How Do Student Prior Achievement and Homework Behaviors Relate to Perceived Parental Involvement in Homework?

José C Núñez,Joyce L Epstein,Natalia Suárez,Guillermo Vallejo,Pedro Rosário,Antonio Valle

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01217

Abstract

This study investigated how students’ prior achievement is related to their homework behaviors (i.e., time spent on homework, homework time management, and amount of homework), and to their perceptions of parental involvement in homework (i.e., parental control and parental support). A total of 1250 secondary students from 7 to 10th grade participated in the study. Structural equation models were fitted to the data, compared, and a partial mediation model was chosen. The results indicated that students’ prior academic performance was significantly associated with both of the students’ homework variables, with direct and indirect results linking achievement and homework behaviors with perceived parental control and support behaviors about homework. Low-achieving students, in particular, perceived more parental control of homework in the secondary grades. These results, together with those of previous research, suggest a recursive relationship between secondary school students’ achievement and their perceptions of parental involvement in homework, which represents the process of student learning and family engagement over time. Study limitations and educational implications are discussed.

Highlights

Homework was defined by Cooper (1989) some years ago as the tasks assigned by teachers to students to be completed outside the class
(1) Prior academic achievement is positively and significantly associated with children’s homework behaviors; (2) Children’s homework behaviors are associated with their perceptions of parental involvement in homework; (3) Prior academic achievement is associated directly and negatively with students’ reports of parental involvement in homework; and
Significant and positive associations were found between prior academic achievement and the time students spend on homework, the management of this time, and the amount of homework completed

Summary

Introduction

Homework was defined by Cooper (1989) some years ago as the tasks assigned by teachers to students to be completed outside the class. Epstein and van Voorhis (2012) identified homework as a natural connector of school and home. In these ways, homework is one of the most common school activities involving teachers, students, and parents (Rosário et al, 2015). There have been serious debates in Spanish schools and in other countries about whether or not teachers should assign homework. The debates involve students’ complaints about the time required to do their homework, parents’ complaints about the quantity of homework assigned and their lack of information on how to guide their child on homework tasks, and, teachers’ complaints about the lack of time to design effective homework assignments and deliver feedback to students, and the lack of parental support for students to do their work (Cooper et al, 2006).

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