SIGHTINGS


 
There Is No Evidence
Primary Grade Homework
Is Beneficial
From The BBC - Education
9-18-98
 
 
"A lot of people believe that the benefits of homework have been clearly demonstrated, but at primary level there's no evidence to support this."
 
Homework for primary school children is being questioned
 
Teachers who set homework for younger children could be causing unnecessary tensions within families, according to research.
 
It says that although there are proven educational benefits to giving homework to secondary school children, this is not the case with primary children.
 
And while most parents want to help their children with homework, this can sometimes strain relationships between family members. A child's performance may not match up to parental expectations, or may be compared unfavourably with siblings.
 
The paper, which is due to be presented to a British Psychological Society education conference in Exeter, conflicts with the government's policy of encouraging primary schools to set maths and English homework.
 
Compiled by Dr Richard Cowan and Dr Susan Hallam of the University of London's Institute of Education, the paper reviews existing research on homework from across the world.
 
'No evidence'
 
"The research shows that a lot of parents want to help their children with homework, but if they already have a difficult relationship then the process of sitting down to do homework can cause even more tension," said Dr Cowan.
 
"A lot of people believe that the benefits of homework have been clearly demonstrated, but at primary level there's no evidence to support this.
 
"We are talking about young children who come home from school exhausted. If you overload them, then their performance will decline."
 
The paper's other findings include:
 
Girls spend more time than boys on homework.
 
Listening to music while doing homework seems to help pupils concentrate.
 
There is little evidence that homework develops responsibility in pupils.





SIGHTINGS HOMEPAGE