Parental involvement in their children’s homework in Dutch primary schools PAPER 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE EUROPEAN RESEARCH NETWORK ABOUT PARENTS IN EDUCATION Symposium : HOMEWORK IN A WORLD OF DIVERSITY MALMÖ UNIVERSITY August, 2009 Frederik Smit, Geert Driessen ITS – Radboud University Nijmegen The Netherlands

Background: Homework in the Dutch education system CURRICULUM: Homework is an integral part of the curriculum for older students in primary school and for all students in secondary school. POLICY: No national policy: each school is free to formulate its own policy, so there is much diversity. PARENTS: Parents are encouraged to be partners/supporters in homework: parents as partners.

Research questions What are (innovative) policies regarding homework and partnerships of schools with parents in primary education in the Netherlands? What are the outcomes of these efforts? What recommendations can be given on the basis of the present research?

Design A review of the literature. A websurvey among school leaders (3000 primary school leaders were contacted via e-mail in the beginning of 2007, which resulted in 504 fully completed questionnaires). Case studies in two major cities (Rotterdam, Almere, 2008). Analyses. Reporting.

The aim of the survey The analyses of the survey results were aimed at primarily gaining insight into parental involvement in children’s homework, and the policies of primary schools with varying numbers of disadvantaged pupils to optimize parental involvement and participation. In addition, the results provided the input for the subsequent case studies.

The aim of the case studies Gaining a picture of the functioning of the different forms of cooperation between schools and parents in relation to homework.

Main results: Parental involvement in children’s homework Policy and expectations of teachers: Regular reading at home is encouraged. Homework is part of schoolwork. Parents take responsibility for the students’ schoolwork in their home situation. Parents help the student do their homework (checking & testing).

Parental involvement in children’s homework type of parents middle and high-SES native, low-SES immigrant, low-SES reading (aloud) together 87 89 88 playing together 53 59 63 talking about school 67 71 testing homework 62 57 visiting library together 65 72 76 helping with homework 56 50 watching tv together 24 27 31 checking breakfast 22 32

Problems in the relation with immigrant parents Communication problems between parents and school. Parents don’t have time. Immigrant parents who are illiterate, have had no or little education and no knowledge of the (Dutch) education system.

Role immigrant parents regarding homework Expectations and wishes of teachers: LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: good learning environment at home. NORMS AND VALUES: collaborative relationships regarding norms and values. COMMUNICATION: two-way communication flows between families and school. ATTENTION: more attention to discipline and structure.

State-of-the-art HOMEWORK SUPPORT SERVICES: an increasing number of (private, commercial) homework institutes support homework activities. HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE: recently, an increase of homework assistance projects are carried out for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. HOMEWORK SUPPORT NETWORKS: an increasing number of self-steering networks of immigrants that support homework activities. ‘HOMEWORK-FREE’ SCHOOLS: teachers of primary school in some cities support the students at school with the making of homework.

Differences between schools with a traditional concept and a homework-free concept Tasks requested by teachers and performed by students outside school (Cooper, 2001) Whole-Day School: nearly all tasks performed by students inside school (extended schooltime) Role parents Parents monitoring, support and help their children at home, involving older siblings, extended family, friends Students stay more hours at school: parents have more time for their own activities (work, schooling) Support homework activities Private and commercial services and networks for students and parents Teachers supervises their proper completion Dealing with discussions and controversies ‘Parent rooms’ in the school, to discuss homework problems (homework load, tensions in the family and between teachers and parents) and to give support if needed The workload of teachers

Conclusions What can be learned? Homework institutes: positive if schools have an idea of what happens and how it is done. Negative side: extra work load for the children. Homework assistance projects and self-steering networks that support homework activities are totally depended of volunteers. Problems mentioned are for the most part organizational and financial. It appeared that one cannot always build on them (attendance, keeping agreements, executing activities). The new homework-free schools are popular, because the students’ own teachers are involved and are often the counselors themselves (high quality).

Recommendations How to continue? Greater emphasis on ‘new learning’ (innovative forms of learning w. ICT), asks for new forms of homework policies. In developing and optimalization a true partnership between parents and school it is important that teachers and parents have a shared vision on homework and parental involvement.