Date of Award

12-1988

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Gene Henderson

Second Advisor

Jeanne Donovan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to survey parents and teachers of children in kindergarten through sixth grade in the Francis Howell School District to determine opinions regarding the value and scope of homework in the elementary school. It was also designed to determine t heir awareness of district homework policy.

All data in the study were gathered by means of a printed questionnaire, which was developed so it could be answered by both parents and teachers . Two hundred participants (150 parents and 50 teachers) were randomly chosen to be part of the study. The questionnaires, along with cover letters and return envelopes, were mailed to all the participants. Follow-up letters, second questionnaires, and return envelopes were sent after two weeks to those who did not initially respond. One hundred nineteen parents (79%) and 46 teachers (92%) returned completed surveys.

It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference between the opinions of parents and teachers regarding the statement that homework is a valuable tool in the teaching-learning process of elementary children . This hypothesis was not rejected . It was also hypothesized that there would be significant differences between the opinions of parents and teachers regarding the reasons for homework being valuable, the subjects in which homework was most valuable, and the reasons for homework not being valuable. These hypotheses were rejected .

Analysis of the data revealed that less than one-fourth of the parents and just over half of the teachers were aware of what the district ' s homework policy stated. It also revealed there was strong agreement between parents and teachers regarding the value of homework in the elementary school, who should plan the homework assignments, whether or not homework should be assigned on weekends, holidays, or as punishment, the time that should be devoted to homework in kindergarten through fifth grade, and the reasons homework was not valuable in the in the elementary school . There was general agreement between parents and teachers regarding the reasons homework was valuable in the elementary school and the subjects in which homework was most valuable. There was mild disagreement between parents and teachers regarding the type of homework that should be assigned, how often homework should be assigned, the grade level in which homework should begin, and bow much time should be devoted to homework in sixth grade. There was strong disagreement between parents and teachers regarding whether or not homework should be used in determining report card grades .

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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