ATTITUDES TOWARDS HOMEWORK OF THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS AND ITS EFFECT TO THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The homework debate has been raging for many decades, with no end in sight. On one

hand there are the proponents of homework who swear by its benefits and efficacy, on the other

hand there are those who would like schools to end the practice of giving homework to students.

Among the proponents, there is also the burning question if how much homework should be

given to students. Parents, educators, students and indeed the general public have all been deeply

divided over the homework issue over the long time. Some schools in the United States and

elsewhere have a no homework policy. The French president Francois Hollande proposed a no

homework policy in his plans for educational reform. His rationale being that students do not

have a level of playing field when it comes to the matter of homework, because some have

parents who can help them while others do not.

The author of this paper wanted to study about the students’ attitudes toward homework

and its effect to their academic performance. Due to the existing debate whether or not

homework contributes something to the academic achievement of the students, the author wanted

to gather some related literature and compare how different authors and researchers view

homework as a factor to students’ learning through a synthesis review. This synthesis review is

done through cross comparison of the gathered literatures through online journals and

transcriptions of news articles.

Introduction

Homework is one way to increase the amount of time on task and promote student

success. Homework assignments that are well designed, well-planned and meaningful to students

are most effective (Ellsasser, 2007). According to Paschal et al. (2001), the amount of home

stimulation students receive can affect their achievement in school by as much as 50%. The

purpose of homework needs to be explicitly clear to all students so that they can understand how

it will help them succeed.

The relationship of homework on students’ academic performance is highly debated issue

and has been for over a century. With our current educational system being compared to

countries around the world, there has been a push to raise the standards in our schools so that we

can compete in the global marketplace (Hyde, et. al. 2006). One of the variables being

scrutinized is homework. How much to give, how often to give it and what it should entail are

all questions that researchers studying the homework-academic performance relationship have

strived to address. The question of how homework affects student academic performance is an

important one considering the ultimate goal as a teacher is for students to be successful and make

an impact in the world.

Literature Review

Zhao (2015) of South China Morning Post (SCMP), reported that excessive homework

made Hong Kong children no time to relax for their Easter holiday. For many primary school
children, there is no time to relax during the four-day Easter holidays, with piles of homework

waiting to be done, says a parent concern group. A co-founder, Leung Mei-yung, added that

normally primary school children also needed to do up to seven pieces of homework every day,

leaving them no time to explore other subjects or their own interests. Another article reported by

the said journalist told that the happiness of Hong Kong schoolchildren dropped to the lowest

while the time spent to homework increased by 40 minutes t according to the survey conducted

by Lingnan University that had their study of 428 primary pupils and 718 junior secondary

pupils who found that ratings among children aged eight to nine and over 14 suffered the

sharpest drop, as the time they spent on their homework was found to be the longest. They also

found that these children had less sleep than they should have at their age.

In addition to that, LeTendre (2015), a Professor of Education in Pennsylvania State

University reported in an online newspaper The Conversation that homework is not related to

academic success in national and worldwide levels. On this report, Trends in Math and science

Study (TIMSS) data showed that even elementary school kids are being burdened with large

amounts of homework. Empirical studies have linked excessive homework to sleep disruption,

indicating a negative relationship between the amount of homework, perceived stress and

physical health.

Duke Today (Ano, 2006) published a synthesis of homework related researches and

studies. More than 60 research studies relating to homework and students’ achievements were

conducted at Duke University. The studies concluded that homework does have appositive effect

on student achievement. The studies further revealed that the positive correlation was much

stronger for secondary students --- those in grades 7 through 12 --- than those in elementary
school. The only exception is that the relationship between the amounts of homework students

does and their achievement outcomes were found to be positive and statistically significant.

Perspectives vary, however. According to Washington Post (2006) reports that the

increase in the amount of student homework has increased arguments against it. Alfie Kohn, a

critic of homework, recently wrote, "There was no consistent linear or curvilinear relation

between the amount of time spent on homework and the child's level of academic achievement"

(2006, 15), while School Library Journal (2005), posits that student are receiving higher grades

with less outside preparation.

Corno and Xu (2004) and Coutts (2004), claims that homework helps students develop

responsibility and life skills and the ability to manage tasks and that it provides experiential

learning, increased motivation, and opportunities to learn to cope with difficulties and

distractions, and academic benefits.

Meanwhile, Gill and Schlossman (1996) said that "leading educational spokespersons

have celebrated homework as essential to raise educational standards, foster high academic

achievement, and upgrade the quality of the labor force, and link family and school in a common

teaching mission".

De Dios (2012) in his online blog Philippine Basic Education, has reported a recent study

about the relationship between homework and learning. The reported data indicates that it is not

necessary to assign huge quantities of homework, but it is important that assignment is

systematic and regular, with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-

directed learning. The study shows that learning outcomes correlate positively with how often

homework is assigned. Therefore, although more homework does not always correlate with

better results especially when it takes too much time, more frequent homework always goes with
better scores. Another related document added by this blogger is the compilation of results from

researches about homework. These includes:

• The link between homework and student achievement is far from clear.

• Homework appears to have more positive effects for certain groups of students:

• Homework may have nonacademic benefits.

• Too much homework may diminish its effectiveness.

• The amount of homework completed by students seems to be more positively

associated with student achievement than the amount of homework assigned by teachers.

• After-school programs that provide homework assistance may improve student

behavior, motivation, and work habits but not necessarily academic achievement.

• The effect of parent involvement in homework is unclear.

• There is little research on connections between specific kinds of homework and

student achievement.

Quismundo (2012) a reporter of Philippine Daily Inquirer surprised the students with her

report that by school opening, there is no more homework instead more seatwork and shorter

lectures will be employed. This new teaching technique better known as Dynamic Learning

Program (DLP) developed by Christopher and Ma. Victoria Bernido, the physicist couple who

earned the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2010 said that it is not only the answers to perennial

problems like the lack of public school teachers and textbooks, but also a 21st-century method

that need not rely on high technology. At the core of DLP is a technique developed by the

Bernidos called parallel learning, where teachers spend only 20 percent of class time introducing

the lesson to students and giving them the remaining 80 percent to answer questions. By the end
of a school year, DLP students would have answered up to 6,000 questions in science, math,

economics and history subjects, among others. And because so much work is already done in

class, there is no longer need to do assignments at home. The program also allows students a

“strategic break” from academics every Wednesday, when they focus on physical education,

music and arts classes.

Conclusion

Homework or assignments have been part of the pupils’ lives in their schooling. The

purpose of which is for the pupils to increase their knowledge and improve their abilities and

skills. (DepEd Memo #392, 2010). Duke University has conducted a research synthesis

regarding homework and academic achievement. The activity showed positive effect on student

achievement. The same result has been yielded by the studies conducted by Corno and Xu (2004)

which states that homework helps students develop responsibility and life skills and the ability to

manage tasks and that it provides experiential learning, increased motivation, and opportunities

to learn to cope with difficulties and distractions, and academic benefits. Gill and Schlossman

(1996) asserts that homework is essential to raise educational standards, foster high academic

achievement, and upgrade the quality of the labor force, and link family and school in a common

teaching mission". De Dios (2012) insists that learning outcomes correlate positively with how

often homework is assigned. Hayward (2010) claims that when students are assigned a

homework assignment, they make a choice to complete that assignment based on whether they

feel it is important to them. McMullen (2007) suggest that a policy change of assigning extra

homework each week primarily improves the achievement of low performing students and

students in low performing schools. Eren& Henderson (2006) upholds that homework is an
important determinant of student test scores. Torio&Torio (2015) revealed that the subjects favor

the giving homework on the following grounds: it helps add knowledge, confidence and

satisfaction.

However, there are also researches and literatures that yields negative or no correlation on

student achievement. Zhao (2015) reported that excessive homework made Hong Kong children

no time to relax for their Easter holiday. LeTendre (2015) that homework is not related to

academic success in national and worldwide levels. Washington Post (2006) reports that the

increase in the amount of student homework has increased arguments against it. School Library

Journal (2005), posits that students are receiving higher grades with less outside preparation.

Quismundo (2012) reported that homework is not going to be given by school opening in the

Philippines as the new teaching technique DLP is being implemented. Bro. Luistro (2010) signed

DepEd memorandum number 392, series of 2010 which gives guidelines on giving homeworks

or assignments to all public elementary school pupils. The memorandum talks about homework

which is banned during weekends for the pupils to enjoy their childhood, and spend quality time

with their parents without being burdened by the thought of doing lots of homework. Tan (2010)

reported that private schools in the Philippines also want to ban homework based on the

memorandum given by DepEd prohibiting public elementary school teachers from giving their

pupils homework to do over the weekend. Luistro added that some private schools are in fact,

already implementing the so-called homework ban.

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