Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

child doing homework

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

Janine Bempechat

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates 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.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. 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. 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.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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The Homework Debate: How Homework Benefits Students

This post has been updated as of December 2017.

In another of our blog posts,  The Case Against Homework , we articulated several points of view against homework as standard practice for teachers. However, a variety of lessons, content-related and beyond, can be taught or reinforced through homework and are worth exploring. Read on!

Four ways homework aids students’ academic achievement

Homework provides an opportunity for parents to interact with and understand the content their students are learning so they can provide another means of academic support for students. Memphis Parent writer Glenda Faye Pryor-Johnson says that, “When your child does homework, you do homework,” and notes that this is an opportunity for parents to model good behavior for their children.

Pryor-Johnson also identifies four qualities children develop when they complete homework that can help them become high-achieving students:

  • Responsibility
  • Time management
  • Perseverance
  • Self-esteem

While these cannot be measured on standardized tests, perseverance has garnered a lot of attention as an essential skill for successful students. Regular accomplishments like finishing homework build self-esteem, which aids students’ mental and physical health. Responsibility and time management are highly desirable qualities that benefit students long after they graduate.

NYU and Duke professors refute the idea that homework is unrelated to student success

In response to the National School Board Association’s Center for Public Education’s findings that homework was not conclusively related to student success, historian and NYU professor Diane Ravitch contends that the study’s true discovery was that students who did not complete homework or who lacked the resources to do so suffered poor outcomes.

Ravitch believes the study’s data only supports the idea that those who complete homework benefit from homework. She also cites additional benefits of homework: when else would students be allowed to engage thoughtfully with a text or write a complete essay? Constraints on class time require that such activities are given as outside assignments.

5 studies support a significant relationship between homework completion and academic success

Duke University professor Harris Cooper supports Ravitch’s assessment, saying that, “Across five studies, the average student who did homework had a higher unit test score than the students not doing homework.” Dr. Cooper and his colleagues analyzed dozens of studies on whether homework is beneficial in a 2006 publication, “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003. ”

This analysis found 12 less-authoritative studies that link achievement to time spent on homework, but control for many other factors that could influence the outcome. Finally, the research team identified 35 studies that found a positive correlation between homework and achievement, but only after elementary school. Dr. Cooper concluded that younger students might be less capable of  benefiting from homework due to undeveloped study habits or other factors.

Recommended amount of homework varies by grade level

“Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement?” also identifies the amount homework that serves as a learning tool for students. While practice improves test scores at all grade levels, “Homework for junior high students appears to reach the point of diminishing returns after about 90 minutes a night. For high school students, the positive line continues to climb until between 90 minutes and 2.5 hours of homework a night, after which returns diminish.”

Dr. Cooper’s conclusion—homework is important, but discretion can and should be used when assigning it—addresses the valid concerns of homework critics. While the act of completing homework has benefits in terms of developing good habits in students, homework must prove useful for students so that they buy in to the process and complete their assignments. If students (or their parents) feel homework is a useless component of their learning, they will skip it—and miss out on the major benefits, content and otherwise, that homework has to offer.

Continue reading :  Ending the Homework Debate: Expert Advice on What Works

Monica Fuglei is a graduate of the University of Nebraska in Omaha and a current adjunct faculty member of Arapahoe Community College in Colorado, where she teaches composition and creative writing.

You may also like to read

  • The Homework Debate: The Case Against Homework
  • Ending the Homework Debate: Expert Advice on What Works
  • Elementary Students and Homework: How Much Is Too Much?
  • Advice on Creating Homework Policies
  • How Teachers Can Impart the Benefits of Students Working in Groups
  • Homework Helps High School Students Most — But it Must Be Purposeful

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

homework helps pupils

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.

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- homework in the subject in which they are not doing well (61.5%);
- for which they put a lot of effort (23.1%);
- considered difficult (15.4%).
- that put them in difficulty (30%);
- difficult, above their level of knowledge (30%);
- in a discipline they do not prefer (20%);
- for which they put a lot of effort (20%).
- repetitive (35.7%);
- long and tiring (28.6%);
- for which a lot of effort is put in (14.3%);
- considered difficult (14.3%);
- considered uninteresting (7.1%).
Classes
III–IV
- for which they put a lot of effort (38.5%);
- long and tiring (30.8%);
- difficult (15.4%);
- repetitive (7.7%);
- with imposed limits (7.7%).
- for which they put a lot of effort (42.9%);
- make students feel insecure about their strengths (14.3%);
- with imposed limits (14.3%);
- that are not appreciated (14.3%);
- in a particular discipline they do not prefer (14.3%).
- for which they put effort (30.8%);
- long and tiring (23.1%);
- that put them in difficulty (23.1%);
- repetitive (15.4%);
- with imposed limits (e.g., compositions with given homework or a limited number of lines) (7.7%).

3.2. Students’ Negative Reactions When Doing Homework

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- feel bad and blame themselves for forgetting (50.0%);
- are disappointed (37.5%);
- get upset that they can’t go to play because they can’t finish promptly (12.5%).
- after calm discussions, they resume work even though they are disappointed (33.3%);
- students cry when forced to do homework (16.7%);
- students are disappointed (8.3%);
- take a break and restart after (8.3%);
- are stressed (8.3%);
- lose patience (8.3%);
- demotivate very quickly (8.3%);
- categorically refuse to do them (8.3%).
- categorically refuse to do them (25.0%);
- students cry when forced to do their homework (16.7%);
- they intentionally forget their notebook at home (16.7%);
- demotivate very quickly (8.3%);
- get discouraged and ask their parents to help them (8.3%);
- admit they don’t know, but try (8.3%);
- get angry (8.3%);
- take an interest in solving them (8.3%).
Classes
III–IV
- feel bad and blame themselves for forgetting (36.4%);
- gather frustrations (27.3%);
- take a break and resume after (9.1%);
- get discouraged and ask their parents to help them (9.1%);
- take an interest in solving (9.1%);
- lose confidence in their strength (9.1%).
- they gather frustration and close themselves off (50.0%);
- I take a break and restart after (20.0%);
- after calm discussions resume their work (10.0%);
- get discouraged and ask their parents to help them (10.0%);
- lose confidence in their strength (10.0%).
- honestly say they don’t know (16.7%);
- refuse to solve their homework (16.7%);
- are disappointed (16.7%);
- get discouraged and ask their parents to help them (16.7%);
- take a break and resume after (8.3%);
- cry when forced to do their homework (8.3%);
- they intentionally forget their notebook at home (8.3%);
- students ask for help (8.3%).

3.3. Homework That Makes Children Feel Good

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- contain creative elements (visual arts or text composition) (50.0%);
- who value them and feel appreciated (16.7%);
- reading (8.3%);
- by choice (8.3%).
- those preparing for competitions (71.4%);
- those in preparation for classroom assessments (28.6%).
- involve the use of imagination (22.2%);
- homework that makes students feel valued (22.2%);
- appeal to real life (11.1%);
- are related to practical things (11.1%);
- homework to be checked with the teacher (11.1%);
- negotiated with the teacher (11.1%);
- in which a funny story is found (11.1%).
Classes
III–IV
- involve the use of imagination (30.8%);
- value them and feel appreciated (23.1%);
- creative (23.1%);
- increasing their self-confidence (15.4%);
- appeal to real life (7.7%).
- make them feel appreciated (62.5%);
- involves the use of imagination (12.5%);
- are related to practical things (12.5%);
- carried out as a team (12.5%).
- value them and feel appreciated (21.1%);
- the projects they present to the class (15.8%);
- for which they are rewarded (10.5%);
- involve the use of imagination (5.3%);
- homework that appeals to real life (5.3%);
- changing the word “homework” to something else (5.3%);
- in teams (5.3%);
- investigation on a specific topic (5.3%);
- creative (5.3%);
- easy, which is effortless (5.3%);
- in the form of debates (5.3%);
- differentiated (5.3%);
- increasing their self-confidence (5.3%).

3.4. Homework Students Like

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- in the form of reading or writing (35.7%);
- contain creative elements (28.6%);
- make them feel appreciated (14.3%);
- preparation for evaluation (14.3%).
- Maths exercises (62.5%);
- reading (25.0%);
- projects (12.5%).
- practice (15.8%);
- that they carry out on their own (15.8%);
- are resolved in a relatively short time (15.8%);
- attractive (10.5%);
- contain creative elements (10.5%);
- Maths exercises (10.5%);
- in the form of gambling (10.5%);
- reading or writing (5.3%);
- arouse curiosity (5.3%).
Classes
III–IV
- contain creative elements (35.3%);
- reading (35.3%);
- Maths exercises (11.8%);
- attractive (5.9%);
- short (5.9%);
- projects (5.9%).
- Maths exercises (27%);
- projects (18%);
- bring creative elements (18%);
- practice (9%);
- team homework (9%);
- are appreciated by teachers (9%).
- projects (27.3%);
- appreciated by teachers and colleagues (13.6%);
- short (13.6%);
- are completed (9.2%);
- involves creativity (9.1%);
- not involving much effort (9.1%);
- understood in the classroom (4.5%);
- in teams (4.5%);
- investigation (4.5%).

3.5. Checking and Assessing Homework

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- students correct their homework together with their classmates, guided by the teacher, and congratulate each other (38.5%);
- positive or negative verbal comments are made (30.8%);
- teachers give them rewards on checked homework, based on accuracy (15.4%);
- homework is not checked daily and students become sad (7.7%);
- they give themselves pluses and minuses (7.7%), being sure that they did (less/fairly) well.
- don’t know how the assessment and verification is done, but are notified if problems occur (33%);
- homework is assessed and checked, and students’ work is validated (33%);
- homework is not checked daily and students are sad, and disheartened (17%);
- are rewarded with stickers and stickers, which are meant to make children happy (17%).
- give positive and constructive verbal feedback on homework (44.4%);
- stickers, stickers as rewards (33.3%);
- motivate students with good grades (22.2%).
Classes
III–IV
- homework is checked and corrected individually (38.5%), bringing the satisfaction of a job well done;
- students correct their homework together with their classmates, guided by the teacher, and congratulate each other (30.8%);
- students don’t get their homework checked every day and students get sad
(7.7%);
- give themselves pluses and minuses (23%), being confident that they did (less/fairly) well.
- do not know how homework is checked and assessed, but are notified if something is wrong (50.0%);
- homework is checked, but no daily assessment is given (37.5%);
- check, then make notes (12.5%).
- assess homework by awarding grades (33.3%);
- check and correct their homework in front (33.3%);
- correct the homework, then put “seen” (11.1%);
- check students out of homework when they take them to the blackboard (11.1%);
- checks and corrects their homework individually (11.1%).

3.6. Suggestions for Improving Educational Practices Regarding Homework

Learning CycleStudentsParentsTeachers
Classes
I–II
- creative homework (cutting, gluing, painting) (72.7%);
- doing homework as a game (18.2%);
- organization of team competitions (9.1%).
- some parents refrain and think teachers know better (33%);
homework in the form of a game (22%);
- team competition (11%);
- participation in training courses (11%);
- children should make suggestions, they are directly involved (11%);
- story context (11%).
- creative homework (cutting, gluing, painting) (25.0%);
- homework in the form of a game (16.7%);
- presentation of attractive material on the Internet (16.7%);
- alternating homework (16.7%);
- making worksheets more attractive (16.7%);
- replacing the word “homework” with something else (8.3%).
Classes
III–IV
- homework in the form of a game (22.7%);
- creative techniques (cutting, gluing, painting) (18.2%);
- creative writing (13.6%);
- documentation and elaboration of a project on a given homework (13.6%);
- dividing the class into three groups and giving three types of homework (9.1%);
-more attractive workplaces (9.1%);
- creating cards with homework ideas (4.5%);
- rewarding students (4.5%);
- diversification of homework (4.5%);
- use of digital applications (25.0%);
- homework in the form of a game (12.5%);
- team projects (12.5%);
- homework with a reference to modern-day reality (12.5%);
- homework in the form of an experiment (12.5%);
- homework in the form of competitions (12.5%);
- some parents abstain (12.5%).
- rewarding students (12.5%);
- better organization of after-school time (12.5%);
- diversifying homework (12.5%);
- children’s choice of homework (6.3%);
- a good combination of modern and traditional methods (6.3%);
- creating a suitable environment, free of distracting elements (6.3%);
-giving homework in the form of more attractive worksheets (6.3%);
- use of digital applications (6.3%);
- presentation of attractive material online (6.3%);
- not permitting the parent to intervene directly in the students’ homework (6.3%);
- creative homework (cutting, gluing, painting) (6.3%);
- homework in the form of competitions (6.3%);
- homework in the form of a game (6.3%).

4. Discussions

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

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ThemeSubtheme
Homeworks not popular with studentsHomework given in the non-preferred subject;
A lot of effort;
Difficult homework;
Long and tedious homework;
Repetitive homework;
Homework with limits.
Students’ reactions when they don’t know how to do homeworkThey feel bad and blame themselves when they forget information;
They are disappointed;
They get upset when they can’t play;
It builds frustration;
Take a break and resume afterward;
Ask parents to help them;
They take an interest in solving it;
They lose confidence in their strength.
Feel-good homeworksHomework that involves the use of imagination;
Homework that appeals to real life;
Homework that makes children stand out;
Creative homework;
Homework that increases their confidence in their strengths;
Homework is given a choice;
Homework containing reading elements.
Homeworks students loveHomework containing elements of reading or writing, preferably with creative elements;
Homework that makes children feel valued;
The preparation homework for the evaluation, with self-evaluation grid;
Homework containing exercises in mathematics;
Attractive homework;
Short homework;
Projects.
Checking and assessing homeworkStudents check their homework with their classmate;
Positive or negative verbal praise is given;
Teachers reward for fairness;
Pluses and minuses are given;
Homework is not checked daily and students become sad;
Homework is checked individually.
Suggestions for improvementAssigning creative homework (decoupage, gluing, painting);
Making homework in the form of a game;
Organising competitions;
Documenting and developing a project on a given homework;
Homework containing elements of literary creation;
Dividing the class into three groups and assigning three types of homework;
Creating cards with homework ideas.
ThemeSubtheme
Homeworks not popular with studentsHomework with imposed limits;
Repetitive homework;
Long and tedious homework;
Homework that takes a lot of effort;
Homework is considered difficult;
Homework considered uninteresting;
Homework that put them in difficulty.
Students’ reactions when they don’t know how to carry out homeworkHe flatly refuses to do them;
Children cry;
They get demotivated very quickly;
They get discouraged and ask their parents to help them;
They admit they don’t know, but try;
Child gets angry;
They take an interest in solving them;
I honestly don’t know;
They are disappointed;
Child takes a break and resume afterward;
She leaves her notebook at home with intent;
Students ask for help.
Feel-good homeworksHomework that involves the use of imagination;
Homework that makes students feel valued;
Homework that appeals to real life;
Homework that is related to practical things;
Homework to be checked with the teacher;
Homework negotiated with the teacher;
Homework in which a funny story is found;
The projects they present to the class;
Homework for which they are rewarded;
Replacing the word ‘homework’ with something else;
Team homework;
Homework of investigation on a specific topic;
Creative homework;
Easy homework that is effortless to complete;
Homework in the form of debates;
Differentiated homework;
Homework that increases their confidence in their strengths.
Homework students lovePractical homework;
Homework that they do themselves;
Homework that can be solved in a relatively short time;
Attractive homework;
Homeworks containing creative elements;
Homework in the form of maths exercises;
Homework in the form of a game;
Homeworks containing elements of reading or writing;
Homework that sparks curiosity;
Project homework;
Homework appreciated by teachers and colleagues;
Homeworks that are carried through;
Homework that doesn’t involve much effort;
Homework understood in class;
Team homework;
Homeworks of investigation.
Checking and assessing homeworkI give positive and constructive verbal feedback;
Stickers, stickers, and dots are awarded as rewards;
They motivate students with good grades;
Evaluate homework by awarding grades;
They check and correct their homework upfront;
Correct the homework, then put “seen”;
They check students off homework when they take them to the blackboard;
They check and correct their homework individually.
Suggestions for improvementHomework in game form;
Presentation of attractive material from the Internet;
Alternating homework;
Making worksheets more attractive;
Replacing the word ‘homework’ with something else;
Rewarding students;
Efficient time organization;
Diversifying homework;
Children’s choice of homework;
Good combination of modern and traditional methods;
Creating a suitable environment without distracting elements;
Using digital applications;
Parents don’t interfere in students’ homework;
Creative homework (decoupage, gluing, painting);
Homework in the form of competitions.
ThemeSubtheme
Homeworks not popular with studentsHomework that put them in difficulty;
Difficult homework, above the student’s level of knowledge;
Homework given in a non-preferred subject;
Homework they put a lot of effort into;
Homework that makes students feel insecure about their strengths;
Homework with limits;
Homework that is not appreciated.
Students’ reactions when they don’t know how to do homeworkThe students resume their work after calm discussions, although they are disappointed;
Students cry when they can’t cope;
Students are disappointed when they don’t do well;
Students are stressed;
Students are losing patience;
Students get demotivated very quickly;
Students flatly refuse to do them;
Students gather frustrations;
Students take a break and restart afterward;
Students get discouraged and ask parents to help them.
Feel-good homeworksPreparatory homework for competitions;
Homework to prepare for classroom assessments;
Homework that makes children feel valued;
Homework that involves the use of imagination;
Homework that is related to practical things;
Homework done in teams.
Homework students loveMaths exercises;
Homework involving elements of reading;
Homework in the form of projects;
Homework that brings creative elements;
Practical homework;
Team homework;
Homework that is appreciated by teachers.
Checking and assessing homeworkHomework is not checked daily and students become sad;
Some parents don’t know how to assess and check;
Rewarding with polka dots and stickers;
Homework is assessed and checked especially at after-school;
Homework is checked, then marked;
Homework is checked, but not graded daily.
Suggestions for improvementParents refrain;
Homework in game form;
Team competition;
Participation of teachers in training courses;
Children should give suggestions;
Story context;
Using digital applications;
Team projects;
Homework regarding the reality of our days;
Homework in the form of an experiment;
Homework in the form of competitions.
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

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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Science of mind

Science of mind

why is homework good for your brain

Why is homework good for your brain?

Did you know that homework has a profound impact on brain development? It’s not just about completing assignments; homework can actually improve brain function and enhance cognitive abilities.

Homework is designed to help students prepare for the future and develop skills that are essential for success in life. It offers several cognitive benefits, including the development of memory and critical thinking skills. By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge for exams and future tests.

But that’s not all. Homework also helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, realize personal responsibility, work independently, and improve their ability to use resources and conduct research.

Key Takeaways:

  • Homework improves brain function and enhances cognitive abilities.
  • By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge.
  • Homework helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, and realize personal responsibility.
  • Homework fosters independence and the ability to use resources effectively.
  • Research shows that designing and assigning homework correctly can optimize its effectiveness as a learning tool.

The Cognitive Benefits of Homework

Homework is not just a task assigned by teachers to keep students occupied after school; it has far-reaching cognitive benefits and contributes to brain growth and development. Through various homework assignments, students have the opportunity to enhance critical thinking skills, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities.

One essential cognitive benefit of homework is its ability to challenge and develop critical thinking skills. By applying the concepts they’ve learned in class to real-life situations, students can deepen their understanding and improve their analytical thinking abilities. This practice fosters a deeper level of comprehension and encourages students to actively engage with the material.

Another cognitive benefit of homework is its positive impact on memory retention. Through practice and repetition of new skills and knowledge, students reinforce the neural connections in their brains, making the information more accessible and easier to recall. This improved memory retention helps students perform better on exams and enhances their overall academic performance.

Homework also plays a crucial role in developing problem-solving abilities. Assignments that require students to think critically and find innovative solutions to complex problems help cultivate their analytical and logical thinking skills. These problem-solving abilities are essential for success in various aspects of life, from academic pursuits to professional careers.

Overall, homework has a profound impact on cognitive development, providing students with opportunities to enhance critical thinking, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities. By engaging in regular homework assignments, students can nurture these essential cognitive skills and lay a solid foundation for their future academic and professional success.

Building Essential Skills Through Homework

Homework plays a vital role in building essential skills that are crucial for academic success and beyond. It provides students with the opportunity to develop effective study habits, learn time management, cultivate personal responsibility, and engage in independent work.

One of the key benefits of homework is the development of study habits. Through regular homework assignments, students learn how to plan their study sessions, set realistic goals, and effectively organize their time. By following consistent study routines, students can maximize their learning potential and improve their overall academic performance.

Time management is another vital skill that homework helps students develop. By juggling multiple assignments and deadlines, students learn to prioritize tasks, allocate their time effectively, and meet their academic obligations. These skills are essential not only for academic success but also for managing responsibilities in other areas of life.

Homework also fosters a sense of personal responsibility. Being accountable for completing assignments on time and to the best of their ability teaches students the importance of taking ownership of their education. It instills a work ethic that can significantly impact their future success, both inside and outside the classroom.

Furthermore, homework promotes independent work and critical thinking skills. Through assignments that require students to apply concepts learned in class, they develop their problem-solving abilities and deepen their understanding of the subject matter. This type of independent work encourages students to think creatively, analyze information critically, and develop their own perspectives.

By engaging in homework, students are actively building these essential skills that will benefit them throughout their education and beyond. The combination of effective study habits, time management, personal responsibility, and independent work fosters self-discipline, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning.

building essential skills through homework

Testimonial:

“Homework has been instrumental in developing my study habits and time management skills. It has taught me the importance of setting goals and staying organized. Through homework, I’ve become more accountable and independent in my learning.” – Jane Smith, High School Student

Homework and Research Skills

When it comes to homework, research skills are essential for academic success. Homework assignments often require students to explore various resources, such as research papers, books, websites, and videos. By delving into these resources, students develop the ability to effectively use different information sources and enhance their understanding of the subject matter.

Research skills acquired through homework not only improve students’ academic performance but also prepare them to navigate the vast amount of information available in the digital age. By honing their research skills, students become adept at finding relevant and reliable information, analyzing different sources, and critically evaluating the credibility and validity of the information they come across.

Research skills acquired through homework contribute to academic success and prepare students for future challenges.

Through homework, students develop the persistence and resilience necessary to delve deep into a topic, locate relevant information, and synthesize their findings in a coherent manner. These skills are not only valuable during their academic journey but will also benefit them throughout their lives as they continue to learn and grow.

Moreover, conducting research for homework assignments instills a sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge in students. It encourages them to explore beyond the textbook and develop a broader perspective on the topics they are studying. They learn to ask questions, seek answers, and develop a lifelong love for learning.

Overall, homework assignments that require research skills play a vital role in shaping students’ intellectual growth, fostering critical thinking, and preparing them for the challenges they will face in their future academic and professional endeavors.

homework and research skills

Benefits of Homework and Research Skills
1. Develops the ability to use various information sources effectively
2. Enhances critical thinking and analytical skills
3. Improves understanding and knowledge retention
4. Encourages curiosity and a love for learning
5. Prepares students for academic and professional challenges

The Science of Homework Efficiency

When it comes to homework, there is a science behind ensuring its maximum effectiveness as a learning tool. Research has shown that the way homework is designed and assigned can have a significant impact on student performance. To optimize learning outcomes, homework should provide independent learning opportunities and present challenges that facilitate deliberate practice of essential content and skills.

One factor that can greatly affect the efficiency of homework is task switching. Constantly switching between homework and distractions like social media can significantly prolong the time spent on assignments. To overcome this, it is crucial to encourage students to delay gratification by using social media as a reward after completing their assignments. By eliminating distractions and focusing on the task at hand, students can deepen their learning and complete their homework more efficiently.

Adopting a scientific approach to tackling homework can lead to improved academic performance. By implementing strategies that optimize learning, such as organizing study sessions, setting goals, and utilizing resources effectively, students can enhance their understanding of the subject matter and improve their overall learning outcomes. By prioritizing uninterrupted focus and disciplined work, students can transform homework into a valuable learning experience that prepares them for success in their academic endeavors.

Source Links

  • https://www.crispebooks.org/
  • http://www.math.usf.edu/~mccolm/pedagogy/HWgood.html
  • https://www.edutopia.org/blog/homework-sleep-and-student-brain-glenn-whitman

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How to Help Students Develop the Skills They Need to Complete Homework

Middle and high school students can learn to work more efficiently by using strategies that improve their executive function skills.

Middle school-aged girl doing homework

The effects of homework are mixed. While adolescents across middle and high school have an array of life situations that can make doing homework easier or harder, it’s well known that homework magnifies inequity . However, we also know that learning how to manage time and work independently outside of the school day is valuable for lifelong learning. From the homework wars  to students who have little time for homework to students who don’t even know where to begin, everyone can agree that kids who can self-regulate and engage in independent rehearsal are better positioned for whatever the future holds.

How can we empower students to overcome barriers to doing homework well?

Executive Functioning

Homework is partially an assessment of executive functioning. Executive functioning and self-regulation take time to develop. They depend on three types of critical brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-regulation .

Let’s break this down to consider how to improve their efficiency.

Working memory: Don’t hold everything in your head; it is not possible. When doing homework, students should write down their ideas, whether they are notes while reading, numbers when working through a math problem, or non-school-related reminders about chores, such as remembering to take the dog for a walk. Clearing working memory for the immediate task at hand allows the brain to focus as the strain is reduced.

Mental flexibility: As students build their independence and grow their homework routines, seeing an array of strategies, or more than one way to solve a problem, is important. Consider the results when a child gets stuck and doesn’t know what to do to get unstuck or when one keeps trying the same failed approach. Chunking homework helps simplify the process. When stuck, a student looks at a smaller piece, which makes it easier to see other solutions. More practice with mental flexibility happens when others model thinking in different ways, and students practice flexible thinking with partners by asking them: What is another way? Use this bubble map to chart out multiple ways.

Self-regulation: Learning how to prioritize work and stick with it by not giving in to impulses is a skill that students develop over time . One way to teach self-regulation is to have students practice control by concentrating for short periods of time with the goal of building up to longer, more sustained periods of time as the year progresses. For a child who struggles with reading for an extended time, start with five minutes and then build from there.

Another self-regulation tip is creating a plan to overcome distractions. What happens when the child stumbles? Three minutes into reading and a student is reaching for their cell phone. Recommend that they practice moving the cell phone away from the homework area, and summarize before returning to the reading. Stops and starts are frustrating and often result in lost homework time. Have students practice responses to distraction, and make this part of their homework. When a student struggles to stay on task, they should be encouraged to remove any distraction in order to regain focus.

Use classroom assessment as a tool to plan for and support student homework. Record the following information for students:

  • Do they write, read, and/or solve problems in class? For how many minutes independently?
  • What is the quality of their work? Are they actually learning, or are they just going through the motions?
  • Do they know how to strategize on their own or get help from a peer when they’re stuck? Observe them and take notes, and/or have them reflect on this question.

We cannot expect that students will independently practice a skill they don’t engage with during class. If it doesn't happen in the classroom, it's not going to happen at home. The teacher should be able to realistically gauge how much and what students might achieve at home. A suggestion to build independence is to use task analysis . Here is a model . For students who struggle with getting homework done, at first they may not actually do homework; rather, they practice the routines of setting up and getting started.

Direct Instruction

The following are some techniques that help students with homework:

  • Mindful meditation to gain focus
  • Prioritizing and estimating time
  • Filtering out distractions

Peers as Partners

Class partnership routines need practice. With strong partnerships, kids learn how to support and learn from each other. Access to teachers will never match the unlimited access to peers. The hours that students who achieve at high levels put in after class are often spent alone rehearsing the content or with peers who push each other to improve.

Class-to-Home Connection

While some students struggle with executive functioning, others rush through their homework. The most important step in having homework count is to make it seamless, not separate from class. Homework flows from classwork. Especially with a mix of synchronous and asynchronous work, now there is no homework, just work done for our classes. Consistent instructional goals with engaging and meaningful tasks help students see the value in working beyond the last bell.

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homework helps pupils

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.

homework helps pupils

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.

homework helps pupils

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.”

homework helps pupils

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.

homework helps pupils

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.

homework helps pupils

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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Homework and Mental Health: Striking the Right Balance

low light photography of woman in gray knit sweatshirt writing on desk

In today’s fast-paced and competitive education landscape, students are often faced with overwhelming academic expectations that can significantly impact their mental health. The pressure to excel academically, coupled with the demands of homework, can lead to excessive stress, anxiety, and burnout. It is crucial to find the right balance between academic responsibilities and mental well-being to ensure that students thrive both academically and emotionally.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the research surrounding homework and its effects on students’ stress levels and mental health. We will explore the link between homework and stress, examine the impact of excessive homework on students’ well-being, and, for those seeking relief, offer practical strategies to manage homework effectively or find support to do my homework for me . These insights are intended to help students, parents, and educators strike a balance that promotes both academic success and mental well-being.

The Link Between Homework and Stress

Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between homework and stress levels in students. One notable study conducted by Stanford lecturer Denise Pope found that students who reported spending more than two hours per night on homework experienced higher stress levels and physical health issues. This research highlighted the potential negative effects of excessive homework on students’ well-being.

Another study published in the Sleep Health Journal found that long hours of homework may be a risk factor for depression. This research suggests that reducing homework workload outside of class may benefit sleep quality and mental fitness. Additionally, a study presented by Frontiers in Psychology emphasized the significant health implications for high school students facing chronic stress, including emotional exhaustion and substance use.

These studies collectively indicate that excessive homework can contribute to increased stress levels among students, potentially leading to a range of negative psychological and physiological effects. It is crucial for educators and parents to be mindful of the workload they assign to students and prioritize their well-being.

The Impact of Homework on Mental Health and Well-being

Excessive homework can have far-reaching effects on students’ mental health and well-being. Understanding these effects is essential for developing strategies to mitigate the potential negative consequences. Let’s examine the psychological and physical effects of homework-induced stress on students:

Psychological Effects of Homework-Induced Stress

  • Anxiety: The pressure to perform academically and meet homework expectations can lead to heightened levels of anxiety in students. Constant worry about completing assignments on time and achieving high grades can be overwhelming.
  • Sleep Disturbances: Homework-related stress can disrupt students’ sleep patterns, leading to sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation. Lack of quality sleep negatively impacts cognitive function and emotional regulation.
  • Reduced Motivation: Excessive homework demands can drain students’ motivation, causing them to feel fatigued and disengaged from their studies. Reduced motivation may lead to a lack of interest in learning, hindering overall academic performance.

Physical Effects of Homework-Induced Stress

  • Impaired Immune Function: Prolonged stress from overwhelming homework loads can weaken the immune system, making students more susceptible to illnesses and infections.
  • Disrupted Hormonal Balance: Chronic stress triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, which can disrupt the delicate hormonal balance and lead to various health issues.
  • Gastrointestinal Disturbances: Stress affects the gastrointestinal system, resulting in symptoms such as stomachaches, nausea, and other digestive problems.
  • Cardiovascular Impact: The increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure associated with stress can strain the cardiovascular system, potentially increasing the risk of heart-related issues in the long run.
  • Brain Impact: Prolonged exposure to stress hormones may impact the brain’s functioning, affecting memory, concentration, and cognitive abilities.

It is evident that excessive homework can have detrimental effects on students’ mental and physical well-being. Balancing academic responsibilities with self-care and mental health is crucial for fostering a healthy and productive learning environment.

The Benefits of Homework

While the potential negative effects of excessive homework cannot be ignored, it is essential to recognize that homework also offers several benefits that contribute to students’ academic growth and development. Some of these benefits include:

  • Development of Time Management Skills: Completing homework within specified deadlines encourages students to manage their time efficiently. This skill extends beyond academics and becomes essential in various aspects of life.
  • Preparation for Future Challenges: Homework helps prepare students for future academic challenges and responsibilities. It fosters a sense of discipline and responsibility, qualities crucial for success in higher education and professional life.
  • Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities: Homework often presents students with challenging problems to solve. Tackling these problems independently nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

While acknowledging these benefits, it is crucial to strike a balance between assigning meaningful homework and ensuring students’ overall well-being.

Striking the Right Balance: Strategies for Students, Parents, and Educators

Finding a balance between academic responsibilities and mental well-being is crucial for students’ overall success and happiness. Here are some practical strategies that students, parents, and educators can implement to strike the right balance:

For Students:

Effective Time Management: Create a structured study schedule that allocates sufficient time for homework, breaks, and other activities. Prioritize tasks and set realistic goals to prevent last-minute rushes and reduce feelings of overwhelm.

Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks: Large assignments can be daunting and contribute to stress. Break them into smaller, manageable parts. This approach makes the workload seem less intimidating and provides a sense of accomplishment as each section is completed.

Designate a Distraction-Free Zone: Establish a designated study area that is free from distractions like smartphones, television, or social media. This setting improves focus and productivity, reducing the time needed to complete homework.

Engage in Physical Activity: Regular exercise is known to reduce stress and enhance mood. Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine, whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or practicing yoga.

Practice Relaxation Techniques: Engage in mindfulness practices such as deep breathing exercises or meditation to alleviate stress and improve concentration. Taking short breaks to relax and clear the mind enhances overall well-being and cognitive performance.

Seek Support: Reach out to teachers, parents, or school counselors when feeling overwhelmed or in need of assistance. Establish an open and supportive environment where you feel comfortable expressing concerns and seeking help.

For Parents:

Foster Open Communication: Create an environment where your child feels comfortable discussing their academic challenges and stressors. Encourage open communication about workload and provide support and guidance when needed.

Set Realistic Expectations: Recognize that each child is unique and has different capacities for handling academic pressures. Set realistic expectations for homework completion, considering their individual needs and responsibilities.

Encourage Healthy Habits: Promote a balanced lifestyle that includes sufficient sleep, physical activity, and relaxation. Encourage breaks and downtime to prevent burnout.

Collaborate with Educators: Maintain open lines of communication with teachers to stay informed about the workload and address any concerns regarding excessive homework. Advocate for a balanced approach to homework.

For Educators:

Assign Purposeful Homework: Ensure that homework assignments are purposeful, relevant, and targeted towards specific learning objectives. Emphasize quality over quantity and avoid assigning excessive workloads.

Provide Clear Instructions: Clearly communicate assignment expectations and deadlines to students. This clarity helps students plan their time effectively and reduces stress related to uncertainty.

Offer Support and Resources: Provide students with resources and support systems, such as study guides, online materials, or access to tutoring, to help them navigate their homework effectively.

Encourage Self-Care: Educate students about the importance of self-care and stress management. Incorporate discussions and activities related to mental health and well-being into the curriculum.

By implementing these strategies, students, parents, and educators can work collaboratively to strike a balance between academic responsibilities and mental well-being, fostering a positive learning environment that promotes both academic success and emotional well-being.

Finding the right balance between homework and mental health is crucial for students’ overall well-being and academic success. Excessive homework can lead to increased stress levels, negatively impacting students’ mental and physical health. By understanding the potential effects of homework-induced stress, implementing practical strategies, and fostering open communication between students, parents, and educators, we can create a supportive learning environment that prioritizes both academic growth and mental well-being. Let’s work together to ensure that students thrive academically and emotionally.

Related Posts

homework helps pupils

Because differences are our greatest strength

Homework challenges and strategies

homework helps pupils

By Amanda Morin

Expert reviewed by Jim Rein, MA

Homework Strategies for Struggling Students. A boy does homework with parent in background.

At a glance

Kids can struggle with homework for lots of reasons.

A common challenge is rushing through assignments.

Once you understand a homework challenge, it’s easier to find solutions.

Most kids struggle with homework from time to time. But kids who learn and think differently may struggle more than others. Understanding the homework challenges your child faces can help you reduce stress and avoid battles.

Here are some common homework challenges and tips to help.

The challenge: Rushing through homework

Kids with learning difficulties may rush because they’re trying to get through what’s hard for them as fast as possible. For kids with ADHD, trouble with focus and working memory may be the cause.

Rushing through homework can lead to messy or incorrect homework. It can also lead to kids missing key parts of the assignment. One thing to try is having your child do the easiest assignments first and then move to harder ones.

Get more tips for helping grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers slow down on homework.

The challenge: Taking notes

Note-taking isn’t an easy skill for some kids. They may struggle with the mechanical parts of writing or with organizing ideas on a page. Kids may also find it hard to read text and take notes at the same time.

Using the outline method may help. It divides notes into main ideas, subtopics, and details. 

Explore different note-taking strategies .

The challenge: Managing time and staying organized

Some kids struggle with keeping track of time and making a plan for getting all of their work done. That’s especially true of kids who have trouble with executive function.

Try creating a homework schedule and set a specific time and place for your child to get homework done. Use a timer to help your child stay on track and get a better sense of time.

Learn about trouble with planning .

The challenge: Studying effectively

Many kids need to be taught how to study effectively. But some may need concrete strategies.

One thing to try is creating a checklist of all the steps that go into studying. Have your child mark off each one. Lists can help kids monitor their work.

Explore more study strategies for grade-schoolers and teens .

The challenge: Recalling information

Some kids have trouble holding on to information so they can use it later. (This skill is called working memory. ) They may study for hours but remember nothing the next day. But there are different types of memory.

If your child has trouble with verbal memory, try using visual study aids like graphs, maps, or drawings.

Practice “muscle memory” exercises to help kids with working memory.

The challenge: Learning independently

It’s important for kids to learn how to do homework without help. Using a homework contract can help your child set realistic goals. Encourage “thinking out loud.”

Get tips for helping grade-schoolers do schoolwork on their own.

Sometimes, homework challenges don’t go away despite your best efforts. Look for signs that kids may have too much homework . And learn how to talk with teachers about concerns .

Key takeaways

Some kids have a hard time doing schoolwork on their own.

It can help to tailor homework strategies to a child’s specific challenges and strengths.

Sometimes, there’s too much homework for a child to handle. Talk to the teacher.

Explore related topics

Dr Study Learning

What Are the Benefits of Homework?

The vast majority of students think that homework is extremely essential and value the time they spend on it. It helps students review what they've learned and get ready for what's to come in class.

Nonetheless, there are still those students who consistently struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard.  The benefits of giving students homework will be discussed, and strategies for getting it done quickly will be offered.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the amount of schoolwork you have to perform, keep reading. Possibly, the benefits might justify the effort.

There are millions of youngsters all across the world that are having trouble in school. Help your child get ahead with one of the many online learning and tutoring programmes offered by Dr. Study.

Advantages of homework

The Benefits & Drawbacks Of Having Homework

Benefits of homework, teaching students how to manage their time.

There is no better instrument than homework to teach a child how to manage his or her time wisely.  This means that teaching and practising efficient use of one's time is a responsibility shared by the family and the school.

Even if your kid has other obligations, like playing or doing some minor chores, you should always give them plenty of time to finish their homework. Homework is best accomplished when one is in a calm, focused state of mind. It's important to make sure your kid is fed and rested before you start anything.

Sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instill in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.

As a consequence, with your help, your kid should be able to set his or her own priorities for the tasks. Using this strategy, you can more easily do multiple activities in a limited amount of time.

​​Teachers Can Gauge Their Students’ Progress in Their Lessons by Checking Their Homework

Ask yourself whether you've ever worried that your students didn't grasp the concepts you gave to them.  Then perhaps you might think about giving them some homework.

Based on the students' answers, you'll have a good idea of how much they've retained from the lesson. If the answers aren't what you were hoping for, it's time to review the chapter and break it down into smaller, more digestible chunks.

Some of your students likely struggled to keep track of more technical terms because they didn't grasp them.  The single most effective thing you can do is to encourage your students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas.

Additionally, feel free to incorporate a range of learning methods if you wish to ensure that the specific topic is grasped. Example: teaching pupils how to play an instrument requires direct interaction with the instrument itself. However, using real-world examples is the most effective method of visual education.

Prepares Them to Take On Challenges and Find Solutions

  • Problem-solving skills are crucial for success in school, and teachers will use them to gauge your child's reasoning and decision-making prowess.

When your kid is in a classroom, they can work on projects with other students and get feedback from their teacher. But when they're at home, they have to rely on what they've already learned to solve their problems in the most efficient way possible.

However, putting this plan into effect is not easy. Ability to focus and the willingness to get instant help with difficult concepts are needed.

  • However, if your kid is successful at school and learns how to solve difficulties, they'll be well-equipped to use those same skills at home.

Parents must start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age.  Confidence is essential for both boosting pupils' self-esteem and allowing them to raise enquiries without fear of ridicule from their classmates.

Offers a Second Chance for Students to Review Course Content

There is no limit to learning, despite what you may have been taught in school.  If you're a student who takes their studies seriously, you should do your best to do them at the comfort of your own home.

  • If your child does their homework on a regular basis, they will have a unique chance to revisit the material they learned in class.

By reviewing material on a regular basis, students are able to learn more, remember details more quickly, and see more options for how to tackle the same problem.

Your child's knowledge is more deeply embedded in their mind when he or she has had ample opportunity to revisit it through homework.

Consequently, the more students do the exercises, the easier it will be for them to respond to similar questions in the future.

Parents Can View Their Children’s Lessons.

In addition to the student, the instructor also stands to gain from homework assignments.

  • If a parent is interested in their child's growth and academic progress across a range of topics, they can learn just as much as their child.
  • In just ten or twenty minutes, you can quickly brush up on your child's schoolwork and be up to speed on what they're learning.

Based on the assessment's findings, you can help your child work towards building a range of strategies for responding to different types of enquiries.

However, it is essential that you encourage your child to research solutions independently in order to be appropriately prepared for examinations that measure individual comprehension.

Students Develop a Sense of Responsibility by Taking Ownership of Their Learning

There's a school of thought that says giving kids homework will help them grow up to be responsible adults.  Regular homework assignments serve as a subtle reminder to students of the value of their schoolwork.

Additionally, with each completed assignment, your child will be one step closer to achieving their educational goals and accepting responsibility for the decisions they make in their lives.

  • In a nutshell, assigning your child homework helps them acquire the skills they'll need to take on adult responsibilities that are considerably more challenging and time-consuming than schoolwork.

Furthermore, your kid will have a growth attitude, which is a powerful tool for overcoming challenges and accomplishing ambitions.

When Students Are Forced to Do Something They Don’t Want to Do, They Learn to Do It

Most students dislike having homework to accomplish at home since it takes time away from their preferred pastimes.

However, if you give your kid homework and insist that he or she does it, you might help them learn an important lesson: that they have to do things even if they don't want to. Your kid should be ready to take part in the kinds of things that will be the norm for them by the time they're adults.

The emphasis is on prioritising long-term happiness over short-term satisfaction and learning to tolerate sacrifice.

The onus of being willing to make sacrifices in the name of success rests not only on the parents, but also on the offspring.

If your child is prepared to accept the rewards that come with making sacrifices, he or she will be in a better position to eliminate distractions and focus on the work at hand.

  • Although it may be difficult, asking someone to turn off their TV and mobile phone is a great test of their focus and dedication.

It’s Great for Instilling Self-Discipline in the Form of Regular Practice

It's true that solving the same issues over and over again can be a real drag, yet doing so has long-term benefits for your discipline.  Oftentimes, hearing something more than once is necessary to really get it.

With continued training, you eventually reach a higher level of proficiency. Especially if it's for a difficult subject, completing your homework every night will make the material much easier to understand.

The student will benefit from this in the future when applying for jobs in the student's chosen vocational field.

This Helps Bring Parents Into Their Children’s Lives

Occasionally, parents may feel lost when attempting to understand the Common Core's mathematical standards.

For instance, the answer that appears to be accurate if the mathematical problem known as 53 is recast as an additional problem is the three-digit sum 5+5+5.

Three times three times three times three is the correct solution, though.

  • Students can get their parents interested in their children's education by giving them homework to do at home.

Many parents ask for their children's assignments to be sent to them through email so that they can keep up with class.

The early education programme offered by Dr. Study is individualised to meet the requirements of each child. We ensure that children have a positive first experience with school, one that helps them develop self-esteem and a passion for learning.

Child doing homework

You'll Learn How to Better Manage Your Time.

Homework is more than just a checklist item.  As a result, teaching children (and parents) to effectively manage their time is essential.

Planning up your day in advance is essential for getting everything done. It encourages creative problem-solving and the development of one's own unique cognitive processes.

Research capacity is bolstered as a result. Furthermore, it requires both parents and children to practise excellent decision-making, which can be difficult for all parties involved.

Having Homework Establishes a Common Ground for Conversation

Students' personal lives at home are rarely discussed during class. Similarly, parents rarely see their children's classroom environments.

Through the completion of homework, there is tridirectional contact between the home, the classroom, and the school.

That way, people can meet and get to know one another better. Educators benefit from a deeper understanding of their student populations' needs thanks to this tool.

This is a great way for parents to find out what their child is capable of and where they may have some challenges. Collectively, we can create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.

This Creates an Ideal Atmosphere for Serious Academic Work

While classrooms have certainly improved throughout the years, they still can't compare to the comfort and safety of one's own home or another trusted environment.

  • When a youngster is given the freedom to learn in a setting where they feel most comfortable, they are more likely to retain material that could be forgotten in a more formal classroom.

It Gives You More Time to Finish off the Learning Process

Each academic subject is sometimes given only an hour a day, if that, in schools, especially those serving pupils in grades K-12.

In most cases, more time is required for students to grasp the underlying concepts and principles of the topic completely.

We can lessen the impact of time constraints by compensating for missed study time with homework assignments tailored to individual student's areas of weakness. Over time, this will benefit students greatly.

It’s Perfectly Fine to Treat It Like Any Other Extracurricular Activity

When children in a household are involved in too many extracurricular activities , everyone's time and energy are spread too thin.

More than 40 hours a week can be spent on clubs and sports teams outside of the regular school day.

When there is ample downtime, schoolwork can be included as one of these tasks.  Some of the required preparation work can even be completed on the way to or from specific events.

The Downsides of Homework

Play is important for kids’ development.

  • Learning can take place both inside and outside the classroom; both indoor and outdoor activities have their merits.

T oo much homework can stunt a child's development in cognitive and social areas since it cuts into their leisure time.

  • A lack of play is associated with a number of negative outcomes, including underachievement in school, a lack of attention to safety, stunted character growth, and poor health as an adult.

It Encourages A Sedentary Lifestyle

It's possible that putting in the time and effort required for homework will pay dividends in terms of improved knowledge retention and skill acquisition, but this may come at a price.

We Can’t Assume That Everyone’s House Is a Safe Haven

The education of young children is a priority for some households. In some households, parents are actively involved in helping their kids with homework, while in others, tutors are available to help with more complex assignments.

On the other hand, there are some families that place little to no value on their children's education, which can be detrimental to their growth. Some parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.

There are times when a parent would like to help and support their child, but they are unable to do so because of many factors. Ultimately, home life is not the same for every family.

For Most Kids, Schooling Already Constitutes Full-Time Work

Timetables for elementary schools often run from 9:00 am to 3:20 pm.

Children as young as five are devoting almost six hours daily to their schooling.

Schools actively encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities like athletics, musicals, and after-school programming, which can easily add another two hours to a student's daily instructional time.

Plus, you still have to do your homework?

Doing additional work or finishing homework early is a lot to expect of any kid, but especially younger ones.

No Research Has Shown That Assigning Homework Leads to Better Grades

  • Studies have shown that assigning homework does nothing but make kids cynical about their schooling.
  • On a nationwide scale, homework completion is also unrelated to student success in school.

According to certain sources[not in citation given] There is anecdotal evidence that students who have access to a knowledgeable tutor or parent perform better in certain areas, but no data to demonstrate that this has a widespread effect.

It Discourages Creative Endeavours

Each hour a pupil spends on homework is an hour they can't spend on something else.

Even if students enjoy these activities, schoolwork inhibits them from devoting the time necessary to improve their talents in areas like art, photography, and musical instrument performance.

Although original thought may be called for in completing some of the homework, this is usually not the case.

Enforcing Students to Complete Their Homework Might Be Challenging

Some pupils simply don't care if they finish their assignments. They know they can get good grades without it, so they choose not to bother.

For some students, no amount of encouragement from a parent or teacher will be enough to get them to do their homework.

Truth be told, you will need to put up some effort if you expect to finish your schoolwork successfully. Sometimes kids just don't want to put in the work that's needed.

Time Spent in Class Does Not Translate to Academic Success

Students in the United States spend over 100 hours more time in school than students in other high-performing countries throughout the world, but the educational gap between the two has not been closed.

The United States continues to slip behind other developed nations in a number of key educational indicators, even though kids are spending more time in class than ever before.

  • Quality, not quantity, is what matters most while studying or completing assignments like homework.

It’s Possible That Realistic Training Is Unattainable

If students have homework, it is their responsibility (or that of a responsible adult) to acquire materials that will help them learn the concepts being discussed in class. Homework is assigned so that students may get some much-needed practice, but this serves no useful purpose if the students don't fully grasp the concepts behind the material they're working on.

Incorrect student practice requires the teacher to intervene, fix the problem, and then re-teach the material, lengthening the learning process.

Multiple Forms of Cheating Could Be Encouraged

  • Some students may decide they can get away with cheating in class rather than doing their homework because of the time it would take them to finish it.

It's easy to fall into the trap of using Google or another online resource instead of thinking creatively and independently these days.

In order to save time and energy, families with multiple children may decide to manufacture copies.

Benchmarks Are Often Incorporated Into Homework Assignments

Homework is commonly offered to help students prepare for and perform better on upcoming assessments.

While this may have some positive outcomes, such as improved study abilities or habits, it ignores the reality that children's learning is impaired when they are sleepy.

The results of standardised tests tend to suffer when children are given more homework than is considered healthy. The stress level increases. The concept of burnout is addressed in class.

Benefits of homework

In search of primary school program ? Dr. Study is an English , Math , Science, and Humanities education programme for youngsters that is available both online and in-person.

Homework is essential for many students, but there are still those who struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard.

The benefits of homework include teaching students how to manage their time wisely, giving them plenty of time to finish their homework, and gauging their students' progress in their lessons by checking their homework.

Homework is best accomplished when one is in a calm, focused state of mind, and sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instil in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.

Help your child get ahead with one of the many online learning and tutoring programmes offered by Dr. Study.

The most important details in this text are that parents should encourage their students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas, incorporate a range of learning methods, prepare them to take on challenges and find solutions, and provide a second chance for students to review course content.

Additionally, parents should start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age, which is essential for both boosting pupils' self-esteem and allowing them to raise enquiries without fear of ridicule from their classmates.

Finally, parents can view their children's lessons, and the instructor also stands to gain from homework assignments.

Giving kids homework can help them develop a sense of responsibility by taking ownership of their learning.

It also helps them acquire the skills they'll need to take on adult responsibilities that are more challenging and time-consuming than schoolwork.

When students are forced to do something they don't want to do, they learn to do it. The emphasis is on prioritising long-term happiness over short-term satisfaction and learning to tolerate sacrifice.

Homework is a great way to instil self-discipline in the form of regular practice. It also helps to bring parents into the students' lives by providing them with homework to do at home.

It also encourages creative problem-solving and the development of one's own unique cognitive processes, and it requires both parents and children to practise excellent decision-making.

Additionally, it establishes a common ground for conversation between the home, the classroom, and the school.

Finally, it teaches children how to manage their time better.

Homework is a great tool for educators to gain a deeper understanding of their student populations' needs and create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.

It provides the comfort and safety of one's own home or another trusted environment, gives students more time to finish off the learning process, and encourages a sedentary lifestyle.

However, too much homework can stunt a child's development in cognitive and social areas, leading to negative outcomes such as underachievement in school, a lack of attention to safety, stunted character growth, and poor health as an adult.

It is important to treat homework like any other extracurricular activity, as it can be completed on the way to or from specific events.

The education of young children is a priority for some households, while others place little to no value on their children's education. ome parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.

For most kids, schooling already constitutes full-time work, and homework can add another two hours to their daily instructional time.

No research has shown that assigning homework leads to better grades, and homework completion is unrelated to student success in school. It discourages creative endeavours, and forcing students to complete their homework can be challenging.

Some pupils simply don't care if they finish their assignments, so they choose not to bother.

Students in the United States spend more time in school than in other high-performing countries, but the educational gap between the two has not been closed. Quality, not quantity, is what matters most when studying or completing assignments like homework.

  • Homework is assigned so that students may get some much-needed practice, but this serves no useful purpose if the students don't fully grasp the concepts behind the material they're working on.

Additionally, multiple forms of cheating could be encouraged.

Benchmarks are often incorporated into homework assignments to help students prepare for and perform better on upcoming assessments, but this ignores the reality that children's learning is impaired when they are sleepy.

The concept of burnout is addressed in class, and Study is an English, Math, Science, and Humanities education programme for youngsters that is available both online and in-person.

Content Summary

  • The vast majority of students think that homework is extremely essential and value the time they spend on it.
  • Nonetheless, there are still those students who consistently struggle to do their homework on time or to the expected standard.
  • The benefits of giving students homework will be discussed, and strategies for getting it done quickly will be offered.
  • There is no better instrument than the homework to teach a child how to manage his or her time wisely.
  • This means that teaching and practising efficient use of one's time is a responsibility shared by the family and the school.
  • Even if your kid has other obligations, like playing or doing some minor chores, you should always give them plenty of time to finish their homework.
  • Sitting down with your kid and working through their schoolwork together is a great way to instil in them a sense of responsibility and teach them how to prioritise tasks.
  • Then perhaps you might think about giving them some homework.
  • The single most effective thing you can do is to encourage your students to seek clarification by asking questions about difficult ideas.
  • Additionally, feel free to incorporate a range of learning methods if you wish to ensure that the specific topic is grasped.
  • However, using real-world examples is the most effective method of visual education.
  • But when they're at home, they have to rely on what they've already learned to solve their problems in the most efficient way possible.
  • It's crucial for parents to start instilling a sense of confidence in their children from a young age.
  • There is no limit to learning, despite what you may have been taught in school.
  • There's a school of thought that says giving kids homework will help them grow up to be responsible adults.
  • Regular homework assignments serve as a subtle reminder to students of the value of their schoolwork.
  • However, if you give your kid homework and insist that he or she does it, you might help them learn an important lesson: that they have to do things even if they don't want to.
  • It's true that solving the same issues over and over again can be a real drag, yet doing so has long-term benefits for your discipline.
  • Especially if it's for a difficult subject, completing your homework every night will make the material much easier to understand.
  • We ensure that children have a positive first experience with school, one that helps them develop self-esteem and a passion for learning.
  • As a result, teaching children (and parents) to effectively manage their time is essential.
  • Planning up your day in advance is essential for getting everything done.
  • Educators benefit from a deeper understanding of their student populations' needs thanks to this tool.
  • This is a great way for parents to find out what their child is capable of and where they may have some challenges.
  • Collectively, we can create a curriculum that provides the best possible conditions for learning.
  • In most cases, more time is required for students to completely grasp the underlying concepts and principles of the topic.
  • We can lessen the impact of time constraints by compensating for missed study time with homework assignments tailored to individual students' areas of weakness.
  • When children in a household are involved in too many extracurricular activities, everyone's time and energy is spread too thin.
  • Too much homework can stunt a child's development in cognitive and social areas since it cuts into their leisure time.
  • The education of young children is a priority for some households.
  • In some households, parents are actively involved in helping their kids with homework, while in others, tutors are available to help with more complex assignments.
  • On the other hand, there are some families that place little to no value on their children's education, which can be detrimental to their growth.
  • Some parents refuse to help their kids with schoolwork, claiming that the school is to fault.
  • Ultimately, home life is not the same for every family.
  • Truth be told, you will need to put up some effort if you expect to finish your schoolwork successfully.
  • Sometimes kids just don't want to put in the work that's needed.
  • If students have homework, it is their responsibility (or that of a responsible adult) to acquire materials that will help them learn the concepts being discussed in class.
  • The results of standardised tests tend to suffer when children are given more homework than is considered healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does homework help students.

Homework teaches students how to set priorities. Second, homework helps teachers determine how well their students understand the lessons. Third, homework teaches students how to problem-solve. Finally, homework teaches students the importance of planning, staying organised, and taking action.

Is Homeworks Important?

Homework allows students to revise classroom learnings and builds the habit of self-study. In addition, it helps them to score better. Increases concentration: While doing homework, students find an isolated place to study to concentrate more.

How Often Should Homework Be Given?

This rule recommends that students are assigned a daily maximum of 10 minutes of homework per grade level. It means that a third-grader, for example, should do 30 minutes of homework each night. When they reach high school, this goes up to about two hours each night.

How Much Homework Is A Good Amount?

It would be best to assign too much homework: the maximum should be approximately one to two hours a day for high school students and one hour a day for elementary and middle school students. The amount of homework assigned to students should be gradually increased by around ten minutes with each grade.

How Does Homework Help Students In The Future?

Homework allows students to practice or extend the material learned in the classroom. Research tells us that doing homework increases students' learning and helps them learn important life skills such as organisation, problem-solving, goal-setting, and perseverance.

Dr. Olga Abeysekera

Olga has a PhD in Management from Monash University. Her research focused on how personal differences and social networking impact creativity in the tech industry. She has extensive teaching experience at universities and private tutoring centers, praised for her engaging methods and clear insights. Olga also writes for top academic journals and creates innovative programs that enhance skills and consulting methods. She believes in the power of education to inspire ongoing growth in both studies and careers.

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by Research Schools Network on the 18th January 2021

In this blog, Dr Jo Castelino, a Science teacher based in West Yorkshire, applies her passion for evidence-informed strategies to home learning.

Homework has always been my sticking point in teaching. Often, it was set as an afterthought, and the tasks themselves didn’t do enough to help my pupils consolidate their learning. However, during lockdown, I was forced to think about it very carefully, as remote learning is essentially an extended period of homework. 

But unlike homework, we had no periods of face-to-face teaching in between tasks during lockdown. Several of my lower-attaining pupils struggled with the work during remote learning, and have returned to school feeling less confident. 

We know that secondary pupils can really benefit from good homework , and in our current climate of blended teaching, I think it will be particularly important to provide pupils with self-regulated learning strategies to work independently. If I can support them to develop these in lessons, they will do better when they’re at home.

What makes effective homework? 

In Science, pupils have to answer questions where they draw together knowledge from a range of topics, and usually feel overwhelmed. For example, in a question on photosynthesis, pupils could be asked about cell structure, plant tissues or abiotic and biotic factors, all of which are taught in different topics. 

For homework, I’ve been providing my pupils with opportunities to practice these types of questions, together with plenty of retrieval of key facts, so they’ll have the pre-requisite knowledge, and confidence, required to tackle them.

How do I help my pupils be more successful at homework? 

Research implies that my more disadvantaged pupils are less likely to use effective metacognitive strategies when they find homework challenging, presenting particular challenges for blended learning. While I can provide support during lessons, it becomes harder to motivate pupils when they are at home. 

Here are some strategies I’ve been using to support my pupils’ independent and self-regulated study: 

1 ) Design high-quality homework 

I think carefully about how I can build pupils’ knowledge and confidence through homework.

  • e.g. While teaching Ecology, I set questions such as ​ ‘ What is an ecosystem?’ and ​ ‘ Name 3  biotic factors’.
  • e.g. After teaching Ecology and moving on to Cells, I set questions that incorporate fact-recall on Cells but interleave these with questions from Ecology.
  • e.g. I set a question about a food chain and get pupils to apply their knowledge of cells by asking them to describe the structure of a cell in: grass (producer- plant cell), a grasshopper (consumer- animal cell) and bacteria (decomposer- prokaryotic cell). I also ask questions about the role of these organisms in the ecosystem.
  • e.g. I set questions in a simple numbered-list format with no diagrams unless it is required for a question. This is the same format I use for questions practiced in lessons.

2 ) Create and consistently implement routines around homework completion 

A good study environment is distraction-free, with relevant resources close at hand, which I know will be a struggle for some of my pupils. I try to help them regulate any factors that are within their control and support them to mitigate others. For instance:

  • I keep deadlines to the same day each week, so pupils know when to expect homework, and can plan for it. 
  • I provide an approximate time limit for homework completion – pupils are just as likely to spend too long on something as they are to rush it. It’s important they know when to stop, and how to seek help but equally that they use the time to put in complete effort.
  • I provide a checklist, so that pupils can monitor their progress.

3 ) Provide resources and explicitly teach pupils how to access them while they’re with me 

I use lesson time to help pupils develop the skills and strategies they’ll need when working independently. For example:

  • I use booklets to support independent practice in lessons, and help pupils get used to reading them before answering questions.
  • I model my thinking using worked examples to explicitly teach the process of arriving at a correct answer.

4 ) Get pupils to reflect on their homework 

I help pupils reflect on the strategies that work well in different circumstances , such as:

  • Pupils discuss how they reduced distractions, and what they did when they found a question challenging.
  • I encourage pupils to think about how long it took them to complete the homework, and set specific goals for next time.

Impact of self-regulated learning on homework standard and completion 

By following these strategies, I hope that my pupils will have more confidence to work independently and will be better able to seek help when tasks are challenging, particularly when we go through periods of blended learning.

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Why is Homework Important?

In GCSE , General by Think Student Editor March 10, 2022 Leave a Comment

Homework is something every child has had to go through during their schooling. It may have been preparing a presentation, drawing up a poster or completing a worksheet. This is one subject that guarantees vastly varying opinions. Some believe there should be none at all and others find a reasonable amount of it quite useful. Some think less should be set, some think more. So, what is the reason for such contrasting opinions? What is the significance of homework?

Homework is important as it allows students to develop and hone important skills, such as time management and discipline. These are skills that they will find invaluable in the near future – including higher education and their work career. It also acts as a way for the teacher, as well as the pupil themselves, to realise their current level along with their progress. Homework also helps pupils to consolidate class work. Through this they can ensure full and clear understanding.

These are just a few reasons that highlight the significance of homework in the life of school pupils’ lives. Continue reading this article to find out more about why it’s so important as well as some helpful information on dealing with homework.

Table of Contents

Why is Homework Important for Students?

Homework has numerous benefits on a child’s education, school life and home life. Homework is generally an engaging and interactive task set by the teacher to allow students to consolidate and apply the content they covered in class. The act of going over this content once again the student will be able to solidify their understanding.

However, they may also realise any gaps in their knowledge or questions upon doing the set task. This is equally important as it means the next day, at school, they will be able to ask their teacher. If the homework was not set, the pupil wouldn’t have realised their lack of understanding. A few advantages of homework are covered below.

Improve Time-Management

Through completing their homework students can gain several important life skills to make themselves more responsible. Homework gives pupils the responsibility of completing the given task by a given time. This encourages them to become more independent and disciplined.

This may involve planning out their after-school time and deciding to complete a homework task in a given time limit. For example, the pupil may plan to spend 20 minutes on their maths homework, take a ten-minute break, and then spend 30 minutes on geography. This is something they will find fundamental during exams as well as in their future career.

Encourage Creativity

When teachers set engaging tasks, such as presenting a theme in a chosen way, it gives the pupil the ability to design their own work. This encourages originality through creativity. Homework may also allow students to think outside the box to come up with ideas. This is a tool they will find useful throughout their life.

Furthermore, through completing creative and engaging tasks, a pupil will be able to discover their learning style . They will realise whether or not they like and can learn from posters, mind maps and flash cards. They can continue to apply their preferences throughout school, especially when revising for exams.

Develop Research Skills

Homework teaches children how to use the resources on-hand to benefit themselves. When a pupil is given a research project, they must go online to find relevant material that they can present. Also, if they are confused and do not fully understand a question, they will need to find the answer. This teaches students how to find information through a variety of sources, such as going online, using a library, or talking to an informed person.

By knowing how to access relevant learning materials the student will find any future homework, learning and revision easier.

Learn Other Relevant Content

Homework provides an opportunity for a pupil to dive deeper into a specific topic. This may because they’ve been told to complete a project on a chosen topic. This allows students to discover potential interests. They’ll be able to go above and beyond classwork and possibly find their future subject choices or career.

Why Do Teachers Set Homework?

The reasons above all clearly set out the insurmountable advantage that homework poses to students. Student’s benefit is the teacher’s best interest. However, what most students forget when complaining about the ‘ridiculous amount of work’ their teachers set is that the teacher needs to mark around thirty pupil’s ‘ridiculous amount of work’. So why do they do it? Why give out homework?

Homework acts as a clear representation of the pupil’s understanding and ability of the subject. It is debatably more accurate than tests, exams, or class work. This is because homework encourages the pupil to complete the work independently, without the option of asking the teacher for help. It is also done in a calm, comfortable environment. Therefore, it can show progress or activity over a long period of time if set consistently. This is unlike a quick test or quiz which is a one-time result.

Alternatively, often when a pupil fails to complete the classwork that they were meant to, due to distraction or absences, it will be set as homework. This is a reasonable solution, especially if the work done class will be essential in future lessons or tests.

Is Homework Important in Primary School?

Many argue that at such a young age children should not be made to stress over large piles of work. Other counter this with an argument that pupils must begin learning their life skills early – through homework. Neither are incorrect arguments.

This is why, during primary school, most teachers set a limited amount of homework . This prevents too much pressure at a young age. They will also be able to get enough sleep at night. Furthermore, this ensures sufficient time for any after school clubs or going round to a friend’s house. These activities are very important at a young age, arguably more so than homework, because they also provide valuable development.

Also, primary school homework is found to be less restrictive and more engaging. This helps children to learn better.

How Should You Do Your Homework?

Often homework can become a daunting task. A major counter argument to setting homework is the stress it places on young student. So how can a student handle their out-of-school workload without it affecting their mental health?

An important factor is maintaining a comfortable but distraction-free environment. You should not be working in a stressful area. For some this may be a public area such as a quiet café. Others are unable to work comfortably in their own home. If this is the case some suitable options would be the local library or a quiet café. In the summer, you could even sit under a tree in the park to get some work done.

To maintain a distraction-free zone, some common ideas consider placing your phone in a different room, listening to songs without lyrics. Find some other useful tips and tricks to improve your focus and concentration at this Think Student article . This can help you deal with any homework stress or anxiety that you may facing.

It is also important to plan out your time , so the burden of homework does not seep into your free time. It is vital to maintain a schoolwork and life balance.

Online Homework

During lockdown, the entire world collectively suffered from a complete shift in our lifestyles. Most schooling (including primary, secondary and university) was moved online. Teachers began to set homework online, such as on OneNote, or Word Documents. This means getting distracted is much easier. For some people, it may even make remembering or learning much harder since they cannot physically complete it.

In this case it is important to find available resources suited to you, that can help you get the most out of online homework.

Online Homework Help

We’ve included some links down below including YouTube channels to clearly explain out topics, websites with topic summary notes, websites with interactive quizzes and other useful online help. It is essential to find an engaging and well-suited online learning method for you. If in school, make sure your chosen resources are for the specific exam board you will be writing, especially if you are revising.

In addition to the links below, also check out your own school’s website to find some useful resource links as well. When in doubt, contact your teachers to ask for useful resources for subject help.

  • For help with Sciences, English and Maths : go to the Savemyexams website here .
  • Another incredibly useful website which summarises the important points of a topic briefly and clearly is the BBC bitesize website . This website has resources for primary , secondary and post-16 . There also interactive feature such as quick quizzes.
  • The YouTube channel Science with Hazel also provides friendly videos that cover the whole syllabus . Check out this channel here .
  • Seneca Le arning is another very useful website for KS2, KS3, GCSE and A-Level. It has many interactive features. It covers most subjects including the core subjects, social sciences and languages. You can visit this website here .
  • For English websites such as CliffsNotes and SparkNotes can help you to summarise characters and themes in a book.

You are not limited to the links above, there are many more online resources out there, so speak to your fellow pupils and teachers to find out more online help.

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Is it True that doing Homework helps Pupils Learn more?

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Ever since the late 1800s, educators have argued for the benefits of schoolwork. Things have been getting tense in recent days, amid complaints from certain parents and instructors that students are being freaked out by even more schoolwork. Researchers and teachers who oppose homework in middle school argue that there is no credible study tying it to academic success in young children. They’re missing the key point, as you’ve stated. I believe that teachers offer assignments in primary school to assist students in acquiring abilities that they will need later in life, such as developing a feeling of obligation and learning management and organizational skills. That, in my opinion, is the most important benefit of homework: it cultivates positive attitudes toward school and the skills necessary for educational excellence. If we drastically cut or abolish schoolwork at the elementary level, we lose teachers and adults the opportunity to teach these critical learning skills and behaviors. You understand that there is a robust and favorable association between schoolwork and educational achievement, starting in late elementary school and extending through graduation.

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homework helps pupils

The advantages of homework in education

1. homework is linked to higher school performance in secondary pupils, according to a study..

Duke University evaluated the results of 60 coursework previous research and discovered compelling evidence that students who finish assignments routinely perform better on examinations and receive better scores than those who are not.

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2. Experts agree on the appropriate quantity of homework.

In terms of quantity, the “10-minute rule” is commonly considered as the ideal measurement. It goes like this: kids must have 10 minutes of activity in first grade, 20 minutes in second grade, again and again until they have around 2 hours of homework in grade 12. The National PTA and the National Association (parents and teachers) are numerous educational specialists.

3. Homework provides a vital window into school careers for families.

It can assist parents and families in various ways to support their children. Homework provides a physical view of just what (how and) kids are taught and helps families have meaningful talks with their youngsters about schooling. Furthermore, identifying achievement and ambiguity can assist parents in identifying learning requirements that require extra attention, such as gifted and talented programs, special education services, or customized student services.

4. Students’ learning is enriched by high-quality homework assignments.

There is ample evidence that when homework is properly designed, it improves students’ involvement with learning stuff.

  • -When students are given choice reading, their overall literacy improves.
  • -Independent practice improves math skills, and technologies can enhance.
  • -Effective homework assignments improve students’ retrieval abilities or their capacity to recognize data and keep applying skills through their own, across disciplines.
  • -Efficient worksheets are a natural extension of the “I do/we do/you do” teaching model, widely recognized as the best practice across subject areas.

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You emphasize the significance of high-quality homework. What exactly is it?

Homework that is of high quality is both interacting and pertinent to the lives of children. It empowers them and allows them to participate in the public even with their households. Worksheets are very useful in some subjects, such as math. It has to do with the importance of exercising repeatedly.

What are your worries about homework and young kids from low-income families?

I find the concept that homework “punishes the poor” since lower-income families may not be able to support their children with schoolwork as well as rich parents quite unsettling. There seem to be no parents that are uninterested in their children’s education. Parents are not required to assist their children with schoolwork to succeed. They can assist in various ways, such as assisting children in organizing a study place, offering food, providing support, and assisting children in working as a group with brothers or sisters.

Isn’t it true that the debate about eliminating homework primarily takes place in wealthy neighborhoods?

Absolutely, and the ones we hear about kids worried out because they have too much coursework or five hours each night are true. This is harmful to one’s bodily and mental health, as well as one’s overall health. However, data reveals that pupils from higher socioeconomic backgrounds receive significantly more schoolwork than children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Educators may not have the same high expectations of pupils from low-income families. Universities should be responsible for offering after-school activities, community help, and peer social support to do their homework. When we have reduced aspirations for children, we are doing them harm.

To some extent, the debate over homework is a socioeconomic stratum and equality problem. We are doing a service to minimal children if we abolish schoolwork for all students as wealthier ones have too much. They require effort, and with adequate assistance, any kid can meet the challenge.

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What did you understand about how future teachers are prepared to handle homework by examining how schooling schools prepare them?

Margarita Jimenez-Silva, a colleague at the University of California, Davis, Faculty of Management, and I conducted interviews with academic staff from school levels and direct supervision teaching staff to learn how children are ready. And it didn’t appear that they were. There didn’t appear to be any data analysis interpretations or discussions about some of the responses coursework and how to create it.

What other kinds of homework management instructions do you know if you have received, Erin?

Bruce: At Wheelock, I had fantastic professors, but homework was never an issue. I had a lot of experience teaching students. I’ve been in courses where teachers didn’t assign homework and in groups where teachers imposed minutes of study per night. So I never thought of homework as something I could control. I just assumed this was something I’d get out of a textbook and finish. This year, I began assigning assignments on the first night at school. My first task was to design a depiction of the place wherein you complete your schoolwork at home.

I’m curious if it’s at a table with chairs around it and if Mom is preparing dinner while you work on your homework. On the second night, I instructed them to speak with an adult about how they would complete their homework during the week. It was a big hit with the kids. It’s a standard joke that I’m teaching life skills to my students. It’s wonderful to read all of my kids’ answers to me during their homework week on Friday nights. They give everything they’ve got. It’s as if we’re having a Friday night dialogue on my couch.

So, where do we go from here?

I’m glad you inquired! To make homework genuinely function for students, many things need to happen, so I’ll focus on what’s inside grasp for action plans. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Insist on high-quality worksheets:

This should be addressed in teacher professional development and training, as well as active discussions between parents and teachers. These are likely to be difficult discussions, but they are necessary.

Discuss your child’s mental health alongside your student academic personnel:

This, in my opinion, is as vital a debate to have in classrooms as any other, but it isn’t getting the time and energy it requires right now. If necessary, contact your children’s school to get things started.

Inquire for assistance! Please, don’t be shy:

Although educators and school personnel cannot go to your home and monitor homework time, most would be pleased to offer advice and/or resources. They are also familiar with your child and can provide vital insight into their requirements.

Improve students outside of the classroom and beyond the confines of homework papers:

Discouragement will surely result from what appears to be endless/excessive practice of anything. An enjoyable read, an informative video, or a trip to a gallery or park may revitalize learning for the entire family.

Also read: Newspaper Reading should be Inculcated in Students.

Is homework beneficial to students' learning?

Homework has been shown in studies to improve students' mastery of test scores, results, and the probability of attending college.

Why is homework a waste of time?

Students in top neighborhoods who spend lots of time on coursework experience more pressure, tangible medical issues, a lack of stability in their own lives, and isolation, according to a Stanford University study published in 2013.

Should homework be banned in schools?

Students who spend lots of time on coursework are not trying to meet their learning and development needs or developing other important life skills. Students who have too much coursework are less likely to participate in extracurricular sports activities, musical equipment, and other activities.

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homework helps pupils

Home » Blog » The Importance of Homework in Students Life

The Importance of Homework in Students Life

homework helps pupils

A very familiar word in every student’s life is “Homework”. These are the assignments given to them by the teachers to do at home after school. Why is this even important, have you ever thought about it?

Let’s delve deep into this blog to understand how crucial homework is in students’ lives. We are also going to explore the importance of homework and some exciting ways to make it fun and feasible. 

From developing good academic skills to inculcating responsibility and time management, homework significantly helps in shaping students’ education path. Now let’s focus and uncover how significant it is and its  potential impact on students’ life.

Students dread the word “homework” because they don’t need any more school work during their valuable weekends after spending hours in class.

Even though it’s well recognized that homework is a requirement of traditional education , the subject has grown to be somewhat contentious. 

While some people believe that homework is an essential part of education, others believe the time could be better spent elsewhere. Do pupils need to do homework? Take a closer look at both sides’ arguments about the Importance of homework to make your own decision.

  • What is Homework?

Practice Makes Perfect: 

Review and reinforcement: , independent learning: , preparation for assessments: , extension of learning: , feedback and assessment: , 1. improve thinking and extend learning skills , 2. learn to use resources, 3. helps develop good study habits, 4. prepare for the following day’s class, 5. investigate subjects and develop research skills, 6. increases concentration, 7. develops memory, 8. time management, 9. students become independent, 10. homework improves student achievement, create a dedicated workspace: , provide necessary supplies:, establish a routine: , offer support, but don’t overdo it: , encourage regular breaks: , designate a study space: , set a schedule: , priorities tasks: , stay organized: , limit distractions: , potential of promoting classroom learning, develops crucial study skills, it encourages the discipline of practice, homework builds communication bridges, takes away from leisure time, causes unnecessary stress, not always effective, final thoughts.

It can be understood as work assigned to the students by their teachers to be completed in the time apart from their regular classes.

It can be given in different forms, for instance assignments, project works, reading articles or activities that support what they have already learnt in class. It brushes up their knowledge and they also get an opportunity to translate their understanding to application.

The complexity and duration of homework may vary depending on the grade level and subjects. The ultimate aim of giving homeworks is to boost up the understanding, improve skills and support independent learning.

How Does Homework Help Students Learn?

As we discussed, homework is very impactful in a student’s learning. It’s not about finishing the task; but revisiting the concepts that are already learnt in class. Here are different ways in which homework is helpful to the students:

Whether it is about solving maths problems, improving writing skills or learning languages, continuous practice with the help of homework builds the concepts and also helps in revision of what is already learnt.

Homework helps in revision of the concepts that are already taught in class. Regularly revising the topics helps students to gain a grasp on concepts and retain it for a longer time.

Students develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning by completing their homeworks. It develops very essential skills such as independence and self-discipline which will not only help to excel their academics but life too.

As we discussed, by completing homeworks students not only strengthen their concepts but also get them prepared for upcoming tests, quizzes, and exams.By practising related problems they become more confident and give their best in assessments.

Homework is also helpful in increasing the horizon of knowledge for students. It may include research, projects or some skill-based education activities which enables them to think beyond the classroom learning a particular topic deeply and develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

Valuable feedback always helps in the betterment of students. Teachers are able to understand students’ understanding about the topic by assessing their homeworks. They accordingly help the students struggling in a particular area.

Importance of Homework

In today’s academic world homework plays a significant role in shaping the academic journey of students. Let’s explore the different aspects of importance of homework:

Students develop various life skills for instance critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills by thinking beyond their curriculum. Homework’s helps them to translate the theoretical knowledge to practical applications.

Sometimes for the completion of assignments students are encouraged to utilise various online resources , different textbooks and libraries to gather critical informations.This becomes an expert at gathering information thereby improving their research abilities.

Regular homeworks seeds the sense of responsibility and discipline in students. It helps them develop a study routine, by which they learn to manage their time efficiently and stay organised. This leads to great success in their academics and life.

It is always better to read and make ourselves familiar with the topic which is going to be discussed in class. Through homeworks students are allowed to do that. They are well aware of the topic to be discussed which enables them to actively participate in class, ask accordant questions and even learn the topic better.

Assignments frequently pushes students to learn more about a certain topic, which increases their curiosity and desire for learning, for instance, research -based works make them learn how to gather, analyse and evaluate information, in turn improving their research skills.

Being involved in homework requires maintained focus and concentration. The independent study periods helps in practicing concentration which improves their potential to work efficiently for extended period of time, which is crucial for both academic and daily life.

Interaction is the important part of homework assignments. By revising and practising concepts students boost up their concepts, memory recall and also retain the information for a longer period of time.

Homeworks often comes with a deadline. Students learn how to wisely utilize their time to complete the task within the provided deadline.

This helps in developing essential time management skills by prioritising assignments, assigning certain time to particular work and sticking by the schedule. This is something they develop which is applicable throughout their life.

Homeworks are to be done beyond the classroom timings and without the help of teachers. This teaches students to own their work, perform independently, be confident as they deal with these academic problems and hopefully prevail over it with minimum guidance.

As we discussed, homework is a preview of preparation for assessments. It helps students in revision, and retention of the concepts being taught in class. It is often observed that ones who are regularly completing their homeworks are more likely to have good academic performance and grades overall.

How to Make Homework Comfortable for Kids? 

Although homeworks have immense benefits, it can be an arduous tasks for kids, but we can make it fun and intriguing for them. Following are the easy ways to tackle homework :

Good ambience do affect working efficiency. The place designed for kids to study must be away from distractions like TV, loud noises,or toys. It should have proper lighting, quiet and comfortable area to work in.

All the requirements for completion of homework like eraser, pencil, colors, notebooks etc must be checked prior such that there will be less interruptions during study time.

There must be a proper routine based on the child’s preference of learning time, which should be followed consistently. Children get benefitted by this as they learn what to expect and develops a sense of structure.

One should always be available to help or guide their child if needed, but never do their works for them. Parents should encourage their children to develop problem-solving skills and the sense of working independently.

Study period should have a decent amount of short breaks to avoid exhaustion. Child should be motivated to do some physical activities during these breaks to freshen up their minds.

What are some Good Homework Habits?

To give their apt performance in homeworks, students must develop some good homework habits. Following are some tips which can help them develop constructive homework habits:

Students should always have a better workplace which should be quite, with good lighting, and free from all sorts of distractions. Positive learning environment has direct effects on how efficiently we perform, being focused and organized.

Being consistent is the key to success. Students must fix their study time and abide by it. It will help prevent procrastination and will produce fruitful outcomes.

Prioritising assignments based on how challenging and important it is will help in its completion within the given timeline. Students should wisely divide their time and stick by the schedule for timely completion of their tasks.

Staying organised will save a lot of time. Students should always keep a track of their assignments, deadlines and study materials required for it. They can make a planner or use digital tools to stay updated and prevent forgetting important stuff.

Avoid electronic gadgets, mobile phones, speakers in the workplace. Time assigned for the short breaks should not exceed by any means to remain focused towards your work. Parents need to create ways to limit the screen time of children .

A Closer Look at the   Advantages and Disadvantages of Homework

Students perform best when their homework reinforces what they’ve learned in class. Homework assignments that review lessons from the previous day increase pupils’ retention of important material.

When the students have completed homework, they can use their newly acquired skills to apply to other topics and real-life scenarios.

Another importance of homework is that students develop various necessary skills that they will carry with them throughout their academic and professional life, from time management and organization to self-motivation and independent learning.

While doing the same issues again might be tedious and challenging, it also strengthens the disciplined practice. It’s common to need repetition to get better at a skill. Each repetition makes you more proficient.

When homework is finished each night, especially for a challenging subject, the principles are easier to comprehend. This gives the student a benefit while looking for vocational employment later on in life.

The relationship between the student, the teacher, the school, and the parents are forged by homework. Everyone can get to know one another better, and parents can identify where their kids are having difficulty. In a similar vein, parents may observe what areas their kids are doing particularly well.

Children can relax and explore the world during free time; for example, learning to ride a bike, reading a book , or socialising with friends and family teaches kids valuable skills that cannot be acquired when sitting at a computer.

Getting enough exercise, which can improve cognitive function , might be hampered by sedentary activities like doing schoolwork.

The mere mention of “homework” can make students feel dreadful. Homework makes pupils feel worried, agitated, and unmotivated when the workload is excessive, and the tasks get harder.

As well as causing behavioural problems and sleep deprivation , this can make schoolwork a burdensome part of school life.

Numerous research has attempted to evaluate the importance of homework and how it enhances academic performance.

According to research by John Hattie, a professor of education at the University of Melbourne, homework in elementary school has a negligible impact since pupils are working on independent, unconnected projects rather than consolidating previously learned material.

According to Hattie’s research, homework at the elementary and secondary levels only works when it requires pupils to review previously taught material.

Last but not the least, homework do play a significant part in not only letting students perform better academically but also excel in life.

They develop very important skills like time-management, being responsible, being ready for future challenges and lot more. It helps them prepare for their upcoming exams by practicing and revising the topics already learnt in class.

In addition to it, homework develops self-discipline and perseverance, the attributes that are indispensable for success in life. In spite of few complaints, homework’s hold a crucial place in education system, contributing to a student’s academic performance and a holistic development.

The advantages and disadvantages of homework are both genuine, and it appears that the topic of whether or not students should have homework is not an easy one to answer. It is often observed that parents and teachers are at odds while the students are left out in the middle.

It’s crucial to weigh both viewpoints to reach a middle ground. The achievement of the learner is ultimately everyone’s goal.

To help achieve this goal even more easily, 21K School has designed curriculums that will minimize the workload on students and help them have a better learning experience.

Despite occasional complaints, homework remains an essential component of education, contributing significantly to students’ academic growth and overall development.

Read our latest education blogs here. We are pioneers in proffering personalised, affordable and high-quality lessons using an advanced learning platform.

Why is homework good for students?

Homework can benefit students because it reinforces learning, helps develop responsibility and time management skills, and provides opportunities for independent practice and self-reflection.

Is daily homework necessary for students?

The necessity of daily homework for students can depend on various factors such as the student’s age, grade level, learning style, and the goals of the curriculum. Daily homework may not be necessary for younger students as they may require more hands-on and play-based learning experiences. However, as students get older, daily homework can become more critical as it helps reinforce learning and develop time management and study skills.

How is homework good for your brain?

Homework can be good for your brain in several ways:

Memory retention: Homework can help you better retain and recall information by providing opportunities for repetition and practice.

Critical thinking: Homework can help you develop critical thinking skills by challenging you to analyse and apply information in new and creative ways.

Time management: Completing homework requires discipline and time management skills, which can help improve executive functioning in the brain.

Self-reflection: Homework can provide opportunities for self-reflection and self-assessment, which can help you identify areas where you need to improve and develop a growth mindset.

Overall, regular homework assignments can help keep your brain active and engaged outside of the classroom, which can have long-term benefits for learning and academic success.

Does homework have a positive effect?

Yes, homework can have a positive effect. It can help students develop organisational and time management skills, reinforce what has been learned in class, and prepare for upcoming tests and assignments. Homework also encourages independent learning, which is critical to success in school and beyond. As students get older, homework increasingly allows them to take responsibility.

Why is homework beneficial for students?

Homework is beneficial to students in a variety of ways. It allows students to practice and reinforce the material they are learning. This repetition helps them develop better understanding and mastery of the subject matter, which can result in improved performance on tests and assignments. Homework also helps teach students responsibility, as they are expected to complete the assigned tasks. Additionally, it gives students an opportunity to work independently and develop problem solving skills that will be useful throughout their academic careers.

How does homework help students in the future?

Homework can help students in the future by reinforcing the concepts and skills taught in class, improving time management and study skills, and preparing students for future academic and career responsibilities.

How to give homework to students?

When giving homework to students, it is essential to provide clear instructions and expectations, assign tasks that align with class objectives, and provide opportunities for students to seek clarification or additional help.

How to motivate students to do their homework?

To motivate students to do their homework, teachers can provide incentives, offer choices, make the assignments relevant and engaging, and provide timely feedback and recognition for completed work.

Why do you think teachers give homework to students?

Teachers give homework to students for several reasons, including reinforcing learning, assessing understanding, providing additional practice, developing study habits and time management skills, and preparing students for future academic and career responsibilities.

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  1. Accessing Independent Study Tasks for Pupils on LbQ

COMMENTS

  1. Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

    Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That's problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

  2. The Homework Debate: How Homework Benefits Students

    Perseverance. Self-esteem. While these cannot be measured on standardized tests, perseverance has garnered a lot of attention as an essential skill for successful students. Regular accomplishments like finishing homework build self-esteem, which aids students' mental and physical health. Responsibility and time management are highly desirable ...

  3. Key Lessons: What Research Says About the Value of Homework

    Whether homework helps students — and how much homework is appropriate — has been debated for many years. Homework has been in the headlines again recently and continues to be a topic of controversy, with claims that students and families are suffering under the burden of huge amounts of homework. School board members, educators, and ...

  4. Homework's Implications for the Well-Being of Primary School Pupils

    Teachers and educational researchers explore various approaches to make homework more engaging and enjoyable, intending to improve the well-being and academic performance of primary school students. The study aimed to identify practices with positive and negative effects on students' well-being when doing homework. The views of those involved in giving, doing, and assessing homework were ...

  5. Why is homework good for your brain?

    Homework improves brain function and enhances cognitive abilities. By practicing and repeating new skills through homework, students can enhance their memory and retain knowledge. Homework helps students build suitable study habits, learn time management, and realize personal responsibility. Homework fosters independence and the ability to use ...

  6. The Pros and Cons of Homework

    Homework also helps students develop key skills that they'll use throughout their lives: Accountability. Autonomy. Discipline. Time management. Self-direction. Critical thinking. Independent problem-solving. The skills learned in homework can then be applied to other subjects and practical situations in students' daily lives.

  7. 5 Ways to Make Homework More Meaningful

    1. Less is More. A 2017 study analyzed the homework assignments of more than 20,000 middle and high school students and found that teachers are often a bad judge of how long homework will take. According to researchers, students spend as much as 85 minutes or as little as 30 minutes on homework that teachers imagined would take students one ...

  8. How to Help Students Develop the Skills They Need to Complete Homework

    The effects of homework are mixed. While adolescents across middle and high school have an array of life situations that can make doing homework easier or harder, it's well known that homework magnifies inequity. However, we also know that learning how to manage time and work independently outside of the school day is valuable for lifelong ...

  9. Is homework a good idea or not?

    1997: Just over 6 in every 10 primary schools made their pupils do homework. ... Chris told Newsround: "If you like learning, homework helps to support your learning. It's really important to go ...

  10. Homework

    These difficulties may increase the gap in attainment for disadvantaged pupils. Homework clubs can help to overcome these barriers by offering pupils the resources and support needed to undertake homework or revision. Broader evidence suggests that homework should not be used as a punishment or penalty for poor performance.

  11. Is homework useful or necessary?

    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.

  12. School Report: Do we get too much homework?

    How much homework is too much homework? It's a big question for pupils, teachers and parents alike. ... So does homework help pupils academically? "Yes," says Lauren, "because if you know what you ...

  13. Homework and Mental Health: Striking the Right Balance

    Psychological Effects of Homework-Induced Stress. Anxiety: The pressure to perform academically and meet homework expectations can lead to heightened levels of anxiety in students. Constant worry about completing assignments on time and achieving high grades can be overwhelming. Sleep Disturbances: Homework-related stress can disrupt students ...

  14. Homework challenges and strategies

    Most kids struggle with homework from time to time. But kids who learn and think differently may struggle more than others. Understanding the homework challenges your child faces can help you reduce stress and avoid battles. Here are some common homework challenges and tips to help. The challenge: Rushing through homework

  15. The role of homework

    Homework provides continuity between lessons. It may be used to consolidate classwork, but also for preparation for the next lesson. Homework may be used to shift repetitive, mechanical, time-consuming tasks out of the classroom. Homework bridges the gap between school and home. Students, teachers and parents can monitor progress.

  16. What Are The Benefits Of Homework?

    Homework is more than just a checklist item. As a result, teaching children (and parents) to effectively manage their time is essential. Planning up your day in advance is essential for getting everything done. It encourages creative problem-solving and the development of one's own unique cognitive processes.

  17. Encouraging self-regulated learning through effective homework

    Here are some strategies I've been using to support my pupils' independent and self-regulated study: 1) Design high-quality homework. I think carefully about how I can build pupils' knowledge and confidence through homework. Initially, I base homework on fact-recall to build confidence. e.g.

  18. (PDF) Primary homework in England: the beliefs and practices of

    Homework helps pupils practice and . consolidate skills taught in school . N=158 . 25.9 (41) 73.4 (116) 0 . 0.6 (1) Create a partnership between parents and . school about children's learning.

  19. Why is Homework Important?

    Homework acts as a clear representation of the pupil's understanding and ability of the subject. It is debatably more accurate than tests, exams, or class work. This is because homework encourages the pupil to complete the work independently, without the option of asking the teacher for help. It is also done in a calm, comfortable environment.

  20. Is it True that doing Homework helps Pupils Learn more?

    The advantages of homework in education 1. Homework is linked to higher school performance in secondary pupils, according to a study. Duke University evaluated the results of 60 coursework previous research and discovered compelling evidence that students who finish assignments routinely perform better on examinations and receive better scores than those who are not.

  21. The Importance of Homework in Students Life

    Let's explore the different aspects of importance of homework: 1. Improve thinking and Extend learning skills. Students develop various life skills for instance critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills by thinking beyond their curriculum. Homework's helps them to translate the theoretical knowledge to practical applications. 2.

  22. How can homework help to close the gap?

    Schools can build great habits through effective homework that help foster confidence in our pupils, motivate them to succeed further, and provide powerful learning experiences, whilst also potentially lowering the achievement gap (9). This can only serve to better prepare our pupils for life beyond their GCSEs.