Homework as a bone of contention - essential or outdated?

What did you think of when you read the title of this article? Your own school days when you were only allowed to go and play after you had finished your homework? The stress when the wrong exercise book was packed? Or the first day of school, when you were eager to finally be allowed to do your homework? Or have your own children come to mind who, after an already busy day at school, still have to swot up on French or English vocabulary at home, prepare a presentation or study for a test?

What do you think about homework? In your opinion, is it an essential learning activity or an outdated educational ritual?

First of all, it is clear that the assignment of homework, especially during primary school, is highly polarised both among teachers and parents. Those in favour of homework cite the need for additional learning time. The argument put forward is that the repetition of learning material leads to better memorisation of the same. Homework promotes the development of independent work, problem-solving skills and self-assessment, they say.

Parents who are in favour of homework repeatedly state that it provides a regular insight into their children's everyday school life and is often seen as a kind of «window into school».

Studies provide contradictory findings

Critics of homework argue that it is unfair as not all children can receive support from home. Furthermore, homework has no direct influence on pupils' learning performance. The additional burden on children and their parents, on the other hand, often leads to tensions and arguments within the family.

It is therefore hardly surprising that science has come to similarly controversial conclusions. Studies generally show very contradictory findings. Only a worldwide study on learning by the New Zealand educationalist and scientist John Hattie («Visible Learning») has proven the learning effectiveness of homework. Based on a large number of individual studies, Hattie has drawn up a list of criteria for effective teaching. Of his 130 possible criteria, homework is ranked in the middle (88th).

Homework is useful if it can be used to consolidate what has already been learnt.

Homework can therefore be effective for learning. To what extent, however, depends very much on how it is used. Five to ten minutes would have the same effect as one or two hours. The worst solution from Hattie's point of view is to give the children projects as homework to help them learn something new. The best solution is to use the homework to reinforce something they have already learnt.

In 1993, the Department of Education of the Canton of Schwyz decided to integrate homework into lessons as schoolwork. The number of lessons per week was increased by one hour for this purpose. The accompanying study «Integrated and traditional homework at primary school - a comparison in terms of performance, workload and attitude to school» (Hascher & Bischof, 2000) revealed astonishing results when comparing over 800 pupils in years 4 and 6: children with integrated homework felt less of a time burden and at the same time did not perform worse than the comparison group with traditional homework. In addition, the group with integrated homework had a more positive attitude towards school.

A burden for many families

It is a pity that the experiment was cancelled due to political pressure from conservative circles and homework was reintroduced in 1997.

It's not just academics and parents who are constantly grappling with this issue. Schools and teachers are also faced with various dilemmas when it comes to assigning homework. It is well known, for example, that unequal supervision at home does not ensure equal opportunities. As the 2016 study by educational scientist Sandra Moroni confirms, homework is a burden for many families.

In many places, schools have reacted to this: instead of homework, there is now schoolwork, which - as the name suggests - can be completed at school. In terms of equal opportunities, pupils are given the opportunity to work on assignments in a supervised manner after lessons at school (for example as part of daily structures), while other schools integrate the completion of assignments completely into lessons (integrated practice units).

This is not about abolishing homework, but about shifting the time, place and supervision. Some schools use learning diaries or portfolios so that parents/guardians continue to have a «window into the school».

New models should provide a remedy

Teachers do not make it easy for themselves when it comes to deciding whether, how and which homework should be assigned. They try out different forms and usually react to difficulties from pupils and feedback from parents.

Many schools are trying to meet the challenges with new models or are addressing the issue at parents' evenings and setting off together for new horizons.

When it comes to homework, parents and school need to meet as equals.

Nevertheless, schools and teachers are sometimes caught between the different expectations of parents, the different requirements of their pupils and the need to teach the material set out in the curriculum in a reasonable amount of time. If we want to continue to work with traditional homework in the future and build the much-cited bridge between home and school, we need to meet at eye level and have an objective exchange with mutual respect for the different points of view.

For teachers, giving homework should not become an organisational tour de force, and for parents it should actually enable a relaxed view of school.