Getting ready for school means getting ready for homework-for parents as well as for children. Although there are many factors in a student's success in school, homework is one factor on which parents can work closely with their children. In fact, many researchers have examined the impact that parental involvement has on homework success [1; 2; 4; 8], and, in general, parents' involvement in their children's homework can help children to do well in school. Wang et al.(1993, cited in [8]) say that the home environment is one of the most important factors influencing academic performance.

With this fact in mind, here are some suggestions from researchers concerning what parents can do to assist their children with homework [1; 10; 13].
1 Make homework a priority.
2 Encourage children to take responsibility for completing their assignments.
3 Set rules making homework more important than other activities such as TV, games, etc.
4 Supply children with the materials they need to do work both at school and at home.
5 Model good behavior by reading and writing yourself.
6 Show interest in your children's learning/education.
7 Talk to your children about school.
Show interest in what your children are learning about.
8 Encourage children to ask and answer questions about what they are studying.
9 Help your children learn more about things they are interested in.
10 Set up family literacy-related activities, such as regular trips to the library, and reading together and to each other.
11 Attend or participate in school activities.
Know the homework policy of your children's teachers.
12 Know what type of assignments children are expected to complete.
13 Find out how much time children are expected to spend on homework each night.
14 Find out what type of parental involvement each teacher expects.
15 Encourage your children's school to set up homework hotlines and a Web site that allows teachers to post daily assignments and other information to help parents know what their children are working on.
16 Set aside a time and place to study and to do homework.
17 Create a place at home that makes it easy for children to study and learn.
18 Set a time children can devote to doing homework.
19 Eliminate distractions such as TV, telephone, and other noises while children are studying.
Some children may find it easier to work with soft music playing; others may not.
20 Help children identify the best way for them to do their assignments.
21 Help your children keep track of daily assignments.
22 Check homework schedules each day.
23 Call your local homework hotline, if available.
24 Check your child's completed homework.
25 Check to ensure that work is complete and neat.
26 Read teacher comments on graded assignments to see what areas your children need to work on.
27 Help your children develop a study plan.
28 Help children identify what they need to accomplish during each study session.
29 Make sure children read and follow directions on all assignments before beginning work.
30 Make sure children understand what they are expected to do.
31 It is usually a good idea to begin with the most difficult work first.
32 Allow children to take breaks based on their individual needs.
33 Help your children learn time management skills.
34 Establish and follow a daily schedule.
35 Encourage children to complete homework when it is assigned, not just before it is due.
36 Help children learn to break longer assignments down into shorter sections.
37 Be consistent!

Enforce the rules you establish for your children. Children of all ages and grade levels sometimes need parental involvement in homework.
In spite of the research, some parents may feel that they are not prepared to assist their children with homework. Families and parents who have difficulty speaking, reading, and writing English may be reluctant to get involved with their children's school work. Although these families value education and would like to see their children succeed, they often do not feel prepared to help them do so [5; 11]. Even so, research suggests that all children benefit when parents are actively involved in their children's education. Homework provides a learning opportunity for both parents and children regardless of their educational background. Schools and communities can encourage parents to be involved by providing help in translating resources into other languages, offering family literacy programs and workshops, making home visits, and training faculty and staff specifically to address their needs [5; 11; 14].

Increasing Amounts of Homework: Too Much of a Good Thing? For students and parents, preparing for homework is a big task, and it seems to be getting larger all the time. The amount of homework assigned to students continually increased over the past few decades. Between 1985 and 2000, students as young as third-graders experienced a 40% increase in the amount of homework assigned [3]. Similarly, children ages 6 to 8 years went from receiving an average of 44 minutes of homework in 1981 to an average of 120 minutes by 1997 [12].

One reason for the increase in the amount of homework assigned is the recent emphasis on school accountability. As teachers are increasingly pressured to improve standardized test scores, many feel compelled to assign more homework. For the same reasons, many parents also feel pressured to emphasize the importance of homework, and to make their children spend more time on it [3]. But the research on the positive and negative impacts of homework leaves it unclear whether more homework helps students and their families in the short run or the long run.

How homework can help. Some researchers believe that completing homework may improve academic performance [2; 6]. Homework also provides parents and children with an opportunity to review, determine what children have learned, and identify problem areas [13]. In their study of Project REACH, Callahan et al [4] . specifically focused on the impact parent participation has on the ability of at-risk students to complete homework assignments. (Students are regarded as at-risk of failing in school if they are burdened by poverty or other socioeconomic challenges that make it difficult for them succeed [7].) These researchers concluded that parental involvement is extremely valuable for at-risk students since completing homework can help to prevent poor academic performance and school failure [4].

Research suggests that doing homework also helps students to:

1 review what they learned at school during the day;
2 prepare for upcoming lessons;
3 learn to use resources and reference materials such as encyclopedias, libraries, and the Internet;
4 learn more about a subject than can be covered in class;
5 develop good study habits and time management skills; and
6 learn to be responsible [1].

How homework can hurt. But despite its longstanding use in education, homework and its effects remain controversial. Researchers such as Kralovec and Buell have voiced strong opposition to homework. Referring to homework as a "black hole," these authors discuss a few myths that have perpetuated the use of homework in our schools.

First of all, many educators and parents continue to support the use of homework because they believe that it will lead to academic improvement. However, Kralovec and Buell argue that there is no real evidence to bolster this position, since many homework researchers admit that the academic achievement of elementary students does not improve as a result of doing work at home (Cooper, 1994 cited in [9]). Furthermore, these authors also suggest that doing homework can actually be detrimental if it requires students to complete activities that they are not developmentally prepared to do [9].

Another homework concept these authors regard as a myth is the fear that not assigning homework will encourage students to be lazy and dilute an already limited curriculum. Although they feel it is important for students to learn to work independently, Kralovec and Buell question the value of having students complete work at home. These authors suggest that many students feel overwhelmed by homework. Some dropouts even cite it as one of the reasons they initially chose to leave high school. These researchers also contend that homework can be disrupting to family life by making it even more difficult to schedule family activities. Moreover, they also argue that homework actually perpetuates existing social inequalities since students from impoverished families do not have the same access to parents' time, computers, and other resources needed to complete homework assignments [9].

Even though the debate about homework will continue, parents can be prepared to help their children at home. If parents feel that their child is being overwhelmed with extra work, they may wish to talk with the teacher. Sometimes, a minor adjustment in the child's school schedule will allow more time for homework completion at school so family time is not disrupted.

For more information

A checklist for helping your child with homework. (1996). Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (ERIC Document No. ED401045)

Amundson, Kristen J. (1999). 106 ways parents can help students achieve. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators. (ERIC Document No. ED436292)

Berkowitz, Robert E. (1998). Helping with homework: A parent's guide to information problem-solving. Emergency Librarian, 25(4), 45-46.

Berkowitz, Robert E. (1996). Helping with homework: A parent's guide to information problem-solving. ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://ericir.syr.edu/ithome/digests/helphome.html (ERIC Document No. ED402950)

BigChalk: The Education Network http://www.bigchalk.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/6/wa/BCPageDA/pg~PortalMain

Carter, Rebecca S., & Wojtkiewicz, Roger A. (2000). Parental involvement with adolescents' education: Do daughters or sons get more help? Adolescence, 35(137), 29-44. (ERIC Journal No. EJ619324)

Cooper, Harris. (2001). The battle over homework: Common ground for administrators, teachers, and parents. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.

Elksnin, Linda K., & Elksnin, Nick. (2000). Teaching parents to teach their children to be prosocial. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36(1), 27-35.

FamilyEducation.com http://familyeducation.com/home/

HomeworkSpot.com http://www.homeworkspot.com/parent/helpingwithhomework.htm

Kliman, Marlene. (1999). Beyond helping with homework: Parents and children doing mathematics at home. Teaching Children Mathematics, 6(3), 140-146. (ERIC Journal No. EJ597951)

Kralovec, Etta & Buell, John. (2000). The end of homework: How homework disrupts families, overburdens children, and limits learning. Boston, MA: Beacon.

My Homework Helper http://www.homeworkspot.com/parent/helpingwithhomework.htm

NPIN Virtual Library http://npin.org/library.html

O'Rourke-Ferrara, Catherine. (1998). "Did you complete all your homework tonight, dear?". Unpublished paper. (ERIC Document No. ED425862)

Reese, Debbie. (1997). Homework: What does the research say? Parent News [Online]. Available: http://npin.org/pnews/1997/pnewn97/pnewn97e.html

Revenaugh, Mickey. (2000). Toward a 24/7 learning community. Educational Leadership, 58(2), 25-28. (ERIC Journal No. EJ616293)

Schoolwork.ugh!
http://www.schoolwork.org/

Walker, Joan M.; Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V.; Reed, Richard P.; & Jones, Kathleen P. (2000). "Can you help me with my homework?" Elementary school children's invitations and perspectives on parental involvement. Unpublished paper. (ERIC Document No. ED443581)

You can motivate your child to learn! Ten fun and easy tips [and] Usted puede motivar a sus hijos a aprender! Diez sugerencias faciles y divertidas. (1997). Unpublished paper. (ERIC Document No. ED429308)

Sources

[1] Amundson, Kristen J. (1999). Helping your child with homework. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators. (ERIC Document No. ED436295)

[2] Balli, Sandra J.; Wedman, John F.; & Demo, David H. (1997). Family involvement with middle-grades homework: Effects of differential prompting. Journal of Experimental Education, 66(1), 31-48. (ERIC Journal No. EJ565844)

[3] Buell, John. (2000). The politics of homework. Humanist, 60(6), 39-40.

[4] Callahan, Kevin; Rademacher, Joyce A.; & Hildreth, Bertina L. (1998). The effect of parent participation in strategies to improve the homework performance of students who are at risk. Remedial and Special Education, 19(3), 131-141. (ERIC Journal No. EJ567436)

[5] Chavkin, Nancy F. (Ed.). (1991). Family lives and parental involvement in migrant students' education. ERIC Digest. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed335174.html

[6] Cooper, Harris M. (2001). Homework for all-in moderation. Educational Leadership, 58(7), 34-38.

[7] Education Week. (2001). Glossary of terms: At risk [Online]. Available: http://www.edweek.org/context/glossary/glossterm.cfm?glossid=12

[8] Finn, Jeremy D. (1998). Parental engagement that makes a difference. Educational Leadership, 55(8), 20-24. (ERIC Journal No. EJ565121)

[9] Kralovec, Etta, & Buell, John. (2001). End homework now. Educational Leadership, 58(7), 39-42.

[10] Let's do homework! Learning partners (1996). Available: http://npin.org/library/pre1998/n00259/n00259.html

[11] Lewis, Anne (Ed.). (1992). Helping young urban parents educate themselves and their children. ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed355314.html

[12] Lord, Mary. (2000). Burdened by their book bags. U.S. News & World Report, 129(16), 60.

[13] Olympia, Daniel; Jenson, William; & Hepworth-Neville, Melanie. (1996). Sanity savers for parents: Tips for tackling homework. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

[14] Simich-Dudgeon, Carmen (Ed.). (1986). Parent involvement and the education of limited-English-proficient students. ERIC Digest [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed279205.html