Parental Attitudes Towards Homework in Maltese Primary School Settings: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This paper explores a range of parental attitudes towards homework (HW) in primary school settings in Malta and Gozo. International research suggests that while parental attitudes towards HW vary across certain groups and population characteristics, they tend to be mostly positive. Positive attitudes are associated with increased direct parental involvement, which is in turn thought to improve overall academic performance. However, HW can also become a source of struggle and stress. This study aimed to further explore such claims, as well as develop previous work by local undergraduate researchers in ascertaining major trends in parental attitudes in Maltese primary school settings, and finally, understand how these fit more broadly in the context of Maltese society. A survey design and quantitative analysis of online questionnaire data from a sample of 59 Maltese and Gozitan parents was carried out to test various hypotheses relating to general attitudes towards HW, attitudes towards direct involvement in helping children do their HW, as well as perceptions of HW as stressful, excessive, or too difficult for children. The results showed that despite considering it as a stress factor, Maltese parents held generally positive attitudes towards HW as a valid educational tool, while favouring a less direct approach to helping their children. Maltese children are apparently expected to take a degree of personal responsibility for their HW, which can be interpreted as a crucial requirement for the early education of citizens and independent economic actors in an increasingly individualistic and consumeristic contemporary Maltese society.