stored in a GitHub repository.

Irish Polling Indicator estimates:

• Stata (dta)

Raw polling results:

• Excel (xlsx)

If you use the development version of the data in your work, please consider citing:

Tom Louwerse and Stefan Müller. 2024. Irish Polling Indicator Datasets: Development Version. URL: https://github.com/Irish-Polling-Indicator/ipi-data .

Stable Version

Second, we provide a stable version of the daily estimates and raw polling results. New releases are published after an election cycle. The stable version has a unique identifier (DOI: 10.7910/DVN/BY5GXC ).

If you use the stable version in your work, please consider citing:

Tom Louwerse and Stefan Müller. 2022. Irish Polling Indicator Datasets: Stable Version . Harvard Dataverse, V1. DOI: 10.7910/DVN/BY5GXC

Irish Demographic Polling Datasets

In addition to the Irish Polling Indicator data, the Irish Demographic Polling Datasets collect results on vote intentions, satisfaction with the government, and popularity of party leaders. The polling results are available for all respondents and various subsamples, such as age groups, gender, social class, geographic region, and district magnitude. The database merges over 100 polls, published between 2011 and 2024. The datasets can be accessed, visualised, and downloaded through an interactive dashboard .

• Government satisfaction (all respondents and subsamples): csv , Stata (dta) , R (rds)
• Satisfaction with party leaders (all respondents and subsamples): csv , Stata (dta) , R (rds)
• RedC polls: csv , Stata (dta) , R (rds)
• Behaviour and Attitudes polls: csv , Stata (dta) , R (rds)

All datasets and variables are described in a detailed report and codebook (PDF) . If you use the Irish Demographic Polling Datasets in your work, please consider citing:

Stefan Müller, Thomas Pluck, and Paula Montano. 2024. Irish Demographic Polling Datasets . URL: https://github.com/Irish-Dem-Polling/datasets

Project Leader and Maintainer

Stefan Müller is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin. Stefan’s research focuses on political representation, party competition, political communication, public opinion, and quantitative text analysis. Website | CV | X/Twitter | BlueSky

Founding Member

Tom Louwerse is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Tom’s research and teaching focuses on elections, political representation and parliamentary politics in the Netherlands and other established democracies. Website | CV | Mastodon | BlueSky

Research Assistant

Paula Montano X/Twitter

Supporters and Partners

The Irish Polling Indicator is hosted at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University and the Connected_Politics Lab at University College Dublin . The project received financial support from the 2021 Strategic Funding Scheme of the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law .

Please do not hesitate contact us if you have any questions about the project or if you would like to include our estimates in reports or articles. If you refer to our data, please mention the Irish Polling Indicator and its maintainers, Tom Louwerse and Stefan Müller. Feel free to use the data in your academic work, and please consider citing the Irish Polling Indicator data .

Homework – Top 3 Pros and Cons

Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates

From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [ 1 ]

While we are unsure who invented homework, we do know that the word “homework” dates back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger asked his followers to practice their speeches at home. Memorization exercises as homework continued through the Middle Ages and Enlightenment by monks and other scholars. [ 45 ]

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann , who encountered the idea in Prussia. [ 45 ]

In the early 1900s, progressive education theorists, championed by the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal , decried homework’s negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, leading California to ban homework for students under 15 from 1901 until 1917. In the 1930s, homework was portrayed as child labor, which was newly illegal, but the prevailing argument was that kids needed time to do household chores. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Public opinion swayed again in favor of homework in the 1950s due to concerns about keeping up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances during the Cold War . And, in 1986, the US government included homework as an educational quality boosting tool. [ 3 ] [ 45 ]

A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [ 4 ] [ 44 ]

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the very idea of homework as students were schooling remotely and many were doing all school work from home. Washington Post journalist Valerie Strauss asked, “Does homework work when kids are learning all day at home?” While students were mostly back in school buildings in fall 2021, the question remains of how effective homework is as an educational tool. [ 47 ]

Is Homework Beneficial?

Pro 1 Homework improves student achievement. Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicated that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” [ 6 ] Students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework on both standardized tests and grades. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take-home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school. [ 10 ] Read More

Pro 2 Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills. Students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in order to truly learn it. Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, co-founders of Teachers Who Tutor NYC, explained, “at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts… [And] these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum.” [ 11 ] [ 49 ] Elementary school students who were taught “strategies to organize and complete homework,” such as prioritizing homework activities, collecting study materials, note-taking, and following directions, showed increased grades and more positive comments on report cards. [ 17 ] Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers than those who do not use these processes.” [ 18 ] Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: accountability, autonomy, discipline, time management, self-direction, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. Freireich and Platzer noted that “homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.” [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 49 ] Read More

Pro 3 Homework allows parents to be involved with children’s learning. Thanks to take-home assignments, parents are able to track what their children are learning at school as well as their academic strengths and weaknesses. [ 12 ] Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [ 20 ] Research from Johns Hopkins University found that an interactive homework process known as TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) improves student achievement: “Students in the TIPS group earned significantly higher report card grades after 18 weeks (1 TIPS assignment per week) than did non-TIPS students.” [ 21 ] Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed. Duke University Professor Harris Cooper noted, “Two parents once told me they refused to believe their child had a learning disability until homework revealed it to them.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Too much homework can be harmful. A poll of California high school students found that 59% thought they had too much homework. 82% of respondents said that they were “often or always stressed by schoolwork.” High-achieving high school students said too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. [ 24 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Alfie Kohn, an education and parenting expert, said, “Kids should have a chance to just be kids… it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.” [ 27 ] Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, explained, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.” [ 48 ] Excessive homework can also lead to cheating: 90% of middle school students and 67% of high school students admit to copying someone else’s homework, and 43% of college students engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on out-of-class assignments. Even parents take shortcuts on homework: 43% of those surveyed admitted to having completed a child’s assignment for them. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Read More

Con 2 Homework exacerbates the digital divide or homework gap. Kiara Taylor, financial expert, defined the digital divide as “the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology and those that don’t. Though the term now encompasses the technical and financial ability to utilize available technology—along with access (or a lack of access) to the Internet—the gap it refers to is constantly shifting with the development of technology.” For students, this is often called the homework gap. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] 30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [ 51 ] A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] One study concluded that homework increases social inequality because it “potentially serves as a mechanism to further advantage those students who already experience some privilege in the school system while further disadvantaging those who may already be in a marginalized position.” [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Homework does not help younger students, and may not help high school students. We’ve known for a while that homework does not help elementary students. A 2006 study found that “homework had no association with achievement gains” when measured by standardized tests results or grades. [ 7 ] Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [ 41 ] Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek said that homework is not the most effective tool for young learners to apply new information: “They’re learning way more important skills when they’re not doing their homework.” [ 42 ] In fact, homework may not be helpful at the high school level either. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, stated, “I interviewed high school teachers who completely stopped giving homework and there was no downside, it was all upside.” He explains, “just because the same kids who get more homework do a little better on tests, doesn’t mean the homework made that happen.” [ 52 ] Read More

Discussion Questions

1. Is homework beneficial? Consider the study data, your personal experience, and other types of information. Explain your answer(s).

2. If homework were banned, what other educational strategies would help students learn classroom material? Explain your answer(s).

3. How has homework been helpful to you personally? How has homework been unhelpful to you personally? Make carefully considered lists for both sides.

Take Action

1. Examine an argument in favor of quality homework assignments from Janine Bempechat.

2. Explore Oxford Learning’s infographic on the effects of homework on students.

3. Consider Joseph Lathan’s argument that homework promotes inequality .

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives .

More School Debate Topics

Should K-12 Students Dissect Animals in Science Classrooms? – Proponents say dissecting real animals is a better learning experience. Opponents say the practice is bad for the environment.

Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms? – Proponents say uniforms may increase student safety. Opponents say uniforms restrict expression.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? – Proponents say corporal punishment is an appropriate discipline. Opponents say it inflicts long-lasting physical and mental harm on students.

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St. Patrick’s National School, Glencullen

Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí

Homework Policy

St. Patrick’s N.S. School Policy on Homework.

This policy was devised in 2011. It has since been reviewed in 2015 & 2017.

It can also be downloaded from the following link: Homework Policy

Homework is given as a means of revising and consolidating the work done in school. We would advise you to check your child’s work and remain in regular contact with the child’s teacher by signing homework as necessary.

We believe the purpose of homework to be the following;

• To reinforce, review and practise skills & content knowledge covered in the classroom
• To give the child confidence in completing tasks that use newly acquired skills in the classroom and develop their own learning decisions
• To develop skills of independent learning, problem solving, time management, organisation, task completion, study skills, responsibility & resilience in our students
• To allow parents to be an active partner in their child’s homework and to offer one to one support where necessary. Parents can follow how their child is progressing and spend time discussing their personal learning.
• To allow teachers to assess a pupil’s progress when working independently of class support
• To encourage creativity, research skills and differentiated learning experiences through project work
• Reading is acknowledged as a very important aspect of all learning. Reading regularly at home from the early years cultivates a time for discussion, for sharing ideas, for improving fluency as well as deepening vocabulary & comprehension skills and developing children’s opinions.

The following points should also be noted with regards to homework.

• Set aside a quiet regular time for homework.
• The child should be sitting comfortably at the table.
• Encourage your child to keep books and copies clean and tidy.
• If your child is working independently, be available to help and show interest in what is being done. Praise your child’s efforts at every opportunity.
• If your child is persistently having problems with homework, contact the class teacher and discuss the difficulties.
• Homework Journals should be signed each night by parent or guardian. If for any reason homework cannot be done, let the class teacher know by writing a short note.
• Do not allow children to watch T.V while doing homework.
• If when working with your child you feel yourself becoming impatient, stop. Take a break. Homework should not be stressful for either parent or child.

While homework is given with the average child in the class in mind, obviously some children will get it completed more quickly than others. Remember that work completed quickly and carelessly is not work completed properly.

When considering the amount of time spent on homework, one must not include time spent on doing another unrelated activity e.g. wandering off to play. Time spent depends on the child’s concentration, ability and application.

Here follows the recommended homework times which should operate in normal circumstances and keeping the above guidelines in mind.

• Junior & Senior infants – 15 mins max
• 1 st & 2 nd Class – up to 25 min max
• 3 rd & 4 th Class – up to 35 mins max
• 5 th & 6 th Class – up to 45 mins max

Please stop when your child reaches the maximum time limit and record in journal for his/her teacher to see.

2017 Whole School Homework review

Following an extensive review of our homework practices in 2017 with feedback from pupils, parents and staff, a number of changes were brought about including the following;

• Homework will be delivered weekly.
• Quantity of homework was reduced in all classes.
• Homework will be reduced in December and June to facilitate busy lives and good weather.
• Senior class Projects will not be given parallel to regular homework. Instead written work will be removed during project/research homework. Again nightly reading should continue especially with older pupils.
• Parental requests for parental support with Gaeilge and senior Maths will be provided

A copy of the final outcome letter is included in Appendix A. A copy of all data from all surveys conducted during this extensive review is kept on file.

We have a policy of giving homework from Monday – Thursday. Weekends are homework free provided homework has been completed on Monday to Thursday.

Ratified By: ______________                       Date:___________________

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Brian Kelly Wants to Bring A Little Notre Dame to LSU?

Nick shepkowski | 21 hours ago.

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Brian Kelly made it crystal clear that he jumped ship from Notre Dame to LSU because the resources to win a national championship were simply better. He made clear over time that he could more easily recruit the football talent in the state of Louisiana and produce great success than having to recruit coast-to-coast like he did at Notre Dame. And the training tables. Oh my goodness, those training tables. Remember the fascination Kelly had when he was first being toured around the Baton Rouge campus? For all the things Kelly seems to love about LSU, there is one thing Notre Dame has continued to do that he wishes the Tigers would get in on. Opening a season in Ireland.

Brian Kelly on LSU Potentially Playing in Ireland

Kelly spoke on the first day of SEC media days in Dallas on Monday. During his roughly 25-minute session with the media he shared his excitement for the season, was asked a bunch of questions about Texas even though LSU and the Longhorns don't meet in 2024, and shared his belief in star defender Harold Perkins among other things. Really the only particularly interesting part for Notre Dame fans was what Kelly wants to bring to LSU that Notre Dame has done for a number of years. Play a game in Ireland. “We’ve done such a great job with the LSU brand throughout the country, I think the next step for us is international,” Kelly said. “I felt the travel there is so clean and easy. Ireland has been such a great destination for other football programs to go and play.”

Remembering Notre Dame's Ireland Trip with Brian Kelly

Notre Dame opened what was the memorable 2012 season in Ireland, easily disposing of Navy by a 50-10 decision. Theo Riddick and the late George Atkinson III both ran for a pair of touchdowns while Everett Golson threw for one to receiver Robby Toma. The most memorable play of the game was when defensive end Stephon Tuitt recovered a fumble and returned 70-yards for a touchdown to stretch the Fighting Irish lead to 27-0 just before halftime. Notre Dame would win 50-10 and that was clearly a positive memory for Kelly, but what about the next week? Notre Dame was clearly a very good team in 2012 as it went 12-0 in the regular season and played in the BCS national championship game. The week after the blowout of Navy in Ireland though, the season was almost sent for a spin as Purdue nearly knocked off the Irish in South Bend. Notre Dame was tied with Purdue late in the fourth quarter when Tommy Rees relieved Golson at quarterback and led the Irish on a last-minute drive for Kyle Brindza to kick the game-winning field goal in the 20-17 win with just seven seconds remaining. As great as the trip to Ireland was, the trip back and essentially short week that came with it was no sinch for Kelly or Notre Dame. If Kelly is to get LSU to make that trip my guess would be that he learned from the close call over a decade ago and that the Tigers would be sitting at home with their feet up a week later.

Who are Notre Dame's Top-Five Wide Receivers Since 2010?

NICK SHEPKOWSKI

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Readers Have Thoughts About the ‘Best Books of the 21st Century’

They wanted to know where the poetry and the genre fiction were — and they also wanted to let us know which books were missing.

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When the Book Review published a list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century last week, hundreds, then thousands, of readers weighed in, lamenting what was missing and trading reading recommendations in the comments. Others voted in a reader’s Top 100 poll — stay tuned for that list. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Some of you liked the list!

Ferrante, truly, forever. A major feminist Bildungsroman covering the slings and arrows of the second half of the 20th century deserves the No. 1 spot. — Kerry Gaertner, Beacon, N.Y.

What I love about lists like these is that they can serve as a lifelong syllabus or homework assignment, not to mention a reason to pick up a book you would never have anything to do with otherwise. Would I have picked up Anthony Powell’s A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME series without Modern Library’s list of the top novels of the 20th century? Not likely, and what a shame that would be. I don’t read much fantasy, but now my interest is piqued by THE FIFTH SEASON. I never would have given it a second glance, but now I mean to read it. And that’s a wonderful thing. — Becky Lake, Santa Clarita, Calif.

In some ways, this list is flawed. But, in other ways, it is brilliant. Who cares what the actual list is. If it gets me, you and lots of other people reading these and lots of other books, then we are better off for having it in the world! Stop quibbling and open a book. — Tom Braun, Ann Arbor, Mich.

This is exactly how literary prizes should be run: You ask a large, diverse, but uniformly brilliant group of people about the best books they’ve read over a significant period. You don’t ask four people to speed-read 300 books, and then make a decision in two days. This article provides a far more thoughtful, useful aggregation of expert opinion. — Raphael B. Folsom, Norman, Okla.

Others weren’t crazy about it.

A predictable list. A disappointing list. So much political correctness. That can’t be good for art. — Joyce Marshall, Provence, France

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Poll finds US voters think they will be better off financially under Donald Trump

Results offer another boost to ex-president days after he survived attempted assassination.

Nearly half of American voters believe they will be better off if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, according to a poll that comes at the start of a Republican convention set to be dominated by the fallout from the candidate’s attempted assassination.

The nationwide poll was conducted last week, before a lone gunman fired shots at Mr Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The survey nevertheless underscores Mr Trump’s edge on the economy with voters heading into November’s election.

Forty-five per cent of voters — including 40 per cent of independents — said they would be “much” or “somewhat” better off under Mr Trump, while only 35 per cent said they would be “much” or “somewhat” worse off, according to the latest survey conducted for the Financial Times and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

The monthly FT-Ross School of Business poll tracks economic sentiment and voters’ opinions in the run-up to November’s presidential election.

Where are Melania and Ivanka? Inside Trump’s new family golden circle

Trump lauded by former rivals Haley, DeSantis in show of unity at Republican convention

Lost Republican daughter Nikki Haley falls into the Trump adoration line

Trump courts RFK jnr’s support in leaked phone call

Mr Trump has consistently polled better than Democratic president Joe Biden on the economy. Although economic data has shown strong growth, low unemployment and falling inflation in recent months, Mr Biden has failed to convince an electorate that continues to struggle with high prices that his economic policies are working.

Mr Trump has argued that the economy was strong under his stewardship before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and on the campaign trail has vowed to slash regulations, cut taxes and sharply increase tariffs on imports if given another four years in the White House.

The incumbent’s struggles appear closely tied to voter perceptions about inflation. Over the past three months, 77 per cent of Americans said they believe inflation has gone up — with 44 per cent saying they believe it has gone up a lot — even as it has moderated.

The latest official figures, out last week, showed US inflation fell faster than forecast, to 3 per cent, in June — more than six points lower than the high above 9 per cent reached two years earlier.

At the same time, only 32 per cent of voters said they have benefited from the record run on Wall Street, with 49 per cent saying they have not benefited “at all” from recent record highs for equities.

“Trump is still beating Biden on handling the economy,” said Erik Gordon of Ross. “Given that the economy is the most important factor driving voting intentions, Biden needs to appeal to a broader voter base.”

The new FT-Ross Michigan results are the first since Mr Biden’s damaging televised debate performance last month. His approval ratings have dropped two percentage points over the past month, with 40 per cent of Americans saying they thought he was doing a good job as president, down from 42 per cent in June.

But it is on economic issues where Mr Biden continues to struggle most. Just 18 per cent of respondents said they felt financially better off since he became president, compared with 49 per cent who said they felt worse off. About a third said there had been no change. Those numbers have barely changed since the poll began in November.

The poll was conducted between July 8th and July 10th, more than a week after the debate plunged Democrats into disarray over whether the president was mentally able to continue his campaign or govern for another four years.

On the question of which candidate they trusted more to handle the economy, just 35 per cent chose Mr Biden, down two points since before the debate. Mr Trump was unchanged from the previous poll, on 41 per cent.

Despite official consumer price index data showing a moderation in inflation, nearly four in five poll respondents said price increases were among their biggest sources of financial stress over the past month.

The FT-Michigan Ross Poll was conducted online by Democratic strategists Global Strategy Group and Republican polling firm North Star Opinion Research. It reflects the opinions of 1,005 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. - Copyright The Financial Times 2024

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