ASK children, and their parents, whether they are getting too much homework, and the answer is most likely to be yes.
Many educationists would agree. In a recent study published in the United Kingdom, academic Alfie Kohn said too much study after school turned children off education and sparked family rows.
And any parent who has battled with a sulky teenager would be sure to agree. Numerous studies have been done internationally on the subject, but none in South Africa, and it appears there are no clear guidelines for local teachers to follow.
According to the Department of Education's curriculum committee, schools should have a policy on homework drawn up in consultation with parents - but this varies from one school to another.
Decades of investigation have failed to turn up any evidence that homework is beneficial for pupils in primary school.
Dr Beverly Killian, head of the Child and Family Clinic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Psychology, said the lack of guidelines was a problem, but some teachers also lost sight of the purpose of homework.
The SA Schools Act provides that a governing body of a public school must adopt a code of conduct.
The code must include a section that prescribes that pupils must commit themselves to "do their school work during classes and complete assigned homework", but it does not provide guidelines for the amount of homework given by teachers.
The question remains on how much is too much or too little.
Fanitsa Zervogiannis, a former teacher and child psychologist, said homework should have clearly defined aims and allotted periods of time appropriate for each age group.
"In primary schools, homework should not occupy more than two-and-a-half hours a week for grades 1 to 3. By the time the child is 12, he/she should still have no more than four to five hours of homework a week. The general rule of thumb is 10 minutes a night for every grade level.
"What may take an average pupil 10 minutes to complete may take another an hour. Generally, in grades 1 to 3 homework should not take more than 20 to 30 minutes. When a child is beginning to learn to read and is still learning letter recognition and phonics, it may take him a little longer than the 10 minutes rule of thumb to do his reading homework in Grade 1," said Zervogiannis.
In his book, The Homework Myth, Kohn also claims that homework does not help children score well in tests.
Kohn is not the only one to make the claim that homework could be a waste of time. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States said an increase in homework may actually cause disparities in student learning. In an article published in Physorg.com, professors David Baker and Gerald LeTendre said assigning textbooks or worksheet questions to a child assumes he or she has the kind of environment conducive to supporting drill and memorising.
The professors said that upper-income parents, who tended to have closer communication with the school and teachers, were better able to assist children with homework.
"But in poorer households - often headed by single parents, parents with comparatively little education or, in some nations, parents held back by language barriers - homework may not be cordially received, especially by parents of small children," the article said.
According to the recently released SA Child Gauge, published by the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town, more than half of South African children live in poverty, with a household income of less than R800 a month.
Children whose days are highly structured have no time to play and no time to relax and just "be" children. There must be a balance between work and play.
lTshingilane is national spokesman for the South African Early Childhood Development Association
Too much homework can actually turn children off education
ASK children, and their parents, whether they are getting too much homework, and the answer is most likely to be yes.
Many educationists would agree. In a recent study published in the United Kingdom, academic Alfie Kohn said too much study after school turned children off education and sparked family rows.
And any parent who has battled with a sulky teenager would be sure to agree. Numerous studies have been done internationally on the subject, but none in South Africa, and it appears there are no clear guidelines for local teachers to follow.
According to the Department of Education's curriculum committee, schools should have a policy on homework drawn up in consultation with parents - but this varies from one school to another.
Decades of investigation have failed to turn up any evidence that homework is beneficial for pupils in primary school.
Dr Beverly Killian, head of the Child and Family Clinic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Psychology, said the lack of guidelines was a problem, but some teachers also lost sight of the purpose of homework.
The SA Schools Act provides that a governing body of a public school must adopt a code of conduct.
The code must include a section that prescribes that pupils must commit themselves to "do their school work during classes and complete assigned homework", but it does not provide guidelines for the amount of homework given by teachers.
The question remains on how much is too much or too little.
Fanitsa Zervogiannis, a former teacher and child psychologist, said homework should have clearly defined aims and allotted periods of time appropriate for each age group.
"In primary schools, homework should not occupy more than two-and-a-half hours a week for grades 1 to 3. By the time the child is 12, he/she should still have no more than four to five hours of homework a week. The general rule of thumb is 10 minutes a night for every grade level.
"What may take an average pupil 10 minutes to complete may take another an hour. Generally, in grades 1 to 3 homework should not take more than 20 to 30 minutes. When a child is beginning to learn to read and is still learning letter recognition and phonics, it may take him a little longer than the 10 minutes rule of thumb to do his reading homework in Grade 1," said Zervogiannis.
In his book, The Homework Myth, Kohn also claims that homework does not help children score well in tests.
Kohn is not the only one to make the claim that homework could be a waste of time. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States said an increase in homework may actually cause disparities in student learning. In an article published in Physorg.com, professors David Baker and Gerald LeTendre said assigning textbooks or worksheet questions to a child assumes he or she has the kind of environment conducive to supporting drill and memorising.
The professors said that upper-income parents, who tended to have closer communication with the school and teachers, were better able to assist children with homework.
"But in poorer households - often headed by single parents, parents with comparatively little education or, in some nations, parents held back by language barriers - homework may not be cordially received, especially by parents of small children," the article said.
According to the recently released SA Child Gauge, published by the Children's Institute at the University of Cape Town, more than half of South African children live in poverty, with a household income of less than R800 a month.
Children whose days are highly structured have no time to play and no time to relax and just "be" children. There must be a balance between work and play.
lTshingilane is national spokesman for the South African Early Childhood Development Association
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