There are growing complaints by parents about the demands of homework on their children.
What is homework?
Homework refers to tasks assigned by teachers to learners to be completed during non-school hours, either on their own or with help from their parents or guardians. As most learners complete these tasks at home, it is commonly called homework.
The purpose of homework?
Homework has no single purpose. The following themes predominate in the homework policies posted by South African schools on their websites and printed in their brochures:
- To increase learners’ knowÂledge and improve their abilities and skills;
- To reinforce what learners have already learned;
- To prepare them for future lessons;
- To extend what they know by having them apply what they have learned to new situations, or to integrate their abilities by applying many different skills to a single task; and
- To provide ongoing opportunities for parents to participate in their children’s education.
Are parents really able to help their children?
Researchers at the University of South Africa have found that more than 85% of grade R learners are not learning in their home language and this situation persists through their school careers. Despite this, teachers persist in sending school work home. Parents may be illiterate or semi-literate, yet teachers expect them to read to their children, correct their pronunciation, monitor homework and so on, in many cases in a language they do not even understand.
The homework system we have in this country reinforces an Anglophile, Eurocentric bias that leaves many parents unable to accomplish the lofty goals of schools’ homework policies. It even assumes that every learner has parents available — it blithely ignores the phenomenon of child-headed households or of Aids orphans living with grandparents, whose own education was perhaps even more rudimentary than that of the parents.
Do these learners have electricity, do they have appropriate space in which to do homework, do they have time to do this when they may have household responsibilities? When will homework policy reflect the realities of South Africa?
Are privileged learners living in well-resourced homes getting more benefit from homework?
A grade 3 learner’s parent showed us a long-term homework project. Her son was required to investigate space travel using internet resources and had to present the final product as a Powerpoint presentation. Here we see the bland assumption that every learner has access to electronic resources and (in grade three!) the ability to use them. The parent ended up doing the project herself. The problem here is the same as for underprivileged learners: it just gets shifted upwards by a level or two.
But even when all the material conditions have been met, the idea that parents have sufficient time to devote to homework supervision is laughably optimistic. Adults work long hours to make ends meet. Their own education, even if it was taken to a high level, was in a previous era. Twenty years ago, when a typical parent finished high school, technology was not even part of the curriculum. Approaches to mathematics have changed so much that parents are unable to help their children after the first few years of schooling.
Currently, nearly all teachers in South Africa are studying in continuing professional development programmes and for higher qualifications. One can only wonder — do these teachers find the time to help with their own children’s homework?
Amount of homework required?
International research demonstrates that, within limits, there is a positive correlation between the amount of homework done and learner achievement. Much research supports the “10-minute rule”, the commonly accepted practice of assigning 10 minutes of homework a day for each grade level. For example, under this system, grade one learners would receive 10 minutes of homework a day, whereas grade five learners would get 50 minutes of homework, and so on. In addition, learners should devote 10 minutes to reading. Grade R learners should therefore receive no homework at all, according to this rule. Yet, many schools exceed these recommendations or do not count assigned reading in the time limit.
There is inconsistency regarding the amount of homework assigned by South African teachers, even by teachers at the same school. Parents should demand a sensible homework policy, perhaps one based on the above rule of thumb: 10 minutes a day for each grade level. At high school level, this would require teachers in different learning areas to coordinate their homework assignments. At university level credits are given to modules, which are calculated in notional hours. These notional hours can be divided and measured in lecturing time as well as in self-study time. Unfortunately this is not so easy in schools.
Based on the inconsistencies we have studied in schools’ homework policies, it is evident that there are no clear guidelines from the education department in this regard. Few schools provide prescribed times for homework in an attempt to control homework in a “sensible and reasonable way”. Some schools believe that homework should be done at school whereas others set homework on specific days of the week. Teachers battle to accommodate the diversity of learners in their classes and also lack guidance about the quality and quantity of homework. How much homework is enough and whose standard should be maintained — that of the weak, average or the intelligent learner?
Frequent media reports on falling academic standards and poor school performance are causing anxiety among many parents, leading them to overemphasise homework. They view this as one aspect of their childÂren’s learning that they can influence directly.
Although many teachers and parents regard the benefits of homework (such as self-discipline, responsibility and a love of learning) as a given, it could place undue strain on the parent-child relationship, detract from the enjoyment of learning and cause stress by placing excessive demands on learners. Is there no other way to attain these benefits, a more fun way, perhaps?
As child development specialists, we believe that childhood is important in its own right. It is a crucial stage in children’s development and learning. Children learn best through play and enjoyment, not through formal academic assignments. Therefore homework assignments need to take account of the fact that children also learn from such informal activities as excursions or projects that can improve a child’s creativity.
What can parents do?
Given all these constraints, what can parents do to support their children’s learning? When parents do homework of their own at the same time as their children, it sets a good example and helps to foster a positive attitude toward learning. This could be as simple as reading a newspaper in the child’s presence while homework is being done.
One key role for parents is to negotiate with teachers and schools. This may take the form of speaking with an individual teacher, speaking to other school officials, coordinating with other parents or with the school governing body or school management team to get the homework load for the entire class or school reduced.
Even if there is a language barrier, parents should attend the meetings and speak out on these issues. Parents could take along someone who can interpret for them.
Parents can monitor homework in many ways. They can ask their children whether they have received homework and how they are coping with it. Read your children’s textbooks and readers. Assist them to the best of your ability or find someone who can assist them. Parents can promote responsibility, time management and independent effort.
Parents should also consider the conditions under which children do homework. No homework in front of the TV! Decide on the most suitable time to switch off the TV for the whole family. Provide a working surface — if the child cannot have his or her own desk, clear the kitchen table. Ensure that there are pens, pencils and paper available.
Homework is a deeply entrenched part of many countries’ schooling systems, including South Africa’s. It will not go away any time soon. What parents can do is negotiate the amount of homework with the school and provide a model for solid learning behaviour for their children.
And if your children tell you “we don’t have any homework”, just say: “Right, I used that line 20 years ago!”
Mary Clasquin-Johnson is a researcher on grade R, Dr Ina Joubert’s research focuses on citizenship and literacy and Professor Cycil Hartell’s work involves health and safety issues in ECD/foundation phase. Joubert and Hartell are from the University of Pretoria’s department of early childhood education