Publisher's Synopsis
What exactly is homework? It is usually taken to mean any work set by the school which is undertaken out of school hours for which the learner takes primary responsibility. Of course, it may actually be undertaken on school premises and where very young children are involved the primary responsibility for making sure that it is undertaken usually lies with the parents or carers. Over the years a range of purposes and benefits has been suggested for homework. Sometimes these appear contradictory in nature, but, in part, this is because they are defined by different kinds of tasks for pupils of different ages and abilities. At the same time, a number of disadvantages have been proposed. This paper reviews these and evaluates the relationship between homework and achievement.
