Why homework could be hindering education in younger students

If you find homework a drag you’re not alone… turns out many teachers, parents and even principals do too.

A rising number of schools are ditching homework, a move many households are welcoming with open arms.

Former principal and founder of RealSchools Adam Voigt felt homework not only failed to improve learning, but it hindered education - especially for younger students.

“It quite significantly distracts teachers who should be building fantastic classroom experiences,” Mr Voigt told Yahoo7.

“They spend a lot of time marking and chasing up homework and most of the time they find out how good the parents are at it”.

In 2014 a parliamentary inquiry found homework had very little academic benefits for primary school students.

Despite this, plenty of Australian schools still had firm homework policies in place.

During his time as principal of Rosebery Primary School (NT), Voigt made the decision not to have a homework policy – a move that was considered a first for Australian public schools.

“We took a policy of not having a formal homework regime,” he said.

“They (students) wouldn’t be getting worksheets, spelling lists and projects in an unsupported way.

The decision gave parents the chance to spend more quality time with their children.

“Even though the impression is most parents want homework, it really drives them crazy… they’re quite time poor these days,” he said.

Mr Voigt was in the role two years at the school and while he has since moved on he said the homework policy was still in place.

“Most of the feedback from parents was really positive,” he said.

The ‘no-homework’ path aimed to reinspire a love of learning in children who needed it most and parents were encouraged to learn with their kids outside of school in other ways.

“One thing that does help kids is reading at home,” Mr Voigt said.

“We committed to buying less books but high quality, award winning literature for them to read.

“Put the NAPLAN book down and enjoy Charlotte’s Web with your kids instead”.

Gamifying learning at home through songs and games also made learning a much more enjoyable experience for both parents and children.

The less time spent on homework meant parents could encourage their kids to take on more extra curricular activities such as sports, arts, cooking and learning skills needed in every day life.

And while the parents were pretty easy to convince, Mr Voigt said the real challenge was changing a tradition that had been in place for hundreds of years.

“It was changing a paradigm we had in our schools for 200 years,” he said.

“The underlying issue is there is stuff in schools we have been doing a long time that perhaps we shouldn’t be doing anymore.

“Once a school is able to sustain a difficult change period then several others start to pick up on the policy”.

The change has since inspired other Australian schools to follow his lead.

And while he felt traditional homework was not necessary for younger students, he did see the merit of study for those in senior grades.

However he thought this could be done better too.

“The research for middle and senior years is different,” he said.

“Study does help them to achieve on exams but why give kids a text-book when we can give them a world class recording of a lesson instead?”

Mr Voigt felt it was important for schools to create a strong culture within their own communities.

“We need to put schools back as the hub of the community and change their status so they are viewed as the experts on education again,” he said.

“Constant reviews of curriculum are not necessary… we need to support our teachers with how they are teaching.

“We need a commitment to training teachers in things which improve effectiveness, create a safe classroom culture and environment,” he said.

And while it might sound like a simple task, changing ways that have been in place for a long time isn’t all that easy.

Fortunately there are a growing number of teachers willing to show us how it’s done.

For more information on Adam Voigt and the success of the ‘no homework’ policy visit realschools.com.au.

WHAT'S MAKING NEWS