As a teacher there is nothing worse than finishing the school day after staying behind after the bell to mark a third draft of an eager year 10’s coursework, only to realise you have a stack of year 7 posters to mark.
As students and teachers we have always assumed accepted that doing and setting homework is beneficial to academic attainment. It may be, but academic attainment is essentially a statistic. I will be looking at; previous studies that are showing that homework maybe is not such a good thing, schools that have changed the way they have set homework and how students at Kingsmead School could benefit from a change to their homework policy.
A Critical Overview of some relevant issues
Review of current initiatives
Kino School
Kino school in Tucson, Arizona have abolished traditional homework in favour of more enrichment activities such as sport or music. ‘What Kino does not do is assign homework that is of no interest to students, does not enrich their interests or fuel their passions, or consists of hours of drill and practice.’ (Cera, 2009) In further correspondence with Kino School I found that, not only are students happier in there school life, they are doing more work at home than when homework was compulsory. I asked why they had gone against the grain and banned homework. They informed me that ‘Work done at home that extends a child’s interest or excitement in learning would never be discourage, let alone “banned”.’(Cera, 2009). The head teacher then went on to tell me, however, that the traditional homework model ‘shows no positive correlation to academic success or love of learning. It interferes in family life as arguments and threats become part of the “homework routine’’.’(Cera, 2009)
East Nottingham Academy
Closer to home there are also schools that are abandoning traditional homework. One that has been in the press recently is the East Nottingham Academy. The proposed academy has not yet been built but the head teacher, Barry Day OBE, has told reporters that the new school will not have traditional homework and it will be replaced with an extra lesson of enrichment at school. He told a national newspaper “If you ask most heads what detentions are for, they will inform you that it is for non-completion of homework. It causes enormous home conflict. It is often set because there is an expectation that it should be set. It does not help (with education) at all.” (Day, 2008)
Tiffin school for boys
Tiffin school for boys is one of the UK’s top grammar schools. It has recently slashed homework from four hours a night to one, 40-minute assignment and 20 minute independent study per night. Head teacher Sean Heslop said that the reason for the cut is because ‘Large amounts of homework have become mechanical and repetitive’ (Heslop, 2008). Pupils are becoming disillusioned with homework and the deputy head was quoted as saying it was ‘Depressing’ to students. He went on to tell The Daily Mirror that ‘Something's not right when a boy can't sit down and watch a nature documentary on TV because he's too busy doing maths.’ (James, 2008).
I contacted Tiffin school and asked for their homework policy, it saddened me to hear that the head teacher will no longer be in post from September and there is every possibility that homework will revert back to how it used to be. They did however send me their policy on homework (Appendix 2)
Discussion of reading about relevant theory
In her book, ‘Homework: The Evidence’ Hallam comes to the conclusion that recent research on homework ‘Suggests a curvilinear relationship [between homework and attainment] (Hallam, 2004). Meaning that practicing homework, be it solving maths problems or learning the rules of grammar, has no benefits after a certain point. She also suggests that homework, while having a positive effect on academic attainment, only accounts for a very small amount of the variance. ‘Most of the variance is explained by pupil’s prior knowledge’
Parents and teachers always argue that homework develops a sense of responsibility in pupils. I have also heard that it increases time management skills and organisation in young people. Hallam argues that there is insufficient evidence to support this.
‘The question that schools and teachers need to constantly ask themselves is: what is the purpose of this homework?(Hallam, 2004)
Hallam found that generally, students believe that homework is important to help them do well in school. However the students feel that homework is ‘boring’ and ‘not always related to school work’ Pupils see no point in doing homework if ‘the don’t get written formative feedback from their teacher’ Hallam then goes on to state that other, non-school based activities may be ‘equally beneficial to students cognitive and emotional development’ and advises schools to make sure work set is of ‘real value in raising attainment’ (Hallam, 2004)
Alfie Kohn, author of The homework Myth, argues about ‘changing the default setting’ of setting homework on a set basis. He argues that teachers and policy makers are not thinking ‘Oh, it may be useful to do this project at home’ but rather the thought process is more like ‘We’ve decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night. Later on we’ll figure out what to make them do’ (Kohn, 2006) This kind of thinking is surely unhelpful to students and teachers alike. The teachers have to mark homework which takes up a lot of their free time and the students have to actually do it even when the teacher doesn’t think it is valuable to them.
So why do teachers set homework? Kohn states that it could be for a number of reasons. It could be due to pressure from administrators, possibly even parents and in extreme cases, students themselves.
An account of the issue in relation to my experience at Kingsmead School
It was an event that happened to me personally during my placement at Kingsmead that ignited my interest in homework. The students were coming to the end of a really good lesson where they had, uncharacteristically, worked extremely well. The class teacher approached me quietly and reminded me that it was their homework day. I had not prepared any homework as I had used my homework task in the lesson as an extension piece. I asked if I could set some homework in the next lesson instead but the teacher declined, quoting the school homework policy. I asked for advice on what to set and the class teacher decided on a poster.
I told the class and they were in dismay, ‘But sir, we have worked hard today’. Upon reflection I had realised how mean it was to set homework just for the sake of it. I’m not sure that making a poster will help their English skills any more than not making a poster.
This was not the end of it, as the poster was set at the end of the lesson with me in a rush, 70% of the class had not completed the task by the deadline. They were kept in at break time as punishment. More free time lost.
I am not against homework. Done properly I think it will be beneficial to young people. If I had more time to think about the homework task I would have made it something verbal e.g. explain to your parents the importance of…
The mere fact that Kingsmead has a homework timetable is, in my opinion, a frank admission that homework is not suggested by a given lesson.
‘To decide in advance that homework in certain subjects will be assigned on certain days is to sacrifice thoughtful instruction on the altar of predictability’(Kohn, 2006)
Another problem with a homework schedule is that it is subjecting the students to a one-size-fits-all model which contradicts individualised and personalised learning (also a policy at the school)
Outline and justification of the methodology used.
I decided to make use of my time in school by handing out questionnaires and running focus groups. I also managed to look at the schools homework policy and some student planners.
This section deals with the ethical issues that may arise from my research and how data collected may be compromised in terms of validity.
Ethical issues in using children as subjects in educational research
‘…educational research does not typically present the more serious consequences to participants, such as pain…, that can arise in biomedical research… less significant risks to children… are tedium, boredom, confusion, anxiety due to the presence of strangers and disruption of normal routine’(Koocher, 1990)
Koocher, in comparing educational research with biomedical research, argues that even though children don’t go through any physical pain in educational research, they could still experience, albeit ‘less significant’, emotional pain.
In using children as subjects in any research the researcher needs to consider emotional pain on a similar level to physical pain. This is because studies show that ‘emotional pain is as real as physical pain, can last much longer and is more easily relived’ (Irvine, 2008).
We also need to consider the very real possibility of damage to the child subjects such as ‘fear of failure, a lowering of self-esteem and (social) embarrassment.’ (Koocher, 1990) This can be achieved by establishing a safe environment for the young people. As I will be working with students that I have not previously worked with, I will ensure that an adult is present that the children know and trust (such as a teacher or teaching assistant). This will soothe any concerns about disruption of routines.
Ethical Issues in focus group discussion
There has not been much written on the ethics regarding the focus group research method. The biggest ethical concern with talking to students about their home life is the ‘potential of over-disclosure’ (Smith, 1995). As the researcher, and the ‘responsible adult’ in the group it is my duty and professional obligation to make sure the students are safeguarded from harm. This can be done by moderating the questions. I had to omit one question from my focus group due to concerns that it had the potential of over-disclosure. The question was ‘Do you ever argue with your parents/carers over homework?’ I was worried that, due to the open nature of a focus group discussion, that conversation may lead to young people talking about areas of family life that would need reporting.
Ethical Issues in questionnaires
Questionnaires, in the majority, ‘have absolutely no reason to ask for a name’ (Rundblad, 2005). I will certainly not be asking students filling out my questionnaire to put their names on their responses so I will number the questionnaires before giving them out.
It is also important to ensure that the questionnaires do not ask any deliberately leading questions that invite personal information about the child or its family. It is the law that researchers be granted consent by the school to use the students as a sample group so I have contacted the school and showed the teachers the questionnaire for approval before giving it to the students.
Problems with the validity of data from young people
It is possible that I will run into problems with young people that may not yield accurate results. In my experience, young people have a tendency to tell the researcher what they think he/she wants to hear (either that or the opposite). Given the controversy of homework, especially with young people that experience it on a day to day basis, it is possible that they will take it seriously. However this throws up another consideration I need to have as a researcher. The majority of young people, I speculate, will want to abolish homework from their lives and may have an ulterior motive in answering questions and giving views. This will have to be taken into account when analysing the results.
One further reason is that ‘Children’s moods (e.g. silliness, anxiety, or shyness around strangers) and their often limited attention spans can affect data quality’ (Koosher, 1990). The young people, when doing focus groups and questionnaires will be in a relatively unfamiliar terrain and will also be with friends. This could lead to collusion, deliberate sabotage and general silly answers.
Problems with researcher’s possible confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is where researchers systematically seek only evidence that confirms their hypotheses (Wason, 1968). As I set out to investigate the negative effects of homework I need to be careful to not present a biased argument by only asking questions that I, consciously or otherwise, believe will support my prior beliefs. This needs to be addressed when conducting interviews and analysing the results.
Pilot Questionnaire and Focus Group
A pilot study is a good way to gauge how well the actual study will go. It will ‘identify logistical problems which might occur using (my) proposed methods’
(Van Teijlingen, 2001) and it is also a benefit to the study to gather preliminary data. The pilot questionnaire I will be using will tell me if the questions that I will be using are all useful and valid for my purpose. It will also help to prevent and show up any previously mentioned ethical or validity problems and I will be able to modify questions to get the best results.
Justifications of Focus Groups and Questionnaires.
Questionnaires will be used as they are less intrusive than face to face interviews and they are easier to analyse as they are tick box orientated. Students like filling in questionnaires because they are un-rushed and they can complete the questions in their own time, most significantly, they can answer anonymously. This means I will be able to get the opinions of the whole of my sample, rather than just the students who volunteer for focus groups. As I will gain quantitative data from my questionnaire results, I will use focus groups to get qualitative data.
The Focus group was chosen because, unlike questionnaires, the researcher can interact with subjects. The researcher will also benefit because he/she will be able to monitor body language of the subjects, ask follow-up questions and will also get a quick response.
Presentation and analysis of findings
Focus Group Findings and analysis
The focus group gave me the best insight into student perceptions on homework. They spoke at length about many issues, including when they do their homework. The transcript including step by step analysis can be found here (Appendix…..)
The main findings were that students generally do their homework when they get in from school (as per school policy) at the expense of playing football with friends. This also means that students are spending the daylight hours of their free time doing homework and the evening watching TV or playing Playstation.
When asked if the students ever fell out with parents over homework, all three of the boys said that it had caused arguments in the past. The female member of the focus group said that her Mum used to check her homework but she never does anymore because ‘She trusts me now’. One parent even takes the power lead from his games console until he shows her that he has completed all his homework for the next day. He has resorted to not writing his homework in his planner to avoid this nightly confrontation.
Another startling revelation was that one of the students said that he was punished with a 75 minute detention for not doing a piece of I.T. homework that was meant to take 15 minutes. This lead to a discussion about what happens when students don’t do their homework. There was a general consensus among the group that teachers didn’t even check most of the time if they had completed work, and when they marked it they just got a tick and a well done rather than any formative feedback. Another student mentioned that if his homework was not done, he would get an extension, which the teacher subsequently forgot about.
The biggest surprise from my focus group session came when I asked if the students thought that optional homework would be a good idea. One girl told me that nobody would do it, when pressed she told me she only did homework not to avoid getting into trouble. Not to further her understanding or to help herself achieve academic success.
Questionnaire findings and analysis
59 students were asked to fill out a questionnaire with a range of questions. The results were put into graphs and analysed. Gender had a large influence on how the students felt about homework. When asked if it should be kept, abolished or made optional, the majority of girls and boys both thought it should be made optional. However, only 4 girls wanted it abolished compared to 8 boys and where only 2 boys wanted to keep homework, 7 girls wanted it kept.
I found that boys enjoyed doing maths and ICT homework and girls preferred Art and Humanities homework. 16 out of 33 boys didn’t enjoy any homework compared to just 6 out of 26 girls. The reasons for not enjoying any homework were varied, for ‘I have places to go in my free time’ to ‘I find it boring going over stuff I have already learnt in school’.
When asked why they do their homework I got a range of responses ranging from ‘I like to re-enforce my learning’ to ‘I don’t want to get a detention or be shouted at’
Critical discussion of findings including where flaws that were anticipated in methodology came true
The results I have reported and shown in my appendices, although conclusive, are extremely flawed. The sample was far too small and given more time I would like to get the questionnaire to hundreds of students. As I was in a school I had to explain what I was doing to the students in a brief talk before handing out the questionnaire. This undoubtedly influenced the student’s answers in the questionnaire because I had given them an ulterior motive to answer questions to reflect in my analysis to make homework banned. As I was walking around the classroom I was repeatedly asked ‘Is homework getting banned sir?’ and ‘Are you getting rid of homework?’
The focus group was dominated by a couple of rowdy lads that showed me that peer groups can influence decisions and opinions. The focus group only alerted me to the things students said, and there is no guarantee that what they said is genuinely what they think.
In spite of the flaws in the methodology, the results give the impression that students are missing out on social activities such as playing sport or even just ‘hanging around’ with friends because of homework demands. It seems teachers are not giving formative feedback on all homework and sometimes just give a tick on work that may have taken a long time.
The school policy states that only one piece of homework has to be formatively assessed per half term, this would be fine if students were only given one piece of homework per half term. The reality is that they get set homework once a week for each subject. This means that only 1 in 6 pieces are marked which clearly disillusions the students.
Conclusions
Evaluation of research methods
The research I carried out, although flawed, gave decisive results. Given more time I would have liked to carry out a longer study with a much larger representative sample. The focus group worked best because it gave me insight into the student’s beliefs. Although there is no way of proving that what the young people were saying were their true beliefs, I am confident that their views were genuine and represented a large proportion of the student body. I made sure that I had a mixed sample, some that have a good record of doing homework and some that never do it. Even at these polar opposites they agreed on the fact that whether or not homework was good for attainment, they would rather be doing other things with their time.
The questionnaires did give me access to a larger sample of students (59) I am glad I used a pilot questionnaire on a smaller sample because there were many flaws in my first attempt. This practice allowed me to modify my questionnaire to optimise the data collected from the students.
Recommendations for the school
Kingsmead could benefit from this study of homework in three ways. The first thing I propose is to abolish the homework timetables. Homework timetables subject the students to a one-size-fits-all model that is contradictory to the personalised learning policy. It also puts pressure on teachers to set homework on a particular day even if the lesson does not require homework. The homework timetable is an admission that homework is not required on the basis of the lesson and it is set purely because policy dictates it should be set. This leads to students using up their free time that could be spent hanging out with family or friends. Homework should not be abolished in Kingsmead but homework should be set when the teacher is confident that it is essential to learning and will benefit the young person more so than free time would.
The second movement Kingsmead School could make is to set homework that is not all about writing and school work. It could be to read for pleasure a book of their choice at a pace that they want, or simply to talk to parents / carers about what they have learnt at school that day. Maybe even ‘teach’ their parents what they have learnt. It could even be a programme where they have to keep track of all diet and exercise that they do and then to analyse, in class, if they are healthy or not.
Finally, students should not be punished for not completing homework, certainly not by taking away even more free time such as break or lunch times. Any homework that is set should be entirely optional. Work done at home should be marked formatively every time it is done and high praise should be showered on any student that chooses to complete the work.
These measures will lead to a more positive attitude to learning. It will also take vast amounts of pressure of students (and teachers) and will allow them time to pursue other interests and enrichment activities outside of school. It will also free up more time to be spent with families which can only be beneficial to students.
Bibliography
Books
Daily Mirror Reporter. (2008). Top grammar school slashes homework burden because pupils find it 'depressing'. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1059621/Top-grammar-school-slashes-homework-burden-pupils-depressing.html. Last accessed 10 June 2005.
Driscoll, D.Y. (2008). Ethical Considerations in Primary Research. Available: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/02/. Last accessed 07 June 2009.
Grodin, M,A. & Glantz, L,H, eds. (1994) Children as research subjects: Science, Ethics, and Law. Chapter entitled Scientific issues in psychosocial and educational research. pp. 47-80. Koocher, G,P & Keith-Spiegel, 1990. Oxford. Oxford university press.
Hallam, H. (2004) Homework: The Evidence. London. Institute of Education, University of London.
Irvine, C. (2008). Emotional pain hurts more than physical pain researchers say. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2639959/Emotional-pain-hurts-more-than-physical-pain-researchers-say.html. Last accessed 09 June 2009.
Kohn, A. (2006) The Homework Myth: Why our kids get too much of a bad thing. Da Capo Press. USA.
Mauthner, M. Birch, M. Jessop, J & Miller, T. Ed., 2002. Ethics in Qualitative Research. London, Sage Publications Ltd.
Rundblad, G. (2006). Ethics is essential. Available: http://www.appliedlinguistics.org.uk/pdfs/ethics.pdf. Last accessed 06 June 2009.
Smith, M.W. (1995). Ethics in Focus Groups: A Few Concerns. Qualitative Health Research. 5 (4), 478-486.
Tony. (2008). Britain’s Nottingham East academy plans to scrap homework. Available: http://www.inthenewstoday.co.uk/britain%E2%80%99s-nottingham-east-academy-plans-to-scrap-homework-591.html. Last accessed 10 June 2005.
Van Teijlingen, E.R. & Hundley.V. (2001). The importance of pilot studies. Available: http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU35.html. Last accessed 10 June 2009.
Wason, P.C. (1968). Reasoning about a rule. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 20, 273-281.
E-Mails
Cera, M.J. info@kinoschool.org. RE: Homework Policy at Kino School. 3rd June 2009.
Edwards, H. HEdwards@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk. Tiffin School's homework policy. 4th June 2005.
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