7th International Conference of the European Research Network about Parents in Education DIVERSITY IN EDUCATION ERNAPE 2009 ISBN 978-91-86238-82-2
HOMEWORK – THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL IN ISRAEL: PARENTS' INVOLVEMENT IN HOMEWORK
Bruria Schaedel and Yovav Eshet
Western Galilee College, Israel
Abstract
This study examines parental motivations to become involved in homework. The sample consisted of 1237 parents, of them 493 Jewish and 744 Arabs, of 4th and 6th graders from 10 Jewish and 10 Arab elementary schools in northern Israel. The findings indicate that parental help in homework declines at the upper grades of the elementary schools. Parents' motivations to become involved in homework are not linked with the child's gender, the family's structure (traditional or single parent) or their educational background. Parents become involved in their children's homework because of their perception of their responsibility (role construction), they secure the resources to help the child and believe it will improve his learning (self-efficacy) and as a result of the teachers' initiations to the parents to become involved in their children's homework. The analysis of the research underlines the differences between the Jewish and the Arab parents' perceptions of their involvement in homework, relating them to the cultural and social circumstances of the Arabs being a minority group within the state of Israel. Recommendations are suggested to promote schools' effectiveness in developing mutual trust, respect and communication with parents that will encourage greater cooperation between Jewish and Arab schools and homes.
Introduction
Concern regarding homework and its usefulness emerged in a wide body of research in the last few decades, particularly in the United States, Canada and England. Yet, this interest has not been reflected in publications in Israel compared to the wealth of literature published in other countries.
Homework has been defined as a teacher-initiated method for directing students to study more effectively on their own outside of the school (Cooper, 1989, 2001, 2007). Homework is usually first assigned during the elementary school years and increases in depth and quantity during subsequent years. Homework studies often focus on how and why homework affects students' learning and the dimensions of parental involvement that support school success.
Homework has been described as a vital means through which parents become involved in their child's education (Walker et al., 2004). According to Epstein's (2001) six types typology of parental involvement, type 1 underlines families' basic obligation in their children's education (establishing physical and psychological structures for homework performances and involvement in learning activities at home) and type 4 involving the parents in learning activities at home. When parents become involved in the homework process and demonstrate an interest in the academic progress of their children's work it increases their appreciation and involvement in schooling. In this way, the children also become aware of the connection between home and school (Cooper 2007).
This study examines the predictive associations between Jewish and Arab family factors (child's gender, child's grade, parents' education, and family structure) and parents' motivational factors such as: role construction, self-efficacy, teachers' invitation and utility of homework to become involved in homework in 10 Jewish and 10 Arab elementary schools in Israel. It is assumed that increased understanding of parents' roles and activities may help to enhance children's educational development at home and the schools.
A brief review of literature
Parental Involvement in Homework
Parental involvement has been positively associated with student behavior, skills and attitudes that contribute to higher achievements such as: stronger self-regulatory skills, better work orientation, higher educational aspirations, and stronger perceptions of academic competence (Epstein, 1992; Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994; Sanders, 1998; Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts, 1989; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Xu & Corno, 1998). Parental involvement activities also influence student outcomes through modeling, reinforcement, and instruction (Hover-Dempsey, Battiato, Walker, Reed, DeJong and Jones, 2001). Consequently, parental involvement supports positive student attitudes toward learning makes the students feel more skillful, responsible, and self-confident, and in turn, encourages them to spend more time and effort to complete their assignments (Cooper et al., 1998; Corno, 1996).
In light of the important attributes of parental involvement in homework to children's academic growth, it is important to examine what motivates parents to become involved it their child's homework. According to Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997), parents become involved in their child's education based on their perceptions of: their role constructions, their self-efficacy, and their perception of invitations to become involved from their child and the child's teacher.
Parental role construction refers to parents’ ideas about the roles they should assume in their children’s education. Parents develop these expectations through their experiences as members of groups that are relevant to children’s development and education (family, school, community, and culture). Parental role construction develops as a result of the parents’ cultural capital as well as their social networks (Deslandes & Rousseau, 2007). Parental role construction and behaviors are influenced by personal ideas and those of their spouses, and by the family goals of children’s education (Biddle, 1986).
Role construction functions as a motivator of parental involvement because it enables the parent to imagine, plan, and behave in relation to various activities that are relevant to the child’s educational success. It is important to the students’ educational outcomes because it defines the range of activities that parents interpret as important, necessary, and acceptable for their own engagement in their children's schooling (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997).
Parents believe that their activities will add to their children's success at school (Bandura, 1997; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997). In view of that, the self-efficacy theory suggests that parents’ behavioral choices are guided by high expectations they set for their involvement (helping with homework). The higher the goals they set for their involvement, the more determined they are to achieve these goals (Bandura, 1997). Parents who are higher in efficacy are more involved in homework, and those who help children with homework believe that their help positively influences students' outcomes (Stevenson, Chen, & Uttal, 1990).
Concerning parents’ perceptions of the teachers' invitation, parents involve themselves in homework because they regard invitations to become involved, from their child or the child’s teachers, as desired and expected (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997). Teachers' invitations have been positively associated with parental involvement decisions and have been found to be more influential than socioeconomic status in motivating parental involvement (Dauber & Epstein, 1993).
Parental homework involvement is higher when the child is younger and when families are traditional as opposed to non traditional (dauber & Epstein 1993; Deslandes 2003, 2005; Walker & Hover-Dempsey 2001).
Parental involvement of minority groups
There are consistent findings indicating that most minority families have high aspirations for their children's academic success (Fan, 2001; Halle, Kurtz-Costes, & Mahoney, 1997). In addition, these families maintain those high aspirations as their children progress through school (Azmitia & Cooper 2002; Goldenberg et al., 2001; Kim, 2002). These studies indicate that parents from minority families sometimes describe their own negative experiences as motivating their aspirations and concerns for their children. They also use their own luck of education or difficult work experiences to motivate their children to succeed (Aspiazu, Bauer; & Spillett, 1998; Auerbach, 2002; O'Connor; 2001).
This study explored the perceptions and attitudes of parents and their motivation to become involved in homework. It was assumed that the understanding of the parents' responsibilities, performances and beliefs regarding homework will help us gain a clearer perspective of how parents’ involvement contributes to students learning outcomes and their child's success in the elementary school. We therefore address the following three research questions:
1. What family factors are related to parental involvement with respect to homework?
2. What motivates parents in general to become involved in homework?
3. What motivates Jewish and Arab families to become involved in homework?
The strength of the family-school collaboration relies on several factors that influence the relationship between schools and parents: mutual trust and respect clear parental understanding of the school’s expectations, and a clear representation of the parents’ expectations for the school. If parents know what to do and what teachers expect from them, they will become more effectively involved with homework and their child will be more likely to develop favorable attitudes towards school, knowledge and skills that will advance his performance at school and will contribute to his life- long learning.
Method
Participants
The participants in this study were comprised of 1,237 parents of the 4th and 6th graders of 10 Jewish and 10 Arab schools in the western Galilee in the North of Israel. The Jewish participants were comprised of 493 parents (80% female and 20% male). Arab participants were comprised of 744 parents (64% female and 36% male).
Within the Jewish participants no differences were noted in the parents' educational backgrounds according to gender. On the other hand, significant differences were noted in the Arab participants’ educational levels between the fathers and the mothers (Rc=0.151, p<0.001). More of the Arab fathers had academic education than Arab mothers.
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants
Parents N=1237Jewish N=493 / Arab N=744
Participant
Gender / Female / 80% / 64%
Male / 19% / 36%
Family
Structure / Traditional / 86% / 85%
Non Traditional / 14% / 15%
Education
Level / Middle school / 9% / 33%
High school / 29% / 38%
College / 18% / 14%
University / 31% / 13%
Student
Achievement / Learning Difficulties / 46% / 38%
Succeeds well / 23% / 22%
Succeeds very well / 31% / 40%
Attitudes
Toward homework / Doesn't like / 9% / 4%
Likes it a little / 43% / 31%
Likes it very much / 37% / 60%
Measures
The questionnaires for the parents (Deslandes, 2005) were translated into Hebrew by Schaedel, B. and into Arabic by Ali-Said, M. in 2007.
The child's characteristics: Parents were asked to mark their child's gender (a) boy, (b) girl and the grade levels of their child (a) 4th grade, (b) 6th grade.
Parents' characteristics: Parents' gender (a) male, (b) female.
Family structure: (1) traditional – with both biological parents; (2) non-traditional -singe parent or other.
Parents' education level, each parent marked one of 4 categories: (1) middle school, (2) high school, (3) college, (4) university.
Parents' attitude towards homework: Parents were asked to express their attitudes towards homework ranging from (a) don't like to (b) like homework very much (Cooper, et al., 1998).
Parents' perceptions of the child's homework achievement: The 6-item scale (α=. 72) dealt with what parents think about their child's homework behavior (Hoover-Dempsey, et al., 1999).
Parental role construction regarding homework: The 10-item scale (α=.86) for parents of elementary school children measures parents' beliefs about their responsibilities regarding their child's homework (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 1999; HPI Homework Process Inventory, Cooper et al., 2000).
Parents' self-efficacy in helping with homework: The 6-item scale (α=.77) of questions relates to parents' ability to help with homework (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005; Hoover-Dempsey, et al., 1999).
Parents' perceptions of teachers' invitations: The 6-item scale (α=.90) deals with the teachers' interest and communications with parents to become involved in homework (based on Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001).
Parent's belief regarding homework utility: The 12-item scale (α = .90) characterizes parents' perceptions whether homework helps students to succeed at school, organize their time, and develop working skills. Answers to each of the four questions ranged from often to never (Cooper et al., 1998; Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001).
Data Analysis
Statistical operations used to analyze the data were: Cramer's V Correlation (Rc) and Hierarchical Regression in order to find correlation between the variables. Independent sample t- test and one way ANOVA were used to find significant differences.
Procedures
The data was collected in the fall of 2008. The parents were handed the questionnaires by their children and were asked to return them to their home room teachers. The questionnaires for the Jewish parents were in the Hebrew language and the questionnaires for Arab parents were in Arabic. The data was computed and analyzed by Hebrew and Arabic speakers using the SPSS program.
Results
First research question: What family factors are related to parental involvement in respect to homework?
According to the Hierarchical Linear Modeling test results, parents are more involved in their children's homework in the 4th grade than in the 6th grade. Accordingly, parents are more involved with their children's homework when their children are younger and their involvement decreases as their children reach the 6th grade. Parents' involvement does not vary according to the child's gender. Boys and girls receive equal attention when their parents are involved with their homework. Parents' involvement is not related to their educational level. Parents of higher education are not more involved with their children than parents with lower educational backgrounds. There is no difference in parents' involvement in homework according to family's structure (traditional vs. single parent family). Parents are involved in their children's homework regardless of the number of children they have.
Table 2: Hierarchical Regression predictors of parental involvement
Step III / Step II / Step It / β / t / β / t / β / Independent variables
0.242 / 0.005 / 1.63 / 0.044 / 1.28 / 0.038 / Child's gender
-4.79*** / -0.098 / -5.71*** / -0.149 / -4.52*** / -0.132 / Child's grade level
-0.03 / 0.000 / 0.60 / 0.017 / Parent's gender
1.28 / 0.029 / 1.62 / 0.045 / Parent's level of education
-0.64 / -0.014 / -0.86 / -0.024 / Number of siblings
-0.18 / -0.004 / -0.13 / -0.003 / Family's structure
-10.38*** / -0.250 / -15.18*** / -0.454 / Minority
14.06*** / 0.332 / Parental role construction
15.66*** / 0.331 / Parental self-efficacy
8.13*** / 0.181 / Teachers' requests
3.87*** / 0.078 / Homework utility
0.551 / 0.231 / 0.019 / R²
0.546 / 0.227 / 0.018 / Adj. R²
126.843*** / 49.094*** / 11.298*** / F
***P0.001 ** P0.01 *P< 0.05 N=1,237
Second research question: What motivates parents in general to become involved in homework?
The higher the parents perceive their role construction, increasingly they feel competent with their help to the child (self-efficacy); the more they respond to the teachers invitations to become involved, increasingly they appreciate the utility of homework; thus, the parents’ involvement in the homework process will increase (F(11,1138)=126.843, P0.001). The coefficient of determination R²=55.1 % explains the variance.