Now here’s a study that the kids can take to school, a little extra curricular reading that should help out in the goal of achieving a little more free time.
The first ever Canadian study into homework, has determined that it is of little benefit to children from grades kindergarten to six and in fact may be the source of stress and burnout of the under 11 set.
The study was heavily influenced by educational developments in Ontario over the last few years. That province has seen a number of changes over the course of the last few years, including the elimination of Grade thirteen and compressing that year into the previous four grades.
The study found that while parents like the structure and good study habits that homework provides for their children, they also feared that it was interfering with family time, play time and causing family stress and even marital troubles.
The key points of the study included:
Not only does homework cut into family time, it becomes a primary source of arguments, power struggles and is disruptive to building a strong family, including putting strain on marriages. Bruni said it even negatively affects family holidays.
A large number of children in kindergarten are assigned homework, most of it "drill and practice."
28 per cent of Grade 1 students and more than 50 per cent of Grade 2 students spend more than 20 minutes on homework daily.
While there's no real difference in the attitude of children toward homework, Ontario parents definitely feel more negative about it than others across the country.
More than three-quarters of parents with children in Grade 4 and under help their children with homework. But, by Grade 4, only half of parents feel they are competent enough to do so.
Parents are unsure about the benefits of homework; by Grade 5, just 20 per cent of parents feel it has a "positive effect on achievement."
Half of children in junior kindergarten are enthusiastic about homework; by Grade 6, it drops to just 6 per cent and by Grade 12, just 4 per cent.
However all is not lost, for the middle school grades and high school programs research shows that there are some benefits to homework in grades 7 and 8 as well as high school, so any free ride on homework would end after Grade six.
All in all a change that would make grade seven a particularly interesting year for students, not only preparing them for the high school years ahead, but suddenly introducing a concept that the school day doesn’t actually end at 3 pm.
The first ever Canadian study into homework, has determined that it is of little benefit to children from grades kindergarten to six and in fact may be the source of stress and burnout of the under 11 set.
The study was heavily influenced by educational developments in Ontario over the last few years. That province has seen a number of changes over the course of the last few years, including the elimination of Grade thirteen and compressing that year into the previous four grades.
The study found that while parents like the structure and good study habits that homework provides for their children, they also feared that it was interfering with family time, play time and causing family stress and even marital troubles.
The key points of the study included:
Not only does homework cut into family time, it becomes a primary source of arguments, power struggles and is disruptive to building a strong family, including putting strain on marriages. Bruni said it even negatively affects family holidays.
A large number of children in kindergarten are assigned homework, most of it "drill and practice."
28 per cent of Grade 1 students and more than 50 per cent of Grade 2 students spend more than 20 minutes on homework daily.
While there's no real difference in the attitude of children toward homework, Ontario parents definitely feel more negative about it than others across the country.
More than three-quarters of parents with children in Grade 4 and under help their children with homework. But, by Grade 4, only half of parents feel they are competent enough to do so.
Parents are unsure about the benefits of homework; by Grade 5, just 20 per cent of parents feel it has a "positive effect on achievement."
Half of children in junior kindergarten are enthusiastic about homework; by Grade 6, it drops to just 6 per cent and by Grade 12, just 4 per cent.
However all is not lost, for the middle school grades and high school programs research shows that there are some benefits to homework in grades 7 and 8 as well as high school, so any free ride on homework would end after Grade six.
All in all a change that would make grade seven a particularly interesting year for students, not only preparing them for the high school years ahead, but suddenly introducing a concept that the school day doesn’t actually end at 3 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment