Are we missing a trick with homework?
Perceived wisdom regarding homework has always seemed to run along the lines of ‘if the pupils think they have too much and the parents think that there isn’t enough then we’ve probably got it about right’. However, a number of recent conversations with parents and revisiting an old piece of action research has made me question just how effective homework is in promoting effective learning. After 25 years in teaching I feel that I should have all of the answers with regard to homework; the truth is I’ve still got more questions than answers.
Eleven years ago, I undertook action research for a Best Practice Research Scholarship. This involved evaluating previous research on homework and creating an alternative to traditional homework for GCSE Geography pupils. A year-long project resulted in increased motivation, greater pupil engagement and significantly higher grades in comparison to a parallel control group. However, the demands of moving to a senior management post in a new school shortly afterwards meant that while I continued to try to be innovative with homework, I never fully built upon the potential of the project.
As a parent with children in both primary and secondary school, I now see homework more clearly from the perspective of both parents and pupils than I did during my research. My eldest daughter also competes regularly in athletics, so I meet a variety of other parents with children in schools from across the region. Long days spectating at pentathlon competitions leads to conversations on a wide range of topics and homework often crops up in discussion. Add in the many conversations I have with Whitburn parents in my professional capacity then I am acutely aware of the issues homework can create for families.
In a nutshell, homework can create barriers rather than promoting effective learning. At secondary level parents often feel less able to support their children with homework, while others are concerned that their children spend far longer than teachers anticipate on a piece of homework. Children who excel at sport, music or other extra-curricular activities often struggle to find the time to do homework within deadlines set or are completing it late in the evening. The same situation is true for children who are young carers. For some children, finding a quiet place at home to complete their work may be a struggle and at times we make too many assumptions about access to the technology we sometimes require to complete tasks. Inclusion is much more of an issue with homework than it is in the classroom.
The excellent EEF/Sutton Trust Teaching and Learning Toolkit suggests that homework can make a moderate difference to learning for minimal cost. However, it also recognises that despite an extensive body of research around homework, conclusions on what actually leads to it being effective are much less clear. What is evident is that homework has a greater impact on learning if it is carefully planned, contains a variety of activities, the purpose is shared, it is tied in with effective feedback and focuses on quality over quantity.
So given the evidence that the potential of homework is often underutilised, how should schools respond? After all, with an average of around 10 hours per week for KS4 pupils it is a very significant proportion of pupil learning time with enormous potential. My personal view is that we all need to question the effectiveness of what we are setting our pupils for homework and the impact it has on pupil learning. If we have good ideas which we know are working then we should collaborate and share them through SCHOOLS NorthEast, Teaching Schools, Teach Meets, Heads meetings, on our websites; basically wherever we can. If homework isn’t working effectively for us then we need to reflect on why and try to increase the positive impact. After all, if we are missing a trick with homework, at a time when we are all facing the challenge of achieving more with fewer resources, can we really afford not to make the most from a low cost solution with such potential to improve pupil learning?
Alan Hardie – Head Teacher, Whitburn Church of England Academy