Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The overall aims of the research were to examine the contribution which homework makes to student learning at Key Stages 2 and 3, and to identify some of the conditions under which this contribution is enhanced or reduced. The main research questions were: what kind of tasks are set for homework? to what extent and in what ways do students engage with homework? what are the main contexts in which homework originates and is carried out, and how is homework perceived and valued within those contexts? what kinds of support are provided for homework within these contexts? what effects do pupil characteristics (such as age, gender and learning identity) have on the way in which homework is perceived and carried out? what are the learning outcomes arising from particular homework tasks? how do tasks, contexts and pupil characteristics interact with each other to enhance or reduce learning outcomes? The research was intended to be exploratory and hypothesis-generating. It was therefore based on the in-depth study of how homework is practised and perceived in and around a small number of primary and secondary schools.
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The dataset consists of semi-structured qualitative interviews about homework, deriving from a study of practices and perceptions concerning homework, in and around four secondary and four primary schools. The secondary schools served contrasting catchment areas. Two schools had a high proportion of students eligible for free school meals, with most of the students in one of these schools coming from minority ethnic groups. A third school was a city-based church school, which drew students from all over the city, while the fourth served a large rural area. The catchment areas for the primary schools were very similar to the secondary schools, as each primary school was a ‘feeder’ school for one of the secondary schools. In each secondary school, the research centred on six students (three boys, three girls; two high attainers, two medium and two low) from Year 8. (Data were actually collected on a larger number of students, as additional students were included either as back-up or in order to comply with requests from the participating schools). Each student was interviewed on a first occasion about homework in general and on a second occasion about specific homework that had been set. The teachers of the students, in English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages and humanities, were similarly interviewed about homework in general and specific homework. The head teachers, form tutors and parents of each student were interviewed once to ascertain their views on homework. In the primary schools, six students were again selected for study, this time from Year 5. Data collection procedures were the same as for the secondary schools. The interviews covered a range of areas, including the following: tasks, practices, management and organisation, compliance, assessment, the role of parents, peer influences, feelings, and perceptions of purposes.
stage 1: purposive sampling of school and year group; stage 2: stratified random sampling of studen
Face-to-face interview
