Publication
Homework monitoring in mathematics: mapping and examining practices of teachers, students and parents
| Summary: | Homework, defined as the set of tasks assigned by teachers to students to be completed during non-school hours, is widely used in schools as a tool to promote students’ learning. This has been consistently studied for the last decades in order to analyze its impact on students’ academic achievement and behavioral, cognitive, motivational and emotional variables. Recently, the research has been focused on exploring and analyzing variables related to each of the actors in the homework process (i.e. teachers, students, and parents) to maximize the benefits of homework. In order to fill the gaps in the research (focused mainly on the process of monitoring homework by teachers and students in the classroom, as well as by parents at home), the first part of this thesis is comprised of three studies: i) a qualitative study that aims to explore teachers’ conceptions of the homework feedback focusing on four key aspects: definition, purpose, types of practices, and perceived impact; ii) a mixed methods study (sequential explanatory design) that aims to understand the predictive impact of five types of homework feedback reported by teachers and perceived by students on students’ school engagement; and iii) a quantitative study that aims to validate the parental homework management scale. Given that mathematics is a subject of great relevance to other areas of knowledge, as well as a concern for educators due to the high rates of failure in the subject, all studies are focused on mathematics. In the first study, 47 elementary and middle school teachers participated. Data were collected through two methods (focus groups and classroom observations) and analyzed through content analysis. Findings indicated that participants conceptualized homework feedback in three directions (i.e. teachers’ feedback provided to students, students’ feedback provided to teachers, and homework self-feedback), and the purpose reported by most teachers is their monitoring of students’ learning. Participants also reported the types of homework feedback frequently used in class (corroborated by classroom observations) and their perceived impact on students. This study provided implications for educational practice (e.g., identification of specific training needs) and for research (e.g., relationships between homework feedback types and dimensions of student school engagement that were not yet analyzed). In the second study, 4,288 6th grade students and their teachers (N = 170) participated in the quantitative phase. At this phase, multivariate multilevel regression models showed positive and statistically significant relationships between the five types of homework feedback and the students' school engagement, although with low effect sizes and with different results at the student and class levels. In the qualitative phase of this mixed methods study, 29 students were randomly selected to participate from the initial sample. Thematically analyzed data indicated, among other aspects, that students: i) did not identify some homework feedback types (e.g., praise); ii) reported maladaptive behaviors during homework monitoring in the classroom (e.g., students did not check their homework); and iii) reported not using the homework feedback provided on a regular basis. The data allowed concluding that homework feedback is beneficial for students' school engagement, yet their full potential is not reached. In the third study, 2,118 parent-child dyads (6th grade) were split into two groups to conduct two phases of data analysis: exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that the parental homework management scale is comprised of two distinct yet related factors: environment-time and motivation-emotion management. The scale revealed good psychometric quality, being a useful instrument for future research. The results of the research are of great relevance for educational practice. However, teachers do not have enough time or technical knowledge to interpret results of the studies due to its complexity. For these reasons and in order to contribute to improve teachers’ homework practices and, consequently, students' learning; the second part of this thesis presents two documents aiming to disseminate the results of research: i) an article focused on homework practices under a self-regulated learning lens, and ii) an e-book focused on feedback practices in general and on homework feedback in particular. |
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| Main Authors: | Cunha, Jennifer Silva |
| Subject: | Homework Homework monitoring Feedback School engagement Parental involvement Mathematics Trabalho para casa Monitorização do TPC Envolvimento escolar Envolvimento parental Matemática Ciências Sociais::Psicologia |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Document type: | doctoral thesis |
| Access type: | restricted access |
| Associated institution: | Universidade do Minho |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Origin: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Summary: | Homework, defined as the set of tasks assigned by teachers to students to be completed during non-school hours, is widely used in schools as a tool to promote students’ learning. This has been consistently studied for the last decades in order to analyze its impact on students’ academic achievement and behavioral, cognitive, motivational and emotional variables. Recently, the research has been focused on exploring and analyzing variables related to each of the actors in the homework process (i.e. teachers, students, and parents) to maximize the benefits of homework. In order to fill the gaps in the research (focused mainly on the process of monitoring homework by teachers and students in the classroom, as well as by parents at home), the first part of this thesis is comprised of three studies: i) a qualitative study that aims to explore teachers’ conceptions of the homework feedback focusing on four key aspects: definition, purpose, types of practices, and perceived impact; ii) a mixed methods study (sequential explanatory design) that aims to understand the predictive impact of five types of homework feedback reported by teachers and perceived by students on students’ school engagement; and iii) a quantitative study that aims to validate the parental homework management scale. Given that mathematics is a subject of great relevance to other areas of knowledge, as well as a concern for educators due to the high rates of failure in the subject, all studies are focused on mathematics. In the first study, 47 elementary and middle school teachers participated. Data were collected through two methods (focus groups and classroom observations) and analyzed through content analysis. Findings indicated that participants conceptualized homework feedback in three directions (i.e. teachers’ feedback provided to students, students’ feedback provided to teachers, and homework self-feedback), and the purpose reported by most teachers is their monitoring of students’ learning. Participants also reported the types of homework feedback frequently used in class (corroborated by classroom observations) and their perceived impact on students. This study provided implications for educational practice (e.g., identification of specific training needs) and for research (e.g., relationships between homework feedback types and dimensions of student school engagement that were not yet analyzed). In the second study, 4,288 6th grade students and their teachers (N = 170) participated in the quantitative phase. At this phase, multivariate multilevel regression models showed positive and statistically significant relationships between the five types of homework feedback and the students' school engagement, although with low effect sizes and with different results at the student and class levels. In the qualitative phase of this mixed methods study, 29 students were randomly selected to participate from the initial sample. Thematically analyzed data indicated, among other aspects, that students: i) did not identify some homework feedback types (e.g., praise); ii) reported maladaptive behaviors during homework monitoring in the classroom (e.g., students did not check their homework); and iii) reported not using the homework feedback provided on a regular basis. The data allowed concluding that homework feedback is beneficial for students' school engagement, yet their full potential is not reached. In the third study, 2,118 parent-child dyads (6th grade) were split into two groups to conduct two phases of data analysis: exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that the parental homework management scale is comprised of two distinct yet related factors: environment-time and motivation-emotion management. The scale revealed good psychometric quality, being a useful instrument for future research. The results of the research are of great relevance for educational practice. However, teachers do not have enough time or technical knowledge to interpret results of the studies due to its complexity. For these reasons and in order to contribute to improve teachers’ homework practices and, consequently, students' learning; the second part of this thesis presents two documents aiming to disseminate the results of research: i) an article focused on homework practices under a self-regulated learning lens, and ii) an e-book focused on feedback practices in general and on homework feedback in particular. |
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