Its Intended Purpose
It’s important first to establish the initial purpose of homework when considering whether it does or does not benefit students. Homework itself can be defined as “tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during nonschool hours.”[1] These tasks allow students to extend their learning outside the classroom, though this does not include activities such as extracurriculars or home study courses. It is simply to give students work pertaining to the specific lessons being taught and practice these concepts on their own.
The topic of homework being utilized as an instructional tool has long been a contentious debate within educators, as the studies and examined benefits/negatives of homework have been recurring for around 100 years.[2] Some educators have negative opinions, while others see the major positives that it can have on their students’ comprehension of school subjects. At large, a love-hate relationship with homework is observable among educators, which is also subject to change based upon other aspects such as educational paradigm shifts, social and political issues, etc. [2]
Now that the main concept of homework is established, we can now examine the positive and negative attributes associated and how, regardless of which, they both play a substantial role in student’s lives and/or learning ventures.
Examples of Positives
One main positive of homework is its impact on retention and understanding of specific material covered within a lesson. Specifically, homework can help to improve factors such as “students’ study skills, [their attitude] towards school, and teach them that learning can take place anywhere…”[1] Benefits from homework could also be applied to non-academic environments, as well. In this, students can develop independence and responsibility habits, and parents can become involved in students’ learning, thus enhancing these learned elements and encouraging their progress.[1] Below, we’ll discuss these aspects providing specific instances, showing the extent of positives that homework can have on students.
As previously mentioned, homework can help students extend the learning associated with lessons outside their classroom environments. Through self-paced and directed assignments, students can promote their sense of responsibility and motivation to learn. This is evident through a study conducted examining the effect of homework, where there was a significant difference in “the development of the writing skills of high self-regulated participants,” showing how critical the role of homework plays in signifying the importance of innate strictness within students.[2] This strictness is important in all academic environments, one of which includes online courses, in order for students to learn and adapt self-regulation skills. With these skills, the study demonstrated how students could develop their writing skills further and have successful language learning abilities.[2] The study also highlighted how students were able to become proactive about their work and know their strengths and weaknesses, where they can then be “guided by personally set goals and task-related strategies.”[2] With these aspects in mind, the self-regulatory benefits of homework and the strictness associated can help instill a more prominent sense of responsibility in students.
These elements can also lead to students having a more positive association with homework because of this gained sense of responsibility. Through this skill, they also gain other skills in turn, such as “planning, goal setting, delay of gratification, and improved study habits.”[3] The findings associated with studies observing these positive effects support the overall idea that homework can serve as a means of additional review for students outside the classroom, allowing them to practice their learned skills.[3] All in all, homework can greatly improve a student’s success in their academic ventures, retaining skills that can be applied to their life outside of school.
While these positives are clearly observed, there are still aspects of homework that do not benefit students, which we examine below.
Examples of Negatives
A major example of an aspect of homework that does not serve a student’s benefit is the stress and anxiety manifested from it. Specifically, during the COVID-19 lockdown, this issue became prominent as the numerous tasks and requirements of students to achieve academic success brought about the overall decline of mental health.[4] And even before, and now after the pandemic, the topic of stress in students as a result of homework is still an important aspect for educators to consider when examining the well-being of their students. In relation to such, the home life of students is also greatly affected by homework, where the added stress causes a burden to both them and their parents and oftentimes becomes more of a chore.[5] With this, students and parents often get into conflict surrounding homework, leading to punishments and interactions that potentially hurt these relationships.[5] This strain makes the overall experience of homework undesirable, where students and parents sometimes feel that these negatives can outweigh the benefits.
Another way that homework can have negative effects is with its satiation effects. When students are faced with the same activities repeatedly in their assignments, they lose their initial hook, causing them to become uninterested and lacking motivation.[1] When students spend too much time on these assignments, they can also miss out on other activities important for their learning and overall well-being, including community activities and simple leisure time.[1] Without these elements present in their lives, they can grow to have animosity towards homework and even miss valuable lessons that come from experiences outside of homework.
With these aspects in mind, we can then look at why finding a balance in assigning homework to students can help to promote external learning, differentiation, and the reduction of stress.
Ways of Finding a Balance
In one study, the author examined how, through the results of a literature survey, the homework assigned to students must involve a complex interaction with a wide array of influences that go beyond the typical means of instruction.[1] In this, it is crucial to apply differentiation and consider the differences among students that may affect their accomplishments as a result of homework. One of these differences may include individual academic needs, where this differentiation allows these needs to be met in accordance to students’ “…varying levels of readiness.”[4] With consideration of these aspects, homework can then reverse the potential negative effects it could have on students. For example, this can help to improve students’ motivation and overall academic performance.[4] In this, educators can identify the strengths of homework and make these prominent in students’ academic experiences.
Another method of reversing the negative effects of homework is by lessening the amount assigned to students to reduce stress. In this, schools are working to push students to spend more time on “family, friends, and extracurricular activities.”[6] This helps students to learn outside their academics as well as have the leisure time necessary to approach their assignments energized, thus engaging with their learning. By focusing on the “what” students have learned instead of the “how much,” schools can create more productive homework assignments that align with students’ needs and facilitate healthy, stress-free learning activities that captivate their interest.
How Does PSG Fit In?
Here at Publishing Solutions Group, we value the understanding of both the positives and negatives of topics like homework. It’s important to retain knowledge of these aspects to best serve students who learn from materials that we create. Because of this, we strive to provide polished and articulate content that gives students the foundation for academic achievement. This content helps both students and their educators in fostering a detailed and dynamic learning environment.
[1] https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el198911_cooper.pdf
[2] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21582440241227006
[3] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00220574241235685
[4] https://www.temjournal.com/content/112/TEMJournalMay2022_594_604.pdf
[5] https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2012_KatzEtAl_JOEE.pdf
[6] https://districtadministration.com/article/homework-overhaul-in-schools/
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