The Case for and against Homework.

Homework has been a perennial topic of debate in education, and attitudes toward it have been cyclical (Gill & Schlossman, 2000). Throughout the first few decades of the 20th century, educators commonly believed that homework helped create disciplined minds. By 1940, growing concern that homework interfered with other home activities sparked a reaction against it. This trend was reversed in the late 1950s when the Soviets' launch of Sputnik led to concern that U.S. education lacked rigor; schools viewed more rigorous homework as a partial solution to the problem. By 1980, the trend had reversed again, with some learning theorists claiming that homework could be detrimental to students' mental health. Since then, impassioned arguments for and against homework have continued to proliferate.

[1]  S. Schlossman,et al.  The Lost Cause of Homework Reform , 2000, American Journal of Education.

[2]  J. Hattie,et al.  Syntheses of educational productivity research , 1987 .

[3]  A. Kohn.  Abusing Research: The Study of Homework and other Examples , 2006 .

[4]  Henry Jay Becker,et al.  Teachers' Reported Practices of Parent Involvement: Problems and Possibilities , 1982, The Elementary School Journal.

[5]  Harris Cooper,et al.  Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003 , 2006 .

[6]  L. Corno.  Homework Is a Complicated Thing , 1996 .

[7]  Chen-Lin C. Kulik,et al.  The Instructional Effect of Feedback in Test-Like Events , 1991 .

[8]  John Hattie,et al.  Measuring the Effects of Schooling , 1992 .

[9]  Mona P. Potter,et al.  The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing , 2007 .

[10]  Thomas L. Good,et al.  Looking in Classrooms , 1973 .

[11]  B. Bloom.  The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-One Tutoring , 1984 .

[12]  H. Walberg,et al.  The Effects of Homework on Learning: A Quantitative Synthesis , 1984 .

[13]  Harris Cooper,et al.  Synthesis of Research on Homework. , 1989 .

[14]  Peggy G. Perkins,et al.  Parent Involvement in Homework: A Double-Edged Sword , 1996 .

[15]  H. Walberg,et al.  School-Based Home Instruction and Learning: A Quantitative Synthesis. , 1983 .

[16]  E. Kralovec,et al.  The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning , 2000 .

[17]  F. L. V. Voorhis.  Interactive Homework in Middle School: Effects on Family Involvement and Science Achievement , 2003 .

[18]  Carolyn Riehl,et al.  Feeling Better: A Comparison of Medical Research and Education Research , 2006 .

[19]  Kathleen V. Hoover-dempsey,et al.  Parents' Reported Involvement in Students' Homework: Strategies and Practices , 1995, The Elementary School Journal.

[20]  S. Balli.  When mom and dad help : Student reflections on parent involvement with homework , 1998 .

[21]  J. Epstein.  School, Family, And Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators And Improving Schools , 2001 .