Homework can be hard. However, it is an opportunity students to re-visit what they have learned, further cementing it into their memory, as well as practise applying it outside of the classroom.
It’s tempting for parents and guardians to help them, especially when they’re really struggling. But should they? To what extent? And does their help impact a child’s academic achievement? To answer this, we looked at recent research about how parents and guardians can effectively support learning at home…
What does the research say?
A 2022 study measured parental involvement both in Maths homework, and Maths activities which involved applying Maths skills to the real world. For example, choosing the correct number of coins to make a purchase or measuring when cooking. Here are the main findings from this study:
- When parents did not feel capable to help with homework, their child picked up on the lack of confidence and felt less motivated, having a negative impact on the experience.
- The more that parents felt capable of helping, the more engaged their children were in the homework task.
- Parents had more positive feelings about and more constructive involvement in activities relating to real-world applications than they did with homework.
The main takeaway here: helping their child do homework may or may not be beneficial. It all lies in how the parent feels about it themselves. If the parent themselves is lacking confidence, it might make homework less enjoyable for the child and reduce their motivation to complete tasks that the adult finds difficult.
The benefits of independent study
So, parents and guardians might boost their child’s confidence by getting involved with their homework. But how does that affect their learning and performance? Here are some of the benefits of encouraging children to complete homework on their own…
On academic achievement
Research has suggested that children who do their homework without help perform 10% better in exams than those who had help from parents/guardians. When children do their homework on their own, it can push them outside of their comfort zone, challenge them, and get them closer to their full potential.
On mindset
When children overcome setbacks on their own, it can help them develop resilience and grit. As a result, when they are faced with challenging homework tasks in the future, they will feel less overwhelmed and more able to deal with any difficulties.
On memory
Independent homework requires children to actively recall information without looking to others for guidance. Also known as Retrieval Practice, this highly useful study strategy aids learning because children strengthen memory traces when they generate answers to questions. As a result, they can transfer what they learn into their long-term memory more easily, so that there is room for them to progress to more complex homework tasks.
How to help your child with their homework
Even though directly supervising children whilst they do their homework may not be the best approach, parents and guardians can still positively impact their learning at home.
Setting a routine can elevate the benefits of homework. Research shows that clear homework rules and consistent routines have a positive impact on academic achievement. Encourage parents to make a plan with their child, including both leisure and homework time, to help them organise themselves better and avoid procrastination. Not only is this beneficial for home learning, but this will also help them to thrive at school. For even more tips, check out our blog: 10 ways to help your child with their homework.
Final Thoughts
We all know that most children would rather not sit down and do homework after a long day at school. But we also know that homework makes a difference in students’ learning – and that their parents or guardians are best placed to support this.
While getting involved in homework could make this experience even more negative for them, especially with most parents in the UK not feeling confident helping their child with homework, being hands-on in other ways can make home learning more exciting and productive.
To discover more about setting homework, we recommend checking out Dr Jo Castelino’s “The Homework Conundrum”, part of the Teacher CPD Academy book series. Find out more and get your copy here.
