What does the research say about homework, and how should we use that knowledge in making decisions about homework? As we examine the research on homework, it is important to understand the complexity of the process of homework, the limitations of the research, and the simplistic view of learning behind much of the research. Before using homework research to make educational decisions, it is important to first view the research through a critical lens.
A Complicated Practice
One would hope that the outcome of any instructional strategy, including homework, would be to improve learning. The problem is that homework involves the complex interaction of a number of factors (Cooper, 1989a; Corno, 1996). Educators know that differences exist in children, teachers, tasks, home environments, and measurements of learning, and that the interaction of homework and classroom learning is unique to individual students.
The whole game of homework is extremely complicated; homework is not necessarily a uniformly "good thing" for all students. Many if not most of teachers' purposes for assigning homework can only be accomplished under certain circumstances. … What is absolutely clear, from the bulk of the research evidence, is that the process of assigning and doing homework rarely works in the idealized way that laypeople—and apparently, most policymakers—envision it. (Corno, 1996, p. 27)
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