Costs and benefits of family involvement in homework

FLV Voorhis - Journal of advanced academics, 2011 - journals.sagepub.com
FLV Voorhis
Journal of advanced academics, 2011journals.sagepub.com
Homework represents one research-based instructional strategy linked to student
achievement. However, challenges abound with its current practice. This paper presents the
results of three 2-year longitudinal interventions of the Teachers Involve Parents in
Schoolwork (TIPS) homework program in elementary mathematics, middle school language
arts, and middle school science. Each weekly standards-related TIPS assignment included
specific instructions for students to involve a family partner in a discussion, interview …
Homework represents one research-based instructional strategy linked to student achievement. However, challenges abound with its current practice. This paper presents the results of three 2-year longitudinal interventions of the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) homework program in elementary mathematics, middle school language arts, and middle school science. Each weekly standards-related TIPS assignment included specific instructions for students to involve a family partner in a discussion, interview, experiment, or other interaction. Depending on subject and grade level, TIPS students returned between 72% and 91% of TIPS activities, and families signed between 55% and 83% of TIPS assignments. TIPS students and families responded significantly more positively than controls to questions about their emotions and attitudes about the homework experience, and TIPS families and students reported higher levels of family involvement in the TIPS subject. No differences emerged in the amount of time students spent on subject homework across the homework groups, but students using TIPS for 2 years earned significantly higher standardized test scores than did controls. The findings suggest that the benefits of TIPS intervention in terms of emotion and achievement outweigh its associated costs.
Sage Journals