Do learners need homework? Will homework help improve grades and master the material? The debate about the appropriateness of homework has been going on for years. We are immersed in this topic and now share statistics, research results, and practical advice.
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Homework In Different Countries
How many hours do learners from all over the world spend on homework? In 2014, the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published data from countries participating in the international PISA test.
It turned out that most of the time for homework is spent in Shanghai (China) – an average of 14 hours a week. Russia is followed by Kazakhstan, Singapore, and Italy – on average, 7 hours of homework per week. Finnish and Korean children have the lowest workload – a little more than two hours a week. Unfortunately, there are no such statistics about Ukraine, because at that time it did not take part in the test.
The amount of homework is influenced not only by the workload at school. OECD statistics show that parents’ education and family security also play a role.
In particular, children from families with a high index of economic, social, and cultural status (ISEI) spend more time on homework. After all, such children usually have optimal conditions for learning at home, and parents emphasize that doing homework is important.
However, over the years, the workload of homework decreases. In 2003, Russian children spent almost 14 hours a week on assignments, and in 2012 only 10. And, seeing how students benefit from employing paper writing service MasterPapers, maybe, it’s a good general trend.
According to OECD statistics, the number of homework hours in 2012 was less than in 2003 (excluding Australia, Austria, and the United States).
How Many Hours Of Homework Is Optimal?
The same OECD statistics state that 4 hours of homework per week is the optimal workload. And increasing the number of tasks over 4 hours will not give significant improvements in learning. However, one should pay attention to the average data for different countries.
In Hong Kong, one extra hour of homework increased the PISA score by 17 points. In Switzerland, on the other hand, an increase in load led to a deterioration in test results. So how much do you still need to do homework? And is it necessary at all? Let’s turn to scientific research.
Do you need homework?
In 2016, teacher Brandy Young from Texas decided to give up homework. The parents of one of her learners posted a letter from the teacher on Facebook. He later scored more than 68,000 reposts and attracted the attention of TIME and USA Today. This implicitly confirms just how many young students delegate their homework to services like MasterPapers because they don’t see the point of most homework.
In the letter, Brandy Young notes, “Science has not been able to prove that homework improves performance.” So, she canceled them, and the learners only had to finish at home what they did not have time to finish in class. Brandy Young advised spending free time in classes that really, according to research, improve the results of learners. For example, having dinner with the family, reading, playing in the fresh air, and going to bed early.
But can homework really be neglected? In 2006, researchers from Duke University published a review of research for 1987-2003. The results of these studies show that homework improves learners’ academic performance. Positive changes are more noticeable in learners in grades 7-12 of American schools and less noticeable in children in grades 1-6. However, the authors of the review note that all studies had shortcomings in the design of the experiment.
A recent meta-analysis for 1986-2015 confirmed the previous findings. However, in contrast to the previous analysis, learning outcomes improved significantly in elementary and middle school learners, and less in secondary school learners. In 2007, the scientific journal Educational Leadership published The Case For and Against Homework. It talks about the positive and negative effects of homework. Of course, according to the results of scientific research. In particular, the authors cite the study of H. Cooper – Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, who studies the impact of homework on children over 25 years.
Cooper supports the “rule of a 10-minute period”, common in American schools. According to this rule, the optimal amount of time for homework is a 10-minute period multiplied by the class. That is a 10-minute period for the first class, 20 minutes for the second, and so on. If the homework involves reading, the 10-minute period can be increased to 15. By the way, this is the time for all homework in all subjects.
Concluding
Thus, homework is still needed for more effective learning, and its scope varies depending on the age of the children. According to the same OECD recommendations, up to 4 hours of homework, a week is enough. According to the practice of American schools – 10-minute period * class – a convenient way to calculate the load.
In fact, the number of homework hours is not the only factor influencing learner achievement. The quality of teaching and the creation of conditions for schooling also play an important role. What matters is not how much time the learner has spent on textbooks at home, but how many tasks he has actually completed.
After all, if homework is difficult to understand, if it contains errors or shortcomings in the structure – the learner will spend more time on it. Will the rule “More time – better results” apply in this case? Probably not. That’s why there is a big incentive for students to search for articles like the 2021 Trusted Academic Essay Writing Services Review and get academic help. Doing this allows them to focus specifically on learning and not doing repetitive tasks.
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