Pm bst 08 apr 2009 many young pupils find the burden upsetting , damaging their relationships with parents, it was claimed. The association of teachers and lecturers told how one school sent under 11s on easter holidays with 45 worksheets in preparation for sats tests in coming weeks. Speaking at the union's annual conference in liverpool, cecily hanlon, a teacher from leeds, said: homework is a waste of children's time, teachers' time and from what i have heard parents think it's a waste of time as well.

At this stage in their lives homework mitigates against children who already have difficulties if they have chaotic home lives, single parents, physical or mental illness. How many hours do we have left of their dwindling childhood?’ i’m not one for craven populism. But this week i am going to say something that i confidently expect to win 100 per cent support.

It’s this: if one thing happens in 2015, it should be a concerted campaign to eradicate this illogical, damaging, ass paining institution once and for we believe in the free flow of information. We use a creative commons attribution noderivatives licence, so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print. Homework image from w.shutterstock.com the recent decision by french president francois hollande to abolish homework from french schools has reignited the long running debate about homework. This debate has been around for more than a century and remains a contentious issue for parents, students and education researchers alike.

Last month’s promised ban came as part of hollande’s wider reforms to education. And followed widespread teacher and parent agitation for a short term ban on homework in france earlier in the year. At that time, the president of a french teachers’ organisation stated that homework reinforces socioeconomic and educational inequalities, saying: not all families have the time or necessary knowledge to help their offspring. On the other side of the debate, the president of another french parents’ association spoke in support of homework and stated: of course, it has to be reasonable, but going back over a lesson is the best way of learning things. Homework, broadly defined as tasks given to students during non school hours, has long been the subject of both pro and anti homework campaigns, some of which have resulted in court action and the abolition of homework for students in some school grades. The recent french announcement has led to calls for the abolition of homework in some german and american schools.

Format of Speech Writing for Students

So should homework be abolished in australia? the answer to this question requires a closer look at what homework is supposed to do, and whether it achieves these goals for students of all backgrounds. Homework image from w.shutterstock.com the most comprehensive list of reasons for setting homework has been compiled by american researcher joyce epstein. These include the practice of already learnt skills, preparation for the next lesson, parent child communication about school activities, the requirements of school or education department policies, and the enhancement of the reputation of the school or teacher. But most empirical research into homework focuses on three main issues: does homework enhance student learning and achievement outcomes? does homework help students to develop the skills of independent, self directed learning? does homework involve parents in the educational activities of their children in ways that are beneficial? in our new book reforming homework: practices, learning and policy. We have reviewed and evaluated the research evidence on each of the three issues. While this research is complex and there are many caveats, the following broad conclusions can be drawn. In terms of academic achievement, homework has no benefit for children in the early years of primary school, negligible benefits for children in the later years of primary school, weak benefits for junior high school students and reasonable benefits for senior high school students.

Sound research has demonstrated that spending more time on homework is associated with lower student achievement this finding is complemented by research showing that in countries with high homework demands, student performance on international tests of achievement is poor. Self directed learning skills are associated with doing homework but the research indicates that the development of these skills occurs when parents are able to assist upper primary and junior secondary school students with their homework. Parental involvement in their children’s homework activities can be both beneficial and detrimental. It can be detrimental when parents are over controlling or interfering, but can be beneficial to student motivation when parents provide autonomy and a supporting learning environments for their children.

Improving Sentence Structures for Academic Writing

In our book we have argued that rather than abolition, homework needs to be reformed. Generally speaking, homework needs to be better planned by teachers and needs to be of a higher quality. But it won’t be easy – homework needs to be challenging for students but not too challenging, it needs to be interesting and motivating, and students also need adequate feedback. So the way forward is to start a conversation between teachers, parents and students about the sort of homework students need.

The routine of completing homework if done well can help with self management, planning and organising skills, but these skills take a long time to learn. Homework setting and practice will have to change so that students are learning about self management and self regulation. The sort of homework tasks that promote learning these skills will not focus on drill and practice but require homework tasks where students make some decisions and choices and also exercise some autonomy. At the same time, guidance for students who do not have family support will require planning and provision to complete these sorts of more complex homework tasks. The books explores the equity implications of homework and how providing guidance and support for students should be explicitly planned as part of a homework curriculum.

Doing Research Is a Fulfilling Experience

Overall, there should be less homework, especially homework that emphasises drill and practice. Homework should also be there as a a bridge between the community and the school. In particular, homework needs to be planned around the community’s and family’s fund of knowledge – which may be different from what the curriculum is based on. In essence, homework can help children but perhaps not in the ways we think. And much of it depends on what you want homework to achieve and how parents and teachers see it. One of the authors of this article has a six year old daughter in her first year of school. When he asks his daughter to collect a reader from her school bag, bring it to the place she has chosen for the shared reading and decides who reads first and when, this may not seem like homework.

But in fact focusing on her choice and autonomy will help develop independent learning skills, skills that will hopefully last her lifetime. Understanding homework as a path to independent learning needs to be the first step. By katherine sellgren bbc news education reporter 24 september 2013 image caption homework is meant to consolidate learning, but it can be a source of stress and conflict for many families the long summer holidays are over bedtime is coming back into line, the first days of term have gone well and everyone has settled back into the rhythm of school. Parents are feeling justifiably relieved only to find a book bag full of homework to brighten up the weekend. Homework should not be causing your child or you! stress or anxiety, a teacher's note accompanying my daughter's list of tasks said. Homework, it went on, is set so that families can support their child's work in school. Now, most parents will be only too keen to support their children's work in school, but if only it were a stress and anxiety free activity.