Research results that there is no merit in helping parents with homework

Some educators believe that parents help their children with their homework, and some educators believe that helping children with their homework is an effective mechanism for children to succeed at school. Meanwhile, research results were announced that there was no relationship between 'parents helping with homework' and 'academic performance'.

Parental Help With Homework in Elementary School: Much Ado About Nothing?: Journal of Research in Childhood Education: Vol 0, No 0

Study finds parental help with homework has no impact on student achievement | Penn State University
https://www.psu.edu/news/education/story/study-finds-parental-help-homework-has-no-impact-student-achievement/

Helping Your Kid With Homework Probably Isn't Benefiting Them Like You Think It Is : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/helping-your-kid-with-homework-probably-isnt-benefiting-them-like-you-think-it-is

There are pros and cons to ``helping parents with their homework,'' and the U.S. Department of Education views homework as ``an opportunity for children to learn'' and at the same time, ``an opportunity for families to be involved in their children's education,'' and actively promotes it. increase.

Homework: A Concern for the Whole Family -- Helping Your Child With Homework
https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/homework/part3.html

On the other hand, there is also a study by Professor Laura DeSimon of the University of Delaware that ' parents helping with homework has a negative impact on children's academic ability .'

In this study, Professor Katerina Bodovsky of Pennsylvania State University and colleagues used national data from 1997-1998 and 2011 and a more sophisticated statistical model that considered variables such as parental socioeconomic status and educational level. , conducted research that went one step further than previous research.

As a result, there was no effect of parents helping with homework on the grades of elementary school students in mathematics and Japanese.

Professor Bodovsky pointed out the following three points.

1: cognitive loss
Parents are not necessarily well versed in pedagogy or developmental psychology, and one in four students in the school have immigrant parents, so they are not necessarily well versed in the American education system in the first place. Not everyone has the 'skill' to properly guide students to do their homework on their own. For this reason, ``helping with homework'' simply teaches the correct answer, and there is a risk that the cognitive benefits of practicing problem solving will be lost.

2: Negative impact on home
Parents trying to help their children with homework every day can add to the stress of family life. Previous research by Jessica McCrory-Carralco, an associate professor at Indiana University, found that parents involved in their children's homework may put undue pressure on them and allow their children to behave in ways that would be unacceptable in the classroom. shown. It may also increase conflicts between parents and between parents and children.

3: Postpone responsibility
Helping parents with homework can foster a sense of procrastination among children and can deprive them of opportunities to develop skills such as time management. ``In elementary school, it's important to develop knowledge, but it's even more important to develop skills and habits,'' says Bodovsky.

Although it cannot be said that ``parents are effective in helping with homework,'' Professor Bodovsky said that it is possible to prepare a stage for success and contribute to the development of children's academic skills.

By the way, due to the pandemic, there are cases where parents help their children study due to remote classes, but as a result, there are cases where homeschooling (studying at home instead of going to school) It is emphasized that it is quite different from helping a parent with homework that is given while attending school.