Primary teachers' homework practices: Identity, expectations, policies and cultural values

Abstract

Homework is a pervasive pedagogical practice worldwide, and somewhat neglected as a research topic. This study aims to provide a comprehensive account of teachers' homework practices, an aspect of teachers' work about which relatively little is known. We seek to explore what constitutes teachers' homework practices, illuminate their complexity, and explain what influences them. Findings are drawn from a qualitative study in two middle-class, urban, primary schools in Ireland, using in-depth semi-structured interviews with six teachers and six parents of pupils aged 10-11 years. Our analysis reveals a complex set of practices (designing, implementing, assessing, and providing feedback) that are shaped by professional identity, expectations of parents and colleagues, school homework policies, and cultural values. These practices are characterised by a deliberateness, wherein a careful weighing up of elements is evident, indicative of the importance of professional identity; and by an alignment both with the expectations of parents and the requirements of school policies. We denominate homework as home-school-work because, although commonly perceived as the responsibility of pupils and parents, homework practices actually occur at the nexus of home and school. Teachers' homework practices are central to teaching and learning and, consequently, merit further study with more diverse samples.