Gardner-Webb University Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University Education Dissertations and Projects School of Education 2019 Phenomenological Study of Middle School Teacher Practices Regarding Homework in an Eastern North Carolina Rural Community Anna Brooks Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/education_etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER PRACTICES REGARDING HOMEWORK IN AN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA RURAL COMMUNITY By Anna Brooks A Dissertation Submitted to the Gardner-Webb University School of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Gardner-Webb University 2019 Approval Page This dissertation was submitted by Anna Brooks under the direction of the persons listed below. It was submitted to the Gardner-Webb University School of Education and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Gardner-Webb University. __________________________________ ________________________ Stephen Laws, Ed. Date Committee Chair _________________________________ ________________________ Lory Morrow, Ed.
Date Committee Member _________________________________ ________________________ David Shellman, Ed. Date Committee Member _________________________________ ________________________ Prince Bull, Ph. Date Dean of the School of Education ii Acknowledgements First of all, my husband has been my biggest cheerleader. He made many sacrifices so I could attend classes and complete assignments.
He has been a constant throughout this journey with his unconditional support and love. My son has watched me leave out early in the mornings to attend classes, watched me spend evenings reading research articles as he read his books beside me, and was always the first one to join me for a break when I needed to walk away from the computer. It is my hope that he looks back on these years and knows that all dreams are possible if you work hard! My father- in-law and mother-in-law made many trips to our home in eastern North Carolina so I could attend classes or spend weekends on schoolwork; but more importantly, they have always lifted me up in prayer. I am thankful for a God who hears and answers prayers.
My colleagues have been by my side since the very beginning and have listened to my thoughts, ideas, and frustrations. When I put the dissertation on the back burner, my dear friend, Carolyn Heller, inspired me to get back on track. As a dear friend and mentor, she has challenged me, uplifted me, and believed in me. Christa DiBonaventura, the girl with all the vowels in her name, has been by my side since our very first class in Goldsboro! Her phone calls, emails, lunch dates, and encouragement have made such a difference to me on this journey.
My dissertation chair, Dr. Steve Laws, has been a great source in providing guidance, encouragement, and support. He has always gone above and beyond to assist me in making this dream a reality. Lory Morrow and Dr.
David Shellman who served on my dissertation committee and offered feedback and advice throughout the process. iii Abstract PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF TEACHER PRACTICES REGARDING HOMEWORK IN AN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA RURAL COMMUNITY. Brooks, Anna, 2019: Dissertation, Gardner-Webb University. This study was an investigation of homework practices at the middle school level.
For this phenomenological study, 48 certified middle school teachers in an eastern North Carolina rural community provided insight about homework at the middle school level by participating in a survey. The debate about homework is ongoing and often evokes a variety of passionate responses from those on both sides of the debate. The findings in this study revealed a spectrum of homework practices throughout the five middle schools. Homework is the most widely used instructional practice, yet one that is rarely reflected upon by teachers, administrators, and district leaders.
In order to support learning, teachers need to make the time to review research-based practices in order to determine implications on their own classroom practices and then apply these practices to their current instruction to ensure homework plays a beneficial role in the learning process for students. Based on the findings, this study provided research for further studies and implication for practice for district leaders, administrators, and teachers. Keywords: homework, teacher practices, middle school, administrators, instruction iv Table of Contents Page Chapter 1: Introduction .1 Statement of the Problem .4 Purpose of the Study. 9 Significance of the Study.
9 Context of the Study .11 Definition of Terms .12 Chapter 2: Literature Review .13 The Current State of the Homework Debate.14 The History of Homework (1900-2000’s) .16 The Purpose of Homework .23 Time Spent on Homework .34 Grading Practices and the Role of Feedback with Homework .36 The Role of Technology in Rethinking Homework .38 Research Studies on the Topic of Homework .44 Research Design and Rationale .46 Participants and Data Collection .50 Participants and Response Rate .51 Data Collection Process .51 Discussions of the Findings .70 Interpretations of the Findings .71 Implications of Practice .81 Recommendations for Further Study. 86 Limitations of the Study .89 Appendices A Homework Teacher Survey .104 B Permission to Use Survey Instrument .106 C Permission to Conduct Study .108 D Emails to Middle School Teachers .112 Tables 1 Alignment of Research Question with Instrument Questions .45 2 Demographic Data of the Participants .54 3 Definition of Homework .55 4 Why Homework is Assigned .57 5 Type of Homework Assigned .59 6 Amount of Time Student Spends on Homework per Class per Week .60 7 Feedback on Homework Assigned .63 9 Percentage of Final Grade that Homework is Counted Every 9 Weeks .64 vi 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Throughout the United States, there is a continuing debate surrounding the value of homework and the practice of teachers assigning homework to students. The topic of homework evokes a variety of emotional and passionate responses from those on both sides of the debate. Although research has remained inconsistent in describing the benefits of assigning homework (Snead & Burris, 2016), the assigning of homework is a widely used practice in education.
While teachers feel that homework is an integral part of the learning process, students and their families argue that homework deprives them of much-needed family time (Hampshire, Butera, & Hourcade, 2014). Harris Cooper (1989), a lead researcher in the field of homework, completed a meta-analysis study that included over 100 empirical studies and defined homework as “tasks that are assigned to students to be completed during non-instructional time” (p. In 2017, the National Education Association defined homework as an instructional practice for assigning work outside the school day that allows students to be motivated, develop study skills, allow parents to be informed about student learning, and improve student achievement. Good and Brophy (2003) further defined homework as “extension of the in-school opportunities for students” (p.
Additionally, Cooper (2007) further defined the “10-minute rule” in assigning homework as a way to gauge how long a student should spend on homework as supported by his research findings. Cooper (2007) stated a student’s grade level multiplied by 10 minutes is the amount of time that all daily homework assignments combined should take be completed. Cooper’s (2007) research on this 10-minute rule has been widely adopted as policy by many school districts across the United States. Wake County Public School System (2017) in North Carolina cited Cooper’s (2007) research in 2 their Board Policy 3135, which provides the following time guidelines for regulations and procedures in assigning homework to students: Kindergarten-Grade 2, 20 minutes per day; Grades 3-5, 50 minutes per day; Grades 6-8, 90 minutes per day; and Grades 9-12: 120 minutes per day.
By contrast, Marzano and Pickering (2007) argued that the positive impact of homework correlates to the amount of homework that is completed rather than the amount of time that is spent on homework assigned. Furthermore, Marzano and Pickering cautioned that just assigning homework will not produce positive effects, and ill-structured homework can cause negative effects on student achievement. Marzano and Pickering suggested that teachers must carefully plan and assign homework that will maximize the potential for student success. Historically, the research that supports homework is compelling; however, the case against homework has been increasingly popular among educational researchers and leaders.
Over the past few years, the arguments against homework have been the topic of many books and editorials (Marzano & Pickering, 2007). In 2000, Etta Kralovec and John Buell published their work, The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning. Kralovec and Buell argued that all stakeholders need to take a new look at the homework debate. Kralovec and Buell challenged the notion that more homework leads to higher academic achievement.
Kralovec and Buell’s work further suggested that children being involved in leisure activities and pursuing extracurricular interests would support growth and development more than completing homework. One of the most compelling arguments in the book is the harm that homework causes to students who are from economically disadvantaged families. Kralovec and Buell pointed out that these students can be unintentionally 3 penalized in school for their home environments, which can make it almost impossible for students to complete assignments at home. Similarly, in 2006, Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish teamed up to publish their work, The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do about It.
These authors looked closely at the quality and quantity of homework being assigned to students. Their work involved their own research, personal experiences, and interviews of all stakeholders to suggest that parents and teachers advocate for reducing the amount of homework students are assigned, to advocate for the more purposeful design of homework assignments, and to eliminate any homework over extended breaks from school. The authors stressed the negative effects of homework and the need for all stakeholders to advocate for change in the widely accepted practice of assigning homework. Also in 2006, Alfie Kohn published The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.
Kohn argued that teachers are in the habit of assigning homework to meet policy expectations rather than assigning homework that benefits the learning of students. Kohn suggested that teachers involve students in the discussion in deciding what assignments should be assigned for homework and how much homework should be assigned. Kohn provided activities that should be completed at home rather than teacher assigned homework – activities such as cooking, experiments, game time with the family, quality television shows, or even reading for pleasure. Most recently, Miller and Keeler (2017) published their work, Ditch That Homework.
They shared research and insights from parents and teachers along with the pros and cons of assigning homework. Throughout their work, Miller and Keller provided various strategies for teachers to improve learning and, in doing so, reduce the 4 amount of homework for students to a minimum or to none. A 2015 policy analysis by Saint Louis University completed an in-depth, thorough evaluation of the homework policies in 24 school districts throughout Kansas and Missouri (Glenn, Jones, Merritt, & Saratain, 2015). The researchers found that district leaders were careful in the language used in their policies that involved homework (Glenn et al.
The team concluded that most districts allowed the assigning of homework to be a decision left up to the classroom teacher. For districts that had some sort of policy regarding homework, the team found that the polices were outdated and were not written to be inclusive of current research that is available. The team cited the work of Carbone (2009), in which he completed a homework policy analysis for the school districts in North Carolina. Carbone found that even though every district was involved in the practice of assigning homework, less than 50% of the districts had a policy regarding this practice.
Carbone pointed out that a homework policy would be beneficial in assisting teachers in fostering and tracking student learning through the practice of homework.