Now that the students have returned to school after a long silence, the debate over homework is heated again. Some feel that homework and the last days are ‘motives’ that prepare students for life, while some teachers have dropped out of school and found the practice to be a positive change in their students ’learning.
And it is not just teachers who suffer from this problem. Although some studies have shown that more parents want more homework, a recent study by Cluey Learning found that the majority (67%) of parents are concerned that they will not be able to help their children with homework this year.
Fortunately, concerns about the impact of backlogs in this area may be unfounded. Research over 30 years shows that while doing more homework can help children to get better grades, learning more does not make the difference as many people think.
The 2014 Victoria Parliamentary inquiry into homework in public schools revealed a common consensus that homework at the primary school level does not really affect students' academic performance.
However, homework is likely to last longer in the lives of most students as long as they are in school, so instead of looking at whether students should do homework, some subjects explore how they can be more effective in terms of conditions. for its impact on young people's well-being and educational outcomes.
Some academics point out that just as a balanced diet is beneficial, so it is with the benefits of spending time in moderation.
Dot Dumuid, Senior Research Fellow, Allied Health & Human Performance, University of South Australia, and Tim Olds, Professor of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, “say that better-equipped teens and their supporters get their daily balance right. sleep, restless behavior and physical activity, their learning outcomes will improve, without compromising their health and well-being. ”
“Our recent study found that the best way for teens to spend their time is very different from mental health than physical health, and even more different from school-related outcomes,” they wrote in an article published in Conversation.
“Students had to spend a lot of time sitting down to do well mentally and academically, but exercise takes time to sit up and get better. To enjoy the best possible mental health, a good night's sleep was essential. ”
Then there is the question of what a meaningful homework is.
According to Drs. Low-level repetitive tasks are simply more busy than real learning.
"Homework should build learners' skills and understanding based on their schoolwork whether it be literacy, history, math or any other subject," he said.
"It should be meaningful and able to be filled by a child with a little parental help."
Dr Zammit said this could include talking and asking questions, learning about the child's world in depth or using family experiences as a purchase to engage them in learning to read or count.
"It's important to know what a teacher expects from the beginning of the year, to help parents get involved in learning, and to ensure that homework improves student learning."
Dr Selina Samuels, Cluey's Chief Learning Officer, said finding the right content would be especially difficult for parents as lessons and syllabus vary from province to province, and books and websites may be outdated or provide poor quality information.
"The epidemic and the closure of schools have shown parents how much they know about what their children are learning in school," Dr Samuels told The Educator.
"There is a huge amount of material available online, but it is difficult to determine which is the highest quality or most appropriate."
Dr Samuels said although Australia has a national curriculum, there are differences between the state syllabus that can be difficult to apply.
"That's why we make sure we put all our programs in the curriculum, and align students with teachers who have the right syllabus and government syllabus, who understand what students are learning in the classroom," he said.
“We also differentiate our program and content so that each learner can work on things that are relevant to his or her level of ability and can directly support what he or she is doing at school. We want to help parents by guessing to support their children's learning. ”