There are, however, three interesting though tangential, conceptual approaches which offer useful reference points for my study, elements of which I introduced in chapter two. Cooper et al. (2001) presented their work, ‘A Model of Homework's Influence on the Performance Evaluations of Elementary School Students’ in the Journal of Experimental Education. Using a sample of four hundred and twenty eight elementary school (primary age) pupils drawn from a large metropolitan public school district and working with their parents and teachers, they proposed a statistical model of the influence which homework has on these children’s in-class academic performance. Employing a quantitative research design and in particular a structural equation modelling technique, the authors examined relationships among variables which included academic ability, student and family background, time spent on homework activity and the amount of homework which the students reported completing. Their modelling of these collected elementary school data revealed several interesting
findings. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the likelihood that a student would complete his or her homework tasks was positively related to the elimination of distractions by parents during the homework completion. Also, positive peer attitudes, higher academic ability and positive parental views about homework were all related to increased parental support for homework. Interestingly, the report also suggested that a pupil’s own attitude toward homework was largely unrelated to either academic ability or home or community factors but positively related to the parent's attitude towards homework. Finally, academic levels appeared to be unrelated to the pupil’s own attitude toward homework but these assessment grades could be anticipated by the amount of homework the child completed. The authors reported that
parent facilitation proved to be an important mediator of the relation between student norms, student ability, and parent's attitude toward homework and classroom grades. (Cooper et al., 2001; 189)
Their study suggested a number of useful steps towards a conceptual framework which might prove useful to educators keen to develop effective homework models with other young children. Crucially, their findings revealed the vital role parents played in supporting homework at elementary school level. Indeed, positive parent involvement in homework was found to be the strongest predictor of academic success. Additionally their conclusions demonstrated that parental support for autonomous, self-directed and independent homeworking was closely related to academic success and, conversely, that direct instructional involvement by parents mirrored poor academic results. Sensibly in my view, the authors suggested that parental teaching probably did not lead directly to poor attainment by pupils, but instead poor attainment probably caused parents to become more closely involved in direct teaching. This suggests that parents alter their level of involvement with homework in response to the aptitudes of their children.
As I explain later in this chapter, my qualitative study of homework at Maylandsea Primary School supports Cooper et al.’s (2001) finding that parental involvement is a key factor in an effective homework model and that a child’s attitude towards homework is not necessarily related to his or her academic ability. However, my own findings contest the notion of a link between parental support for homework and academic ability, suggesting instead that levels of understanding about the meaningfulness of particular tasks and the value of homework per se are far more likely to influence levels of parental interest. Furthermore, my study builds upon Cooper et
al.’s (2001) model by exploring young children’s attitudes towards homework and linking these to their own perceptions of meaningful homework tasks and in particular to notions of choice, interest and fun.
Equally, my study extends ideas about families supporting homework by exploring parents’ views about the value of homework as a tool for maximising personal development; my findings show that parents do not merely adjust their level of intervention in response to their child’s academic ability (Cooper et al., 2001) but because they are deliberately influencing the development of autonomous strategies which they feel are important for the personal growth of their child. I also acknowledge Cooper et al.’s (2001) view that homework completion is related to classroom success but I re-conceptualise this notion and challenge the idea that assessment grades can be anticipated by the amount of homework completed. My study demonstrates that, whilst those pupils who regularly fail to complete their homework are viewed as underachieving by their teachers, this does not imply that if all children did more homework their achievement would improve. Contrarily, I found that the steady accumulation of a positive homework routine, supported by parental interest and evidenced by a curiosity for learning at home, helped children feel well prepared for the next lesson; it is this approach which my model presents as characteristic of homework’s positive contribution to successful learning.
A second conceptual approach, in some ways more directly relevant to my own study, was proposed by Hughes and Greenhough (2002) at the University of Bristol. Their project explored homework practices in both primary and secondary schools. The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council was titled ‘Homework and its contribution to learning’ and it sought to identify some of the conditions under which the influence of homework upon learning was either enhanced or reduced. The project took place during a period of great interest in homework amongst parents and teachers because homework guidelines for primary and secondary schools had recently been introduced by the Labour government and the role of these guidelines in helping to raise educational standards was being widely discussed. Employing a broad, qualitative, socio-cultural methodology, the study took as its sample four contrasting secondary schools and four of their feeder primary schools in the Bristol area of England. A range of data collection methods was used including interviews with pupils, parents, teachers and headteachers and lessons were also observed and homework documents analysed.
As I mentioned in chapter two of this thesis, findings from the four primary schools showed a diverse range of opinion by parents with the majority being opposed to homework.
In general, these parents felt that children at this stage were too young for homework, and that their out of school time would be better spent on other things. (Hughes and Greenhough, 2002; 38)
The authors’ conclusions are not clearly divided across key stages so it is not always possible to differentiate between issues in primary and secondary schools. In general terms, however, they discovered that participants believed homework to be a useful tool for extending the school curriculum and helpful for the development of independent learning. They also uncovered a symbolic value with homework being viewed as a sign of a good school. However, in marked contrast to my own findings from one primary school some twelve years later, came their finding that
those most closely involved in the day-to-day practice (teachers and students) were much less enthusiastic about it than those who were more distant (parents, headteachers, and politicians). (Hughes and Greenhough, 2002; 41)
In fact, they reported that a typical view from teachers was the feeling that they were being asked to set homework despite their own pedagogic judgements that this was not always necessary or appropriate.
In these schools at this period in recent history, Hughes and Greenhough (2002) found that few participants had considered the nature of the homework tasks being set. Again, this contrasted with my own findings where all stakeholders showed strong awareness of different tasks and judged the overall value of homework by their perception of the efficacy of these particular activities. In this Bristol study, homework tasks were found to be essentially a series of formal learning activities to be completed away from the classroom with little consideration given to their ability to engage, motivate or develop students’ broader skills.
Interestingly, and unlike my own findings, the authors discovered virtually no evidence of collaborative tasks being set, and they called for
some discussion of whether homework should be more of a collaborative activity, involving family and friends far more than it seems to do at the moment. Again, if this is the intention, then it needs to be addressed far more explicitly – for example, by setting homework tasks which encourage peer collaboration, by finding ways to enable parents to support homework, and by
using homework to create more links between the school curriculum and out-of- school life. (Hughes and Greenhough, 2002; 42)
Indeed, though clearly a largely underdeveloped area in the context of these schools, my own research built upon this identified weakness in prevailing homework models as I took the opportunity to explore these issues further in my case study school.
Perhaps of greatest significance for Hughes and Greenhough (2002), their project suggested that the newly implemented (but subsequently withdrawn) national homework guidelines for primary schools did raise significant issues for their schools at that time. The fact that many primary schools in England had no history or culture of homework in 2002 might well have led to their finding that many of the teachers and parents they interviewed were resistant to homework. As my conceptual framework explains later in this chapter, the homework context I encountered was markedly different.
My third and final exemplar of a conceptual framework, authored by Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2001) is a literature review centred around one specific aspect of homework practice, the involvement of parents. Indeed it is titled ‘Parental Involvement in Homework’, and I initially introduced this work in chapter two of this thesis.
The authors’ rationale was to understand why parents involve themselves with their children’s homework, how they do so and how their involvement influences student outcomes.
Findings suggest that parents involve themselves in student homework because they believe that they should be involved, believe that their involvement will make a positive difference, and perceive that their children or children’s teachers want their involvement. (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001; 1)
As far as my work is concerned, these findings set the scene for further exploration in a specific school environment. My own research extended this rather general series of parental aspirations by relating these ideas to a concrete scenario. In this way, I was able to add more detail and depth to their findings and explore some of the complexities surrounding them.
In common with my own work, Hoover-Dempsey et al. (ibid) discovered that parental involvement in homework is multi-faceted. It can include establishing structures and routines for homework, actively working alongside a child and helping children to
develop good learning strategies at home. The authors also acknowledged the role teachers can play in helping to advise and support parents about homework problems and this is also an important aspect which emerged from my own research.
However, Hoover-Dempsey’s (ibid) conceptual outlook was not phase-specific, encompassing research from all phases of education and it concentrated solely upon institutions in the United States. As such, its findings are interesting and informative for the English primary school theorist and practitioner but not exclusively relevant.
Consequently, current theoretical positions and pre-existing conceptual frameworks offer much by way of background and guidance to the contemporary theorist in pursuit of new models for homework. My own research was informed by these ideas but not constrained by them. What I had identified was the need for a conceptual model for homework, specific to this modern, English primary school and taking into account the views not only of parents but of teachers and the pupils themselves.