The Motivational Benefits of Homework: A Social-Cognitive Perspective
Author(s): Janine Bempechat
Source: Theory Into Practice , Summer, 2004, Vol. 43, No. 3, Homework (Summer, 2004),
pp. 189-196
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3701520
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Janine Bempechat
The Motivational Benefits of Homework:
A Social-Cognitive Perspective
This article argues that, as a pedagogical prac-
advances in educational research and concerns
tice, homework plays a critical, long-term role in
the development of children's achievement moti-
about the United States' ability to be competi
on an international level. While educators supp
vation. Homework provides children with time and
homework for its value in reinforcing daily lear
experience to develop positive beliefs about
ing and fostering the development of study sk
achievement, as well as strategies for coping witha backlash against the practice has been grow
mistakes, difficulties, and setbacks. This articlesince the 1990s.
reviews current research on achievement motiva-
Critics who condemn homework point to the
tion and examines the ways parents and teachers
fact that research on the topic has produced inconencourage or inhibit the development of adaptive
sistent findings and argue that its impact on
beliefs about learning. It then integrates the literachievement, especially in elementary school, is,
ature on homework and achievement motivation
at best, unclear. If, in the lower grades, homework
and shows that homework's motivational benefits,
contributes little or not at all to academic achieve-
while not named as such, have been in evidence for
ment, then why engage in a practice that can prosome time. Finally, the article argues that homework
mote conflict between parents and children and
is a vital means by which children can receiveinterfere
the
with development in other domains, such
training they need to become mature learners. as athletics and the arts (Wildman, 1968)? Why
burden overstretched working parents and low-in-
come parents, who are likely to have access to
fewer resources to help their children? Perhaps the
H OMEWORK-TASKS
THAT TEACHERS assign to
students that are meant to be completed during out-of-school hours-persists as a controversial aspect of children's schooling. Beliefs about
best recourse is to minimize or eliminate home-
work altogether.
The purpose of this article is to argue that, as
a pedagogical practice, homework plays a critical,
long-term role in the development of children's
the value of homework and concerns over the quanachievement motivation. More specifically, hometity assigned have fluctuated, both as a function of
work assignments provide children with the time
and
Janine Bempechat is a senior research associate at the experience they need to develop beliefs about
achievement and study habits that are helpful for
Center for the Study of Human Development, Brown
University.
learning, including the value of effort and the ability
THEORY INTO PRACTICE, Volume 43, Number 3, Summer 2004
Copyright ? 2004 College of Education, The Ohio State University
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Summer 2004
Homework
to cope with mistakes and difficulty. Skills such
as
theory,
which argues that students come to perceive that success and failure in school can result
these develop neither overnight, nor in a vacuum.
from effort (or lack of it), ability (or
Rather, they are fostered over years through primarily
daily
lack
of it), and external factors, such as luck or
interactions with parents and teachers, whose
own
task ease/difficulty (Weiner, 1994). These attribubeliefs and attitudes about learning and education
tions vary in the extent to which they are perceived
have a profound influence on children's developinternal/external, stable, and controllable. Efing beliefs about their intellectual abilities as
(Sigel,
McGillicuddy-DeLisi, & Goodnow, 1992). In fort,
thisfor example, tends to be perceived as internal,
and unstable; while ability tends to be
context, the singular focus on grades and test controllable,
scores
viewed
as the primary test of homework's effectiveness
is as internal, stable, and uncontrollable.
Further, attributions are linked to specific
short-sighted. If our goal is to prepare children for
emotions, which in turn, predict future achievethe demands of secondary schooling and beyond,
ment behavior. For example, a student who bewe need to pay as much attention to the developlievesin
she failed a math test because she waited
ment of skills that help children take initiative
until the last minute to study (lack of effort) wi
their learning and maintain or regain their motivation when it wanes.
likely feel embarrassed. This embarrassment wil
I begin with a brief overview of advances inlead her to study in advance of the next test. I
research on achievement motivation that have pro- contrast, if a student believes he failed the math
vided us with a deeper understanding of how stutest because he is not good at math (lack of abili
dents' beliefs about achievement influence their
ty), he will probably feel incompetent and ashamed
and
performance in school. I pay specific attention
toas a result, see little purpose in studying har
for the next math quiz.
the ways parents and teachers encourage or inhibit
the development of adaptive beliefs about learn- The promise of this theoretical approach to
ing. I then turn to the literature on homework, children's
and
motivation to learn lies in the implica
show that its motivational benefits, while not named
tion that negative attitudes, or more precisely, mal
as such, have been in evidence for some time. Fiadaptive beliefs about learning, can be manipulated
nally, I argue that homework is a vital means by by careful intervention. For example, research ha
which children can receive the training they need shown that children who are susceptible to learned
to become mature learners.
Motivational Factors in Learning
helplessness--the tendency to fall apart in the face
of difficulty or challenge-tend to believe that mis-
takes are a sign of low ability, a stable quality o
the self over which they have no control. Yet when
Over the past 25 years, advances in social
trained to view mistakes as the result of lack of
cognition have contributed to a much deeper uneffort, children adopt more positive ways of dealderstanding of achievement motivation in children
ing with academic difficulty, such as taking more
and youth (Weiner, 1994). We no longer view
achievement motivation as an inner need or drive
time to check their work and asking the teacher
for help (Diener & Dweck, 1978).
that individuals have in greater or weaker strengths.
Instead, achievement motivation is now best un-
Origins of Achievement Beliefs
derstood as a collection of beliefs, attitudes, and
Children's beliefs about learning and achieveemotions that influence students' performance in
school. These include students' explanations for ment develop in the multiple contexts of their
the causes of success and failure, their personal homes, schools, and the broader culture (Rogoff,
expectancies and standards for performance, con- 1990). We know, for example, that parents' and
fidence in their ability to do well, and beliefs about teachers' beliefs about learning have a profound
the nature of intelligence - innate or changeable influence on the development of children's own
beliefs about what it takes to do well in school, as
(Eccles, 1993).
The social cognitive approach to the study of well as their efforts to learn and apply themselves
achievement motivation relies heavily on attribution (Stipek & Gralinski, 1991). Phillips (1987) studied
190
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Bempechat
Motivational Benefits of Homework
children's assessments of their own ability in a
group of very accomplished, high achieving elementary students. Although all were exemplary stu-
dents, some had surprisingly low perceptions of
their abilities. Their parents, Phillips discovered,
had rather low opinions of their children's skills.
higher rather than lower grades (Cooper, Valentine, Nye, & Lindsey, 1999). More specifically, in
middle and high school (Grades 6-10), there is a
positive association between the amount of homework that students complete and their grades. In
the lower grades (Grades 2-4), however, this rela-
These children's beliefs about their abilities were
tionship is negative. This finding, coupled with repredicted more reliably from their parents' evalusearch showing that students' emotions are depressed
ations than by their own (excellent) objective record
when they are engaged in homework (Leone &
of achievement.
Richards, 1989), has led some to argue that homeSchools and teachers are similarly influentialwork can indeed be detrimental in elementary
in the development of students' beliefs about school. Others argue that if homework does not
achievement. The effects of low expectations, com- foster achievement, or worse, has a negative effect
municated subtly by teachers (e.g., by not allow-on grades, it may make sense to minimize or elimiing enough time to respond to a question) or bynate the practice altogether (Kralovec & Buell, 1991).
In fact, a careful examination of homework's
the school structure (e.g., through placement in lower tracks), results in lower achievement and lowerbenefits for elementary school students suggests
self-assessments of ability (Oakes, 1985). Impor-that a much more complex and nuanced interplay
tantly, children as young as 5 are able to interpret of factors is at work. Researchers have found that,
what teachers think about their abilities from their because of their limited cognitive capacity, youngteachers' emotions. For example, when a teacherer children tend to have less effective study habits
shows anger in the face of a disappointing grade,and are less able to focus and avoid distraction
children correctly take this to mean that the teach- than older children (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001
er believes they did not try hard enough (low ef-Teachers also use homework differently at differ
fort). In contrast, when a teacher expresses pity at ent levels of schooling. A 2000 survey found tha
a low grade, children assume, again correctly, that both elementary and secondary school teachers re
the teacher believes the student does not have the
port that they assign homework in order to foster
ability to do any better (low ability).
study and time management skills. However, ele
Findings such as these must figure promi-mentary school teachers believe more strongly i
nently in any discussion about eliminating homehomework's value for the purpose of training stu
dents on how to study and use their time well.
work for children whose parents are poor, because
such reasoning runs the risk of communicating to
This implies that for elementary level teachers, the
these children and their parents that the school be-content of homework may be less important tha
lieves they are incapable of helping their children.
the opportunity it provides to foster long-term tim
I return to this point later.
management skills, the effects of which would not
be evident in younger children's school grades
Homework and Academic Achievement
(Muhlenbruck, Cooper, Nye, & Lindsey, 2000).
A great deal of research evidence now demon- As mentioned earlier, the development of
such skills occurs in the larger context of hom
strates that academic achievement is positively related to homework completion (Cooper, Lindsey, and
Nye,school. Parents -teachers' partners in their
& Greathouse, 1998). For example, Keith andchildren's
Cool
learning--play a critical role in the de
velopment
of their children's beliefs about and ap(1992) found that, regardless of students' ability
or
prior coursework, the amount of time they devote
to
proaches
to homework.
homework increases their achievement.
Cooper's extensive program of research on
the academic benefits of homework has demon-
Parent Involvement and the Development
of Adaptive Achievement Beliefs
strated that, across urban, suburban, and rural stu-
Parents socialize their children for learning
dents, homework exerts its greatest influence in
in two fundamental ways. Through their cognitive
191
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Summer 2004
Homework
development of beliefs and attitudes that help to
socialization practices, they help foster their chilfoster academic achievement.
dren's intellectual development by guiding their
learning (Rogoff, 1990). They participate with their For example, Grolnick has suggested that
children whose parents support their intellectual
children in a variety of activities (reading, visiting
development
may develop a certain level of comthe library) and daily household tasks (tidying
up
fort and familiarity with school-like tasks (Grolnick
and putting groceries away). Through their motiSlowiaczek, 1994). This, in turn, may foster bevational socialization practices, they influence&the
development of attitudes that foster school liefs
suc- that school-related activities are controllable,
facilitates the development of adaptive becess, including a belief in the value of effort andwhich
a
liefs about the causes of success and failure. Retolerance for mistakes and setbacks (Bempechat,
Drago-Severson, & Boulay, 2002).
latedly, Cooper and his colleagues (1998) examined
Parent involvement takes different forms.
the relationship between student and parent beliefs
and attitudes about homework and academic
Their overt behavior (e.g., going to parent-teacher
achievement
in elementary and secondary sch
nights and other school events), their personal
investment (e.g., showing that they enjoy the child's
At all ages, children's attitudes about homew
were positively associated with parents' attitu
school and their interactions with school personnel), and cognitive/intellectual support (e.g., And,
help- in the higher grades, students' attitudes abo
ing with homework) serve to communicate homework
to
were directly predicted by their pare
children that education is valued at home (Grolnick
attitudes, which were positively and directly rela
ed to their children's school performance.
& Slowiaczek, 1994). In general, parents across
social class and ethnic groups are willing to helpFor some students in this study, the lack of
their children with homework, and believe that
positive effect of homework on achievement m
have been the result of their parents' own negati
doing so is part of their job as parents (Delgadoattitudes. In one study of urban and suburban fif
Gaitan, 1992). Not only do parents tend to believe
that they can have a positive influence on their
through ninth graders, most students reported t
children's intellectual development, they alsothey
per- were not happy while they worked on ho
ceive that teachers expect them to help theirwork,
chil- and most reported that they did their hom
work alone (Leone & Richards, 1989). However,
dren with the assignments they send home
(Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001).
if they did their homework in the presence of a
Those who have studied the effects of homeparent, the effect was more positive and their
work on academic achievement have discussed its
achievement greater.
non-academic benefits (Warton, 2001), its interMore recently, in a test of the effectiveness
of
homework
on academic achievement, Cooper,
mediary effects on motivation (Cooper et al., 1998),
and its impact on the development of proximal stuLindsey, and Nye (2000) found that parents who
dent outcomes (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001) and
had positive attitudes about homework facilitated
general personal development (Epstein & Van
its completion by helping in ways that promoted
Voorhis, 2001). In one form or another, all of these
understanding, but were not so intrusive as to
researchers are speaking to the development of
hinder its eventual completion. Similarly, Keith and
Cool (1992) found that parent involvement (as
adaptive motivational skills -including responsimeasured through educational aspirations, combility, confidence, persistence, goal setting, planabout school and school events, home
ning, and the ability to delay gratification--all munication
of
structure, and participation in school activities) had a
which students need increasingly as they progress
through middle school to high school and beyond.
significant positive effect on student achievement in
Mounting research suggests that these skills are
several subject areas. Importantly, this effect was facilitated
through homework-parents who are more
fostered through interactions with parents, as
a
involved encourage children to do more homework
result of the ways they socialize their children's
intellectual and motivational skills. Put another
and reading at home (Hoover-Dempsey et al.,
way, parent involvement is a key ingredient in 2001).
the In addition, they model for their children
192
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Bempechat
Motivational Benefits of Homework
appropriate ways to deal with confusion, manage
their time, and plan effectively for future assign-
ments. In other words, when parents teach their
children how to break a complicated project down
into manageable pieces, they communicate the ex-
middle-income families where both parents work?
Is it fair to ask them, after a full day's work, to
add homework supervision to the many tasks they
need to complete in the evening? I argue below
that the educational needs of all children are best
tent to which school outcomes are within the child's
met by policies that facilitate, not eliminate, par-
control.
ent involvement.
Further, when parents understand what teachSocial Class and Homework
ers are requiring of their children, they then influThere
was a time when educational researchence the ways students come to judge the difficulty
ers
believed
that children at risk for school failof different assignments, the extent to which they
will need to manage their time in order to meet ure-those living in poverty, in single parent
households, whose parents themselves have low
a more attractive activity needs to be deferred or levels of education, or speak English as a second
abandoned in order to complete homework. Mod- language--were being done a disservice by pareling and otherwise providing guidelines for how ents who neither cared about nor were involved in
homework can be completed are critical ways par- their education. This "deficit model" approach
ents help children regulate their time and develop (Glazer & Moynihan, 1963) to the persistent probtheir motivational skills, including goal setting, lem of underachievement gave way to a more soplanning, persistence, and delay of gratification phisticated understanding of the ways child-rearing
(Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001). Delay of gratifica- strategies are influenced by parents' own culture
tion, for example, may be easier when students and ethnicity. Many studies have shown that, across
have an intrinsic interest in the assignment (Bem- ethnic groups, low-income parents care deeply
benutty, 1999). Yet it is precisely when intrinsic about their children's intellectual development, and
interest is low that students need to be able to fall
employ rich and varied means to encourage both a
back on a repertoire of beliefs and strategies thatlove of learning and a deep value for education
will see them through difficulty and setbacks. Rath-(Ogbu, 1995).
er than assume that students will pick up these
Like their middle-income peers, many lowstrategies as they need them, we must recognize income parents provide a daily structure and place
that these strategies should be taught and fostered for homework completion, clearly communicate
over many years. And parent involvement is vitalexpectations and standards for both social behavior
deadlines, and appreciate that there are times when
to the development of these strategies.
and academic performance, stay abreast of due dates
Overall, the research suggests that assigningfor homework assignments and tests, and share stohomework in the early school years is beneficial
ries of their own occupational difficulties, which they
more for the valuable motivational skills it serves to
believe their children can avoid by doing well in
foster in the long term, than for short-term school school. They also help with homework, even if
grades. Undoubtedly, parents are in a greater posithey have difficulty understanding it, and visit the
tion to influence their children when they are young- school when possible (Delgado-Gaitan, 1992).
er than when they are older (Xu & Corno, 1998). In
The notion that homework "punishes students
the early years, when parents' attitudes about home- in poverty for being poor" (Kralovec & Buell,
work are positive, they can lay the foundation for
students' positive attitudes later, which are related
1991) is disingenuous at best and would have us
feel sorry for, rather than challenge, low-income
to their grades (Cooper, Lindsey, & Nye, 2000).
students to do their best. Further, both anecdotal
and research evidence suggests that low-income
parents (and their teachers) want their children to
in ways that promote academic achievement? Doesbe challenged and prepared for the increasingly
homework serve to make an already unequal edu- competitive world of work. Homework is an integral
cational playing field even more so? What about part of this preparation. To minimize or eliminate
What about low-income parents, who may not
have either the time or the resources to be involved
193
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THEORY INTO PRACTICE / Summer 2004
Homework
homework on the seemingly well-intentioned, and
but consistently high expectancies and standards
for schoolwork and homework. If anything, Cathflawed assumption, that poor parents would be
olic school teachers of low-income students report
grateful to have less to do with their children's
feeling particularly bound to demand hard work of
education is to do a great disservice to these partheir students, in part because they are aware of
ents and their children. Such a policy would comthe hurdles they will face in the future (Polite,
municate that teachers feel sorry for these parents
1996).
and believe that they lack the competence to help
their children. The low expectations conveyed by At the other end of the social class spectrum,
many middle-class parents complain that their chilthis view would serve, ultimately, to suppress academic achievement.
dren's elementary school homework is stressful for
the whole family, robbing parents and children of
Quite to the contrary, teachers want parents
to be involved, in part because this makes them
opportunities to pursue other family activities and
interfering with children's extracurricular interests.
feel supported in their work. Importantly, when
parents are involved in their children's schoolwork,
Some parents report feeling resentful that their own
time to relax is taken up by their children's
teachers are less likely to hold to stereotypeslimited
of
homework (Xu & Corno, 1998), while others relow-income parents as uninterested in their children's education (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001).
port that they routinely send notes to their chilFurther, when homework is carefully designeddren's
to teachers explaining that they do not allow
their children to finish homework that they feel
elicit parent involvement, even parents with little
takes too much time (Bempechat, 2000). In short,
formal schooling make substantive contributions
they feel sorry for their children when they have
to their children's learning (Epstein & Van Voorhis,
2001). Epstein has described her TIPS (Teachers
challenging homework. These are often the same
Involve Parents in Schoolwork) homework design
parents who will later demand an exacting course
as an interactive program where students involve
of study from their children's high school teachers, in order for their children to be as well pretheir families in carefully designed and clearly explained homework assignments. For example, the
pared as possible for the increasingly competitive
language arts homework assignments require stucollege application process.
dents to engage in such activities as reading the Many parents do not realize that, in advocatwriting prompts out loud, discussing the topic with
ing for little or no homework, homework that is
not "stressful," or homework that does not become
members of their family, and taking notes on their
"their" homework, their children will pay the price
family's reactions to their story. Across subject
areas, innovative programs such as TIPS foster
in the long run in lack of preparedness for the
demands and obstacles that will eventumore parent involvement, greater completionacademic
of
homework, and higher achievement (Van Voorhis,
ally come their way. These parents, in effect, rob
2001).
their children of countless opportunities to develAs previous research has shown, homework
op adaptive learning beliefs and behaviors. Parents who actively protest a school's homework
is a critical means of communicating standards and
expectations (Natriello & McDill, 1986). Regardpolicy on the grounds that it is too demanding run
less of social class, teachers' standards for homethe risk of communicating to their children both
work completion improve academic performance, low expectations and a belief that they lack the
something that Catholic educators have realized for ability to rise to a teacher's standards. This can
some time. Catholic schools are institutions where
serve to undermine children's confidence and de-
the poorest children in the United States do excep-veloping beliefs about themselves as effective
learners. Parents who are not supportive of teachtionally well, as evidenced by lower dropout rates,
ers' homework policies will communicate their dishigher GPAs and SAT scores, and greater college
satisfaction to their children, who are likely to take
acceptance rates (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993).
Catholic schools help poor students attain high levon their parents' negative attitudes (Epstein & Van
els of proficiency through demanding coursework Voorhis, 2001).
194
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Bempechat
Motivational Benefits of Homework
Conclusion
cation. American Educational Research Journal,
29(3), 495-513.
As they progress through elementary to secDiener, C., & Dweck, C.S. (1978). An analysis of
ondary and post-secondary schooling, the taskslearned helplessness: Continuous feedback in per-
teachers require of their students become increasformance strategy and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social
ingly complex. For many students, mistakes, conPsychology, 36, 451-462.
fusion, and academic struggle become a common
Eccles, J. (1993). School and family effects on the
aspect of learning. Children need to know that their
ontogeny of children's interests, self-perceptions,
teachers and parents believe in their ability to acand activity choices. In J. Jacobs (Ed.), Nebraska
quire knowledge and master new skills, especially
symposium on motivation: Developmental perspec-
tives on motivation (Vol. 40, pp. 145-208). Linwhen they are confronted with setbacks. Despite
coln: University of Nebraska Press.
concerns and outright objections from some parents, teachers need to maintain appropriate Epstein,
stan- J.L., & Van Voorhis, F.L. (2001). More than
minutes: Teachers' roles in designing homework.
dards of performance for their students through
Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 181-193.
homework requirements. Under the guidance
of N., & Moynihan, D. (1963). Beyond the meltGlazer,
adults who challenge their intellectual growth,ing pot: The Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Ital-
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MIT Press.
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Grolnick, W.S., & Slowiaczek, M.L. (1994). Parent'
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Hoover-Dempsey, K.V., Battiato, A.C., Walker, J.M.
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