homework banned in ireland poll

A young student sitting at a table doing homework on scattered papers and notebooks, with an orange pencil in hand.

POLL — Should homework be banned?

Tell us what you think.

Do I have homework tonight?

That’s the question on many kids’ minds when the school bell rings at the end of the day.

This week, the topic of homework made headlines in Ireland when President Michael D. Higgins was interviewed by students on the national public broadcaster, RTE.

When asked his thoughts on homework, Higgins replied: “It should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

Soon after, some media outlets in Ireland published headlines saying that Higgins called for a ban on homework.

Although a ban isn’t coming anytime soon, it got us thinking:

How much homework do you have?
Would you want homework to be banned?
What about the benefits of homework?

Sound off, telling us how you feel about homework.

Have more questions? Want to tell us how we're doing? Use the “send us feedback” link below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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Banning homework: Taoiseach says schoolchildren get too much homework but doesn't call for ban

Varadkar said he'd have to speak to Minister for Education, Norma Foley, about the matter

15:07, 30 JAN 2023
Updated 13:12, 20 JUL 2023

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will talk to Minister for Education, Norma Foley, on the issue of getting rid of homework.

Varadkar on homework

While Varadkar didn't say he supported call to ban homework for schoolchildren, he did tell Newstalk that he felt some children get "too much" homework.

Asked about the homework debate today, Varadkar said he'd have to speak to Foley about it.

"We haven't had a chance to discuss it," he said.

Varadkar added that he "definitely" think kids have "too much homework".

"You could have a long day in class, get home in the early evening and then face three hours of homework.

"I remember that when I was a kid, staying up very late to do homework.

"I think there's definitely a place for homework but we need to make sure that there isn't too much of it."

The debate was sparked by President Michael D Higgins saying he was in favour of getting rid of homework.

Support for banning homework

Speaking on RTÉ last week, Higgins argued that getting rid of homework would allow young people more time to engage in creative pursuits outside of school hours.

The president was asked for his thoughts on homework and responded that he wasn't in favour of it.

"I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things."

When Varadkar was asked if he minded Higgins making a public comment on homework, the Taoiseach responded that the president's comments are "always welcome".

School policy on homework

Minister for Education, Norma Foley, has said she won't debate the homework ban issue with President Michael D Higgins.

A little over a week ago, Higgins told the nation's children that he was against schoolwork continuing beyond the school gates, in an address broadcast on RTÉ's news2day.

Foley said it was up to schools to decide on their homework policy.

She told The Irish Mirror that she wasn't going to get into it with the president.

"It would not be appropriate for a government minister to engage in public debate with the office of the president," she said.

"Currently schools are free to have their own policy on homework and these policies are created in conjunction with senior management and staff, the boards of management, parents and the pupils.

"Schools are in of themselves places where creative pursuits are cultivated, nurtured and encouraged and that creativity may also be reflected in homework."

In a recent poll, it was revealed that Irish Mirror readers were overwhelmingly in favour of banning homework, with 98 per cent of readers voting in favour of a ban.

In a landslide decision, 57,440 readers voted yes, while just 1,211 voted no.

Benefits of homework

Minister Foley recently said that her department doesn't "issue any guidelines relating to homework being given in schools.

"It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy".

It followed a question from Fine Gael's Neale Richmond who asked if research has been carried out by her department into the benefits of ending the provision of homework for primary school pupils.

He told The Irish Mirror that children should be involved in conversations about their schools homework policy.

Minister Richmond said: "I submitted the Parliamentary Question following a visit to one of my local primary schools.

"The pupils were genuinely interested in the policy relating to homework going forward and I agreed it's an important discussion to involve pupils in."

Foley told her government colleague that the Department of Education has not commissioned research on the matter.

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President Michael D Higgins says homework should be banned in Ireland

The country’s favourite leader believes that school activities should end at the school gate and students should be encouraged to engage in more creative pursuits

10:39, 21 JAN 2023

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President Michael D Higgins has called for homework to be banned.

The country’s favourite leader has given hope to a new generation of students that the bane of their afterschool evenings could be scrapped. President Higgins argues that this would make time for young people to engage in more creative pursuits outside school hours.

The former Arts Minister believes that school activities should end at the school gate. He was speaking to RTE’s news2day current affairs and news programme for children on the occasion of the programme’s 20th birthday.

Read more: Children being 'corrupted' by drug dealing situation in Oliver Bond flats, Dail told

When asked what his opinion of homework President Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

To mark the show’s two decades on air, students from St Kevin’s National School, Littleton, County Tipperary put questions from RTÉ news2day viewers to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. In a wide-ranging interview, the children asked the President questions like, what was your favourite sport when you were in school?

When you were nine years old what did you want to be? And when did you decide you wanted to be President?

The students also asked the President about his dogs, his official trips abroad, his favourite subject in school, differences between now and when he was a child and his favourite book. The President also spoke to the children about his love of handball and the importance of friendship in their lives.

RTÉ news2day will broadcast some of the President’s interview as part of Friday afternoon’s birthday celebrations at 4.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ News channel and the full interview will be available later on Friday evening on the RTÉ Player. In a message to the children of Ireland and the viewers of RTÉ news2day, President Michael D. Higgins gave this advice: “To stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things... but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important. And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.” President Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

He encouraged them to speak Irish in a fun way and to feel free to use whatever bits of the language that they have.

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President of Ireland calls on schools to stop giving pupils homework

Children should be able to use time at home ‘for other creative things’, says michael d higgins, article bookmarked.

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Michael D Higgins says schools should not continue after final bell

Schools should strive not to give pupils homework where possible, the president of Ireland has suggested.

In an utterance likely to be seized upon by children for years to come, in classrooms far beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle, Michael D Higgins argued that school should not extend beyond the final bell.

“Time in school … should get finished in school,” the president told pupils at a school in County Tipperary this week during a broadcast for RTE.

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Students and parents plead case for homework ban

School children and parents pleaded with the Minister for Education Norma Foley to step in and introduce a homework ban.

In letters to the minister, kids wrote about how they were being forced to give up hobbies because they were given so much work to do after school.

The correspondence followed comments by President Michael D Higgins in January that a ban on homework should be considered.

In one letter, a school child wrote about how seven hours of school each day was “plenty of education” and that more work on top was unnecessary.

“I do not ask for homework to be completely banned but for it to be reduced to a certain limit. Otherwise, if there is a constant build-up of homework daily, it can cause stress and even a lack of exercise which will affect a person’s well-being.”

Another said they felt homework was a “waste of time” and that a ban should be introduced.

They wrote: “Kids should be doing more creative things with their time after school. Many kids have had to stop doing hobbies they have because of it.

“It is a burden to parents, kids, and teachers [and] so for the above reasons, I think you should BAN HOMEWORK!”

Homework annoys teachers

One hand-written letter, decorated with a Minnie Mouse bow, said homework was “annoying for teachers and pupils”.

“I play soccer and love writing stories, but because of homework, I have no time for doing these things. For teachers, it gives them more copies to correct and they have to go through the trouble of deciding what [homework] to give.”

A secondary school student said that if “sleeping isn’t for school” then “work isn’t for home”.

They explained how they did between one and two hours of homework every evening after school and sometimes more.

“When I would finish, there would be barely any time for me to relax before I had to go to bed to get enough sleep to get up in the morning,” said their letter.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, our president Michael D Higgins also thinks that homework should be banned so if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to our President.”

Another suggested there could at least be a compromise so that students would not be given homework for over the weekend.

“[This would relieve] students of mental stress,” they said.

Help parents

One young student said they were left with no time to help their parents, or to learn how to cook or do other activities around the house.

They said: “We all do activities like swimming, dance, and all other sports. It’s hard work and it’s stressful and it’s unfair.”

A single parent also wrote in to explain how one of their children was getting two hours of written homework every day.

They said: “We need time to teach them life skills such as sewing, cooking, how to work the washing machine, change their own bed sheets and personal care.

“These teachings are very hard for parents with zero [time] left in the evenings. There is no time for them to spend with siblings and parents because they are so tired.”

Majority Of Workers In Favour Of Four-Day Work Week

In responses, the Department of Education told the letter writers that homework policy was not within its powers.

In emails, they said: “The Department does not issue direct guidelines relating to homework being given in schools. It is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy.

“In keeping with good practice, the process of drafting a homework policy should involve consultation with teachers, parents, and students.

“However, the Department does acknowledge that homework can play an important part in helping pupils prepare for forthcoming class work and in reinforcing work already covered during class time.”

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'Why I believe homework should be banned', by one primary school student

As the discussion around state exams through the Covid-19 shutdown continues, a separate debate about the very need for homework itself rumbles on. Over the years, many have argued that homework for students in busy modern-day family structures is no longer workable.

This year, the Green Party sought to open a discussion about the banning of homework in future. Here, primary school pupil Misha McEnaney, a fifth class student from Dublin, outlines why he believes homework is more of a hindrance than a help.

IRISH CHILDREN SPEND around 274.5 hours on homework in a year. Is it a waste of time? Generally speaking, homework does not improve academic performance among children, although it may improve academic skills among older students especially lower-achieving kids. Homework also creates stress among students who could be doing other things.

I think it is a waste of time. Here’s why I think so.

Many students think homework is extremely boring and hard so it increases our stress levels. You might fight with your family or friends and that gives the impression you are angry and irritated when often it’s just because your homework is increasing your stress.

Also, a study by scholar Denise Pope at Stanford shows that out of 4,300 students at high-performance schools, 60% stated that their homework was their primary source of stress.

Movement is more important

I believe that homework eliminates time when you could be exercising, playing sports, carrying out hobbies, reading etc. So when your friends are playing outside or something exciting or important is happening you can’t go out because you’re stuck inside doing your homework.

Homework messes up your sleep cycles and it causes you to be more tired. After school when you’re tired from working you still have to do your homework, so you don’t deliver your full concentration and that makes your performance not as acceptable as it should be. This can cause your grade to go down and so that defeats the whole point of education to become better and smarter.

A study from teenink.com shows that students perform best in school when they receive 10–12 hours of sleep each night, while only 15% of teenagers in America reported themselves sleeping eight hours or more on school nights, according to the national sleep foundation of America. Sleep disruption is very bad for our health.

Teacher trust

If you’re completely booked up for the day doing sports or other activities you have no time to do your homework. Your teachers start to trust you less and less and this develops a bad view of you when it’s not entirely your fault.

It’s also repetitive so you’re doing the same work at school and there’s no effectiveness, it’s not going in. So all that homework becomes a waste because you have already completed it at school. You can also easily get distracted.

Homework takes away revision time for tests and that can affect the test scores. That develops a bad reputation for the student and for the school. The parents then assume that the teaching at the school is bad and they might move school. So the kid might lose friends and over time the school becomes less liked and popular.

All because there is too much homework.

Bad for the mood

If you don’t sleep enough it can cause mood swings which can affect students’ performance and relationships. To think we can stop all of this by just banning homework makes me wonder why schools still give out homework at all.

People who believe that homework should not be banned have reasonable points and arguments. They believe that doing homework at home can be better for the students and they would receive higher results.

They also think the parents of the students will have an idea of what type of work they are doing in the classroom, at what scale the student is doing their work and how the student is doing that work. There is absolutely no reason why parents shouldn’t know what the student’s work is like.

Some people believe that homework boosts interaction between a student and his or her teacher. Homework might develop their presentation skills. They believe that homework is “a remedy against weaknesses”. These can all be done at school. They believe it teaches the students responsibility because they have to make sure that they do their work and not lose it or destroy it.

They think the students learn much more new information as well as in school. So people think it teaches the students important life skills. They also think it keeps the students busy and entertained. I would argue that these should all be the responsibility of parents, not school.

A shift in the debate

The Green Party in Ireland has promised to explore the banning of homework for primary school children. They also vow to review primary and secondary schools curriculum “to meet the needs of the 21st century”. Catherine Martin, deputy leader of the Green Party, said that “the phasing out of homework is something that definitely should be explored”.

“This isn’t new, this has been on our policy for the past several years. And I think we really need to have a conversation on how best to develop the creative juices of our children, or really change how we do homework, homework could be, ‘go home and draw a picture of something that means a lot to you’,” she said.

“They’re so young, especially up to the age of seven or eight, it’s a conversation that we need to have”.

She used the example of Loreto Primary School in Rathfarnham, Dublin, which is currently trialling a “no-homework” programme for all classes except sixth. Ms Martin said that they had found the pilot scheme “amazing” and children were spending a lot more time with their families as a result.

Mental health considerations

Psychotherapist Mary McHugh believes that we are reducing children’s natural “curious, imaginative and creative” tendencies by “pressuring them to conform”.

“Our children from the age of three, are being trained to sit still and from five upwards, it’s expected that this is the norm.” McHugh also says that “stress is showing up at an alarming scale and we’re still applying more pressure academically younger and younger”.

Let’s look at Finland. In Finland, there is no homework in all schools. Finland agrees that there should be no homework because it increases stress, it wastes time etc. Finnish students regularly top the charts on global education metric systems.

Some 93% of Finnish students graduate from secondary school compared to 75% in the USA and 78% in Canada. About two in every three students in Finland go to college which is the highest rate in Europe. The students’ test scores dominate everyone else. These are the scores for the PISA test (Program for International Student Assessment) 2006. There are other reasons why Finland’s education system is so good but no homework is definitely an important one.

Homework increases stress levels among students. It replaces time for hobbies and sports. It messes up your sleep. It can’t always be done and that causes trouble. It’s repetitive. You can develop health problems from lack of sleep.

It takes away time for studying and also when you don’t get enough sleep you can get mood swings and that can affect performance and relationships. There are reasonable arguments for why people who believe that homework shouldn’t be banned are wrong.

We have seen that the Green Party also thinks that homework should be banned and that some schools have already trialled it. We have looked at Finland banning homework and we have seen the impact it has made compared to other countries. This is why I think homework should be banned, not just in my school but in all schools.

Misha McEnaney is a fifth class student at St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin.

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Ireland’s President Higgins calls for an end to homework, encourages creativity and meaningful friendships instead

Pushes for education beyond the classroom, emphasizes language learning and self-expression ..

January 24, 2023 – Ireland’s President Michael Higgins is calling for an end to homework.

When pressed on his views during an interview with RTE’s news2day – a current affairs and news program for children, Higgins said: “ I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things. ”

He also added “ I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information. And I think an important thing is friendship and to make sure that there’s no one left without friendship and that people belong. And we will all do individual things… but I think friendships that you make will in fact always be great memories and that is so important. And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same. We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us .”

Furthermore, Higgins encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

While the role of president in Ireland is mainly a ceremonial one, it does have some sway over how the government operates.

Even though it remains unclear if Higgins has begun any official paperwork to ban homework, which would irony be homework for him, his sentiment resonated with his many fans.

Homework banned in Ireland? Are my student dreams coming true? According to IrishMirror, President Michael D Higgins has called for homework to be banned as he thinks students can engage in more creative pursuits outside school hours. pic.twitter.com/MLfXlAzAhN — Nare (@Nare33242443) January 24, 2023

President Higgins calls for homework to be banned. It’s such a pity the *head of state* has no actual power on matters. This is such a smart and wise idea. The usual brigade will be out against this, but its the right thing to do for young people https://t.co/Qub7fJnTAA — Dylan (@dylancongolf) January 20, 2023

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Should homework be scrapped for primary school students?

Some educationalists argue that homework provides little benefit for young children. now, an oireachtas committee is examining calls for it to be ‘eradicated’.

‘Being completely honest, we all hate homework. We know it has to be done but it has a big impact,’ says Sarah Jayne Tobin (above) with her son Nathan Fanagan. Photograph: Dave Meehan

Do young children really need to do more work when they get home after a day at school? The Oireachtas committee on public petitions is currently examining a call for the "eradication of homework" for children in primary school on the basis that it provides little educational benefit is a source of stress and frustration.

It’s a view shared by a surprising number of academics who say, at best, evidence in favour of homework is inconclusive and, at worst, may be detrimental to younger children.

In Finland, so often looked to as a beacon of educational reform, students do not start formal schooling until seven years of age and are assigned virtually no homework.

‘The brain needs some oxygen and some down time,’ says child psycholigist Dr David Carey

Child psychologist Dr David Carey, who has over 25 years experience in clinical and educational settings, believes homework for children who are still in primary school serves little purpose.

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“The research seems to indicate it doesn’t really consolidate learning. When children aren’t given homework, they don’t learn at a slower pace then when they are given homework,” he says.

“The problem with homework is the stress and strife it causes in the family, with parents being driven to distraction by children who don’t want to do their homework. It causes arguments, tears and disruption to family life,” says Dr Carey.

He maintains that children need to have a break when they get home from school.

“Nobody who comes home from work likes to sit down and immediately be asked ‘how much work did you bring home today?’ and ‘when are you going to do it?’, and so on, but this is what we do to children.

“They need a break, to relax and go out and play in the fresh air, get exercise, talk to other kids. That’s the work of childhood – it is to play, not to study endlessly,” says Dr Carey.

Geraldine Tuohy, a primary school teacher for the past eight years, works as a home school community liaison co-ordinator in an inner city school.

She feels the question of whether or not homework is a waste of time depends on the quality of the tasks required of children.

“Homework needs to be specific, brief and targeted. Schools need to concentrate their policy on what’s absolutely essential, such as literacy and numeracy targets.

“It needs to be manageable time-wise too. Primary school homework at senior class level shouldn’t take more than an hour and, if it does, the school needs to review it.

“I also think that a games approach could be adopted for homework purposes: parents and children alike should be encouraged to take up some board games both as socialisation tool and also for critical thinking and numeracy skills,” says Tuohy.

If there is an international authority in the field, it’s most likely Prof Harris Cooper of Duke University in the US.

He conducted the most comprehensive research on homework to date from a 2006 meta-analysis.

Prof Cooper found evidence of a positive link between homework and student achievement, meaning students who did homework performed better in school.

The correlation, however, was much stronger for older students than for those in younger classes.

Overall, he feels homework is important as it helps with simple tasks like spelling words, maths and vocabulary.

For younger children, he says the evidence recommends no more than 10 minutes per class per night.

“They won’t learn after a certain amount of time because their minds begin to wander and their motivation is reduced. I don’t advocate piling homework on; it’s not going to work.

“The older you get, the more homework you should get. But there reaches a point where the law of diminishing returns kicks in.”

While a 12 year old should only get an hour’s worth of homework, he says a 16 year old can manage an hour and a half, after which point their concentration goes.

Dr Carey, however, believes parents are hard-wired into believing all children should have homework, all the way down to junior infants, because they experienced it as well.

“Therefore, if a teacher doesn’t rightfully assign homework there’s going to be complaints.”

While he feels it has a role at second level due to our focus on State exams, introducing it earlier is simply counter-productive.

“Homework deprives children of a right to play, to sit and day dream and to sometimes do nothing in particular at all. The brain needs some oxygen and some down time.”

‘We all hate homework . . . but it has a big impact’

As soon as Sarah-Jayne Tobin’s son comes in the door from school, homework takes over.

“All our days are arranged around it. It needs to be done as soon as we get home otherwise Nathan is too tired,” says Tobin, whose son is in third-class.

“Otherwise, it takes twice as long and there can be tears. Like other kids, Nathan plays football and basketball outside school so those days in particular can be quite full on,” she says.

Nathan has dyspraxia which affects his writing and attention span. It means that Sarah-Jayne often has to hassle him to get it done.

“Trying to do homework on those days [when it he tired] is a nightmare . . . I hate being that mum, the massive pain in the bum!”

Despite the tears and occasional stress, she feels it is a good thing for Nathan and other primary schoolchildren.

“Since he started third class, my son Nathan seems to be getting more into reading independently and I feel this is down to the comprehension homework he gets.

“Before this year he was more into annuals and books that had short snappy paragraphs but his reading and comprehension exercises this year have really helped with his attention span. He’s starting to finally delve into the books I’ve been buying him for years that have been gathering dust.

“Being completely honest, we all hate homework. We know it has to be done but it has a big impact.”

“The only thing I’d change about homework is maybe the frequency; instead of getting stuff each night, maybe give them a Wednesday evening off to break up the week.

“On the issue of whether kids get too much homework; it’s hard to call. Different kids have different levels of ability, and where one may fly through an exercise in 10 minutes, it might take others 30.

“In my son’s school, they say no longer than 30 minutes per night night and it’s pens down whether you’re finished or not, but the adult supervising has to sign off on it.”

How much homework should my child expect?

The National Parents’ Council says all schools should have a homework policy which should be prepared in consultation with parents and children. In general, it says the following guidelines should apply:

Junior/Senior infants: No formal homework but perhaps drawing, preliminary reading, matching shapes and pictures or listening to stories read by parents.

First/Second class: 20-30 minutes

Third/Fourth class: 30-40 minutes

Fifth/Sixth class: 40-60 minutes

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President of Ireland calls for homework to be banned

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. (Source: Getty)

The President of Ireland has made his thoughts known about homework, saying it should be left at the gate and children should be able to use their leisure time for "creative things".

Speaking to RTE’s news2day - a current affairs and news programme for children, Michael D Higgins answered questions on a wide range of topics, the Irish Mirror reports .

When pressed on his views about homework Higgins said: “I think myself, really that the time at home, and the time in the school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things.”

Higgins, a former arts minister, told children “to stay curious about everything and I think it’s important to make sure you don’t miss the joy of sharing information.

“And also have the courage to stand your own ground and let other children be allowed the space of standing their ground too because none of us are the same.

“We’re all unique but at the same time we have a lot going for us.”

Higgins also encouraged the children of Ireland to speak the Irish language.

While the role of president in Ireland is mainly a ceremonial one, it does have some sway over how the government operates.

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Should homework be banned?

Social media has sparked into life about whether children should be given homework - should students be freed from this daily chore? Dr Gerald Letendre, a professor of education at Pennsylvania State University, investigates.

We’ve all done it: pretended to leave an essay at home, or stayed up until 2am to finish a piece of coursework we’ve been ignoring for weeks. Homework, for some people, is seen as a chore that’s ‘wrecking kids’ or ‘killing parents’, while others think it is an essential part of a well-rounded education. The problem is far from new: public debates about homework have been raging since at least the early-1900s, and recently spilled over into a Twitter feud between Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan.

Ironically, the conversation surrounding homework often ignores the scientific ‘homework’ that researchers have carried out. Many detailed studies have been conducted, and can guide parents, teachers and administrators to make sensible decisions about how much work should be completed by students outside of the classroom.

So why does homework stir up such strong emotions? One reason is that, by its very nature, it is an intrusion of schoolwork into family life. I carried out a study in 2005, and found that the amount of time that children and adolescents spend in school, from nursery right up to the end of compulsory education, has greatly increased over the last century . This means that more of a child’s time is taken up with education, so family time is reduced. This increases pressure on the boundary between the family and the school.

Plus, the amount of homework that students receive appears to be increasing, especially in the early years when parents are keen for their children to play with friends and spend time with the family.

Finally, success in school has become increasingly important to success in life. Parents can use homework to promote, or exercise control over, their child’s academic trajectory, and hopefully ensure their future educational success. But this often leaves parents conflicted – they want their children to be successful in school, but they don’t want them to be stressed or upset because of an unmanageable workload.

François Hollande says homework is unfair, as it penalises children who have a difficult home environment © Getty Images

However, the issue isn’t simply down to the opinions of parents, children and their teachers – governments also like to get involved. In the autumn of 2012, French president François Hollande hit world headlines after making a comment about banning homework, ostensibly because it promoted inequality. The Chinese government has also toyed with a ban, because of concerns about excessive academic pressure being put on children.

The problem is, some politicians and national administrators regard regulatory policy in education as a solution for a wide array of social, economic and political issues, perhaps without considering the consequences for students and parents.

Does homework work?

Homework seems to generally have a positive effect for high school students, according to an extensive range of empirical literature. For example, Duke University’s Prof Harris Cooper carried out a meta-analysis using data from US schools, covering a period from 1987 to 2003. He found that homework offered a general beneficial impact on test scores and improvements in attitude, with a greater effect seen in older students. But dig deeper into the issue and a complex set of factors quickly emerges, related to how much homework students do, and exactly how they feel about it.

In 2009, Prof Ulrich Trautwein and his team at the University of Tübingen found that in order to establish whether homework is having any effect, researchers must take into account the differences both between and within classes . For example, a teacher may assign a good deal of homework to a lower-level class, producing an association between more homework and lower levels of achievement. Yet, within the same class, individual students may vary significantly in how much homework improves their baseline performance. Plus, there is the fact that some students are simply more efficient at completing their homework than others, and it becomes quite difficult to pinpoint just what type of homework, and how much of it, will affect overall academic performance.

Over the last century, the amount of time that children and adolescents spend in school has greatly increased

Gender is also a major factor. For example, a study of US high school students carried out by Prof Gary Natriello in the 1980s revealed that girls devote more time to homework than boys, while a follow-up study found that US girls tend to spend more time on mathematics homework than boys. Another study, this time of African-American students in the US, found that eighth grade (ages 13-14) girls were more likely to successfully manage both their tasks and emotions around schoolwork, and were more likely to finish homework.

So why do girls seem to respond more positively to homework? One possible answer proposed by Eunsook Hong of the University of Nevada in 2011 is that teachers tend to rate girls’ habits and attitudes towards work more favourably than boys’. This perception could potentially set up a positive feedback loop between teacher expectations and the children’s capacity for academic work based on gender, resulting in girls outperforming boys. All of this makes it particularly difficult to determine the extent to which homework is helping, though it is clear that simply increasing the time spent on assignments does not directly correspond to a universal increase in learning.

Can homework cause damage?

The lack of empirical data supporting homework in the early years of education, along with an emerging trend to assign more work to this age range, appears to be fuelling parental concerns about potential negative effects. But, aside from anecdotes of increased tension in the household, is there any evidence of this? Can doing too much homework actually damage children?

Evidence suggests extreme amounts of homework can indeed have serious effects on students’ health and well-being. A Chinese study carried out in 2010 found a link between excessive homework and sleep disruption: children who had less homework had better routines and more stable sleep schedules. A Canadian study carried out in 2015 by Isabelle Michaud found that high levels of homework were associated with a greater risk of obesity among boys, if they were already feeling stressed about school in general.

For useful revision guides and video clips to assist with learning, visit BBC Bitesize . This is a free online study resource for UK students from early years up to GCSEs and Scottish Highers.

It is also worth noting that too much homework can create negative effects that may undermine any positives. These negative consequences may not only affect the child, but also could also pile on the stress for the whole family, according to a recent study by Robert Pressman of the New England Centre for Pediatric Psychology. Parents were particularly affected when their perception of their own capacity to assist their children decreased.

What then, is the tipping point, and when does homework simply become too much for parents and children? Guidelines typically suggest that children in the first grade (six years old) should have no more that 10 minutes per night, and that this amount should increase by 10 minutes per school year. However, cultural norms may greatly affect what constitutes too much.

A study of children aged between 8 and 10 in Quebec defined high levels of homework as more than 30 minutes a night, but a study in China of children aged 5 to 11 deemed that two or more hours per night was excessive. It is therefore difficult to create a clear standard for what constitutes as too much homework, because cultural differences, school-related stress, and negative emotions within the family all appear to interact with how homework affects children.

Should we stop setting homework?

In my opinion, even though there are potential risks of negative effects, homework should not be banned. Small amounts, assigned with specific learning goals in mind and with proper parental support, can help to improve students’ performance. While some studies have generally found little evidence that homework has a positive effect on young children overall, a 2008 study by Norwegian researcher Marte Rønning found that even some very young children do receive some benefit. So simply banning homework would mean that any particularly gifted or motivated pupils would not be able to benefit from increased study. However, at the earliest ages, very little homework should be assigned. The decisions about how much and what type are best left to teachers and parents.

As a parent, it is important to clarify what goals your child’s teacher has for homework assignments. Teachers can assign work for different reasons – as an academic drill to foster better study habits, and unfortunately, as a punishment. The goals for each assignment should be made clear, and should encourage positive engagement with academic routines.

Parents who play an active role in homework routines can help give their kids a more positive experience of learning © Getty Images

Parents should inform the teachers of how long the homework is taking, as teachers often incorrectly estimate the amount of time needed to complete an assignment, and how it is affecting household routines. For young children, positive teacher support and feedback is critical in establishing a student’s positive perception of homework and other academic routines. Teachers and parents need to be vigilant and ensure that homework routines do not start to generate patterns of negative interaction that erode students’ motivation.

Likewise, any positive effects of homework are dependent on several complex interactive factors, including the child’s personal motivation, the type of assignment, parental support and teacher goals. Creating an overarching policy to address every single situation is not realistic, and so homework policies tend to be fixated on the time the homework takes to complete. But rather than focusing on this, everyone would be better off if schools worked on fostering stronger communication between parents, teachers and students, allowing them to respond more sensitively to the child’s emotional and academic needs.

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