Parent Involvement in Homework: A Research Synthesis

Abstract

New emphasis is being placed on the importance of parent involvement in children's education. In a synthesis of research on the effects of parent involvement in homework, a meta-analysis of 14 studies that manipulated parent training for homework involvement reveals that training parents to be involved in their child's homework results in (a) higher rates of homework completion, (b) fewer homework problems, and (c) possibly, improved academic performance among elementary school children. A meta-analysis of 22 samples from 20 studies correlating parent involvement and achievementrelated outcomes reveals (a) positive associations for elementary school and high school students but a negative association for middle school students, (b) a stronger association for parent rule-setting compared with other involvement strategies, and (c) a negative association for mathematicsachievement but a positive association for verbal achievement outcomes. The results suggest that different types of parent involvement in homework have different relationships to achievement and that the type of parent involvement changes as children move through the school grades.

Literature Review

“…However, some scholars argue that parental involvement with homework may also have negative effects (Patall et al 2008;Dumont et al 2012). They point out that the involvement may lead to tensions between parents and children, caused by parental frustrations about the child not performing as expected, or by the frustrations of the child who perceives their parents as too controlling.…”

“…Encouraged by studies showing a positive relationship between parental involvement and student attainment, educational policy makers in the USA, and in western European countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, have initiated and stimulated parent participation programs over the last 15 years (Mattingly et al 2002;Driessen et al 2005;Bakker et al 2007;Patall et al 2008;Selwyn et al 2011). Schools are increasingly using digital technologies to support and promote the involvement of parents, by providing laptop computers, online intranets or learning platforms (Selwyn et al 2011).…”

“…With regard to the role of parental support for homework, it is widely assumed that when parents help their child with homework there are positive effects on student learning and academic achievement; the student will study more efficiently, effectively and with greater focus (Hoover-Dempsey et al 2001;Patall et al 2008). In the long term, parental involvement may have a positive effect on student's ability to engage in adaptive self-regulation by promoting the development of learning strategies such as goal-setting, planning, time management, and attentiveness (Patall et al 2008).…”

“…In the long term, parental involvement may have a positive effect on student's ability to engage in adaptive self-regulation by promoting the development of learning strategies such as goal-setting, planning, time management, and attentiveness (Patall et al 2008). Hoover-Dempsey et al (2001) described three reasons why helping with homework may have these positive effects: (1) modeling, (2) reinforcement, and (3) instruction (see also their general model for parental involvement, mentioned previously).…”

Introduction

“…Although the role of parental involvement in student achievement (and reading literacy in particular) is widely acknowledged, research findings regarding its effect differ considerably (Fan and Chen 2001;Hoover-Dempsey et al 2001;Mattingly et al 2002;Jeynes 2005;Patall et al 2008). Owing to the large variation in the methods used to measure student achievement and parental involvement in these studies, it is difficult to establish whether the inconsistency in the results is caused by differences between educational systems and cultures, or by the method applied and the instruments used.…”