I would like to take advantage of the fact that in these months there is a debate (and that is good) about the school homework, to provide some conclusions published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, and that we have learned thanks to the WATER. For that, and to contribute my reflection as a mother, which coincides with that of so many families! because we don't always say it out loud, but how an overload of homework affects our children's learning, to his FREE time, and to family relationships, whether we like it or not is present.
The study that presents the conclusions of which I speak, has been carried out by the University of Oviedo, and the academic performance of 7725 students with an average age of 13,78 years has been analyzed. I am one of those who think that 'more (homework) does not equal more productive learning'. Of those who believe that homework could even inhibit the natural curiosity in children, and cause them to be unmotivated; Unless, of course, the tasks were, for example, like those proposed by the pedagogue Tonucci: 'that the child live and experience his childhood, and then present his experiences in class'.
In a practical example we find a child with homework in the classic way who must fill in several Natural Sciences cards on a topic about minerals, of which he knows what the book wants to tell. We also found another child who, on an excursion with his parents, had the idea of filling his backpack with stones ... as you know, stones are minerals, this is a reminder for parents who think that it is useless to return home with similar findings. This other child (the second), by dint of thinking about what to do with his collection, decides to weigh and measure each stone, note its color and ... ask his parents what else? To which they respond: 'We photograph them and look for similarities In Internet. The result of his restlessness is taken to class days later, each stone / mineral in its transparent bag. Don't tell me there is no difference.
This cleared up, I continue with my purpose
Not long ago, Eva Bailén started a brave campaign in Change, to request the rationalization of duties. From my point of view, it is completely abusive for 8-year-old children to have homework for three hours every day, it is even more so for Infant children (NOT compulsory stage) to have homework. It does not stop being excessive when boys and girls are in their adolescence, and their interests are 'outside' the home and in building their identity ... how can they maintain a social life if after the Institute they spend four hours in front of books and notebooks?
One of the best reviews on the (not) usefulness of homework I read a few years ago in Pedagogical News. Homework does not serve to develop aspects such as self-discipline or responsibility (as we are led to believe); and also its impact on the academic result is minimal or non-existent in Primary. If this is true, we would be wasting our children's time, and their time is valuable because adulthood lasts much longer than childhood.
And look where one of the latest reports PISA in Focus, comes to reaffirm the idea previously exposed, because apparently 'average hours students spend on homework might not be related to performance' since there are other more decisive factors such as the quality of teaching and the organization of schools. The aforementioned report places the time dedicated to performing tasks that would be productive at a maximum of four hours per week, from then on ... Of course, Spanish children far exceed, and as we have already said since Primary, because - yes - the analyzes PISA is always presented from tests with 15-year-old students.
Furthermore, in All day connected, Alfonso González's experience as a teacher, reaffirms me that homework without useless and anti-pedagogical, in addition they take precedence over activities that are the result of children's own interests (and for them surely more important).
The relationship of self-regulated learning with performance and success
It is a phrase by Javier Suárez Álvarez, main author in “How Much Math, Science Homework is Too Much?”, The study that I told you about at the beginning. After adjusting the gender and socioeconomic status of the participants, and passing questionnaires, they concluded that 'when it comes to homework, how they are done is more important than the quantity'.
The researchers discovered that in Mathematics and Sciences, the results began to decline when the volume of homework was 90/100 minutes per day, whereas between 70 and 90 minutes a day, a small improvement seemed to be observed, little relevant compared to the cost in time invested, which at the end of the week means an extra two hours of work at home.
There are also differences between students attending to the number of them who do not need helpIn this sense, the more autonomous students score higher.
Reading this, we could easily return to the PISA in Focus report that I have commented on, since the possible inequalities that originate homework are analyzed, and that at the same time they are cause tasks are not completed properly.
Homework and stress
With an average of 13 years as we read at the beginning of the entry, it may be that the research has included children from the first, second and third of ESO, and perhaps even sixth of Primary, these data I do not know. They are still too young to experience stress levels derived from frustration with time spent on tasks. Duties are usually repetitive, mechanical and uncreative, the basic competences for which they bet in other countries are not being promoted.
In the Las Condes Clinical Medical Journal, clarify that students face situations of high demand, to which they must adapt. Stress is an adaptive response, but it becomes unhealthy when it causes anxiety, behavioral and emotional symptoms.
Stress can also generate frustration, and academic pressure is a source of insecurity and low self-confidence.
You see, I am aware that talking about homework is causing controversy: some position themselves, others do not, some think it is good that children do homework ('they are forging a future', or something similar, I add). There are those who would prefer that there were no homework, taking into account that in our country the annual number of teaching hours exceeds that of others with better results in international tests. Parents who consider it, who do not, who prefer not to think, who are afraid to comment 'It is not going to be that the child catches a mania at school'.
And I, you have already got an idea of my position, and how I have selected sources that agree with me, but not because I want to be right, but because I am concerned about the present of my children, and because I know that if they are overwhelmed with homework will not want to learn. Because they may want to play more or have hobbies and they just… don't have time.
And what do you think?