Attitudes of 4th grade students toward homework

Attitudes of 4th grade students toward homework

Attitudes of 4th grade students toward homework

Chapter # 4

Purpose of study

To examine the factors that influence the attitudes toward homework of fourth grade studnets to better inform homework practices.

Research questions

1. What factors do fourth grade students identify as influencing their attitudes toward homework?

2. What factors do fourth grade students identify as influencing their completion of homework?

3. What is the relationship between the factors students identified as influencing their attitudes toward homework and the factors students identified as influencing their completion of homework?

Method

Sample

For this study we interviewed six students, six parents and classroom teachers.

Personal data questionnaire

This brief questionnaire was developed to obtain information. This questionnaire included a question asking to indicate the student attitude towards work. The scores upon entrance to the fourth grade school and their GPA at the end of the current semester were obtained from school records.

Findings of the Study

Homework effort

Homework effort was measured in terms of two overlapping constructs: homework compliance and percentage of tasks attempted.

Homework compliance was measured by five items; example items were “I often copy mathematics [physics/biology/German/English/history] homework from others” (reverse scoring) and “I do my best in my mathematics [physics/biology/German/English/history] homework ”. Students scoring high on this scale do their homework assignments carefully and to the best of their ability; they typically do not copy from others. Internal consistency (Cronbach's a) for all school subjects ranged from 0.78 to 0.82.

A single-item indicator measured the percentage of homework tasks attempted per week: “On average, what percentage of your mathematics homework do you make a serious effort to do?”

Homework motivation

Four items were used to assess the expectancy component of homework motivation (e.g., “If I make an effort, I can do all of my mathematics [physics/biology/German/English/history] homework ”). Internal consistency (Cronbach's a) for all school subjects ranged from 0.63 to 0.73. Students scoring high on homework expectancy are optimistic about their capability to work successfully on the tasks assigned, even if those tasks are complicated.

The value component of homework motivation also comprised four items (e.g., “Our mathematics [physics/biology/German/English/history] homework takes a lot of time and is of little use to me” (reverse scoring)). Internal consistency (Cronbach's a) for all school subjects ranged from 0.69 to 0.75. In terms of the Eccles and Wigfield (2002) expectancy-value conceptualization of motivation, the homework value items focused on the facets of utility and cost.

Parental variables

Three items were used to tap students' perceptions of family communication on school matters. An example item was “My parents and I often talk about things that have happened at school”. Internal consistency was satisfactory, Cronbach's a = 0.74.

Four items assessed parental homework help. An example item was “My parents ask how they can help me with my homework ”. Internal consistency was satisfactory, Cronbach's a = 0.76.

A single-item indicator was used to assess the frequency of parental homework control: “How often do your parents check that you've done your homework per 10 homework assignments?” The ...