Caryn Asherson
SED 625
Dr. Rivas
September 20, 2006
Current Event #1
In his article, “Homework Debate” (2002), Patrick Marshall addresses the
age old conflict regarding whether homework is beneficial or harmful. His focus
lies in the negative effects that homework can have on students. He suggests
that homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue, as well as academic
burnout. Furthermore, he claims that homework does not allow students time for
leisure activities and free exploration.
One of the strengths of this article is that it acknowledges that public
attitudes toward homework occur in cycles. These attitudes are more closely tied
to social and economic trends than research about homework’s effectiveness.
Moreover, it recognizes that homework has different effects at different grade
levels and that homework may serve different purposes in the higher grades than
the lower grades. Lastly, the article proposes that research on homework has
little effect on implementing policy and practice. For example, despite the
research that homework is least beneficial in elementary school, the greatest
increase in homework since 1984 has been in the lower grades.
One of the article’s weaknesses is that it is one-sided. It only relies on the
evidence that suggests that homework can have deleterious effects on students.
However, it doesn’t produce a counterargument relating to the benefits of
homework. In addition, it doesn’t present much current quantitative data on how
much homework is being done in elementary school and high school. The last
study measuring this was completed in 1994. Most of the information in the
article seems to be based on people’s opinions rather than on results from
studies. It doesn’t point out design flaws in the past studies concerning the
effectiveness of homework.
In my own personal experience, I have always felt that quality rather than
quantity is the main issue when discussing the effects of homework. I chose this
article to analyze because I have repeatedly been confronted by parents who
accuse me of not assigning enough homework. On the other hand, I am
approached equally by parents who suggest that I assign too much homework.
They plead with me, saying that their child stays up until midnight trying to
complete homework that should have taken 15-20 minutes. I wanted to find
some evidence that would help me find the balance between the school’s time
requirement for homework and my own beliefs about what is beneficial. I want
the homework I assign to be relevant to my students’ lives. Unfortunately, there
are so many factors involved in determining the effects of homework that many of
the studies I read seem to yield little usable data. Many of the studies do not
take into account that the influences of homework are multifaceted. They often
don’t take into account that student differences play a major part in the results of
homework studies. Ultimately, the article indicates that the current research on
the effects of homework is limited and inconclusive. This seems to put me back
to right where I started. In the meantime, I will try to create homework
assignments that are meaningful and that encourage my students to want to
continue learning.
References
Marshall, Patrick. (2002). Homework Debate. CQ Researcher. 12 (42), 1-23.