A recent Stanford University study shows that too much homework negatively affects children, particularly lives after school, where friends, family, and other critical developmental activities matter. According to Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford University graduate faculty of education and doubles up as the co-writer to this study said that the impacts of homework challenge the assumptions that homework assignment is excellent.
The study employed survey data to inspect the opinions of homework, behavioral rendezvous, and student welfare from over 4000 students sampled from more than ten top-performing high schools in middle-upper class California. With survey data, Denise Pope and her colleague researchers employed open-ended responses to study children’s opinions on homework. From the collected data, median domestic revenue was more than 90000, and 93 % of students attended either a four year or two-year college. The research also found out that students did an average of three and a half hours of homework in the evening. The researchers quoted prior work indicating that homework benefits flatten at approximately 2 hours every evening and one hour 30 minutes to two hours 30 minutes for high schools. Based on the study, too much homework causes the following:
The weakening of health: The survey asked students whether homework had health problems such as exhaustion, stomach issues, headaches, weight loss, and headaches. Many students agreed that too much homework leads to sleep deficiency and a myriad of other health issues.
Grander stress levels: A majority of 56 % of students see homework as the critical root of stress. The additional 43 % saw examinations as the leading source of stress, while 33 % view pressure to attain excellent scores as the primary source of stress. About 1 % of students have no issue with homework.
Inadequate time for extracurricular quests, family, and friends: Based on the study, student’s response and survey data spending a lot of time on homework can result in students not nurturing relevant life skills and developmental needs.
Balancing act
Research has shown that students tussle to balance social time, extracurricular activities, and homework. Most students believe they are either obligated or forced to do homework assignments more than other developmental skills or talents. The study found no correlation between how many children enjoy and time spent finishing homework assignments. The study found out that students do mindless or pointless homework for the sake of netting and retaining good grades. Therefore, this kind of busy assignment discourages studying and instead supports doing homework to attain better scores. The research put into question the relative worth of allocating too much homework in top-performing schools. Hence teachers should not assign homework as a routine.
Top-performance paradox
From societies that students attend top-performing schools, the research shows that too much homework reduces students’ time to establish skills and talents in the realm of personal responsibility. Indeed, the culture of homework can lead to children spending too much time alone—these results in inadequate chances for children to contribute to communal activities and limited time spent with family.
Student perspectives
In their conclusion, Pope and colleague researchers realized that using open-ended questionnaires to quantify students’ views on homework assignments could have limitations. They noted that it gives students a chance to air classic adolescent complaints. Nonetheless, it was essential to learn what these students believe in homework assignments.
