Homework Practices that Support Students with Disabilities (continued)

Making Homework Work at Home

According to University of Vermont researchers Martha Fitzgerald and Pam Kay, children with learning disabilities have more favorable attitudes regarding homework when assignments are made in the context of a strong support system of teachers, parents, and peers. And, favorable attitudes typically translate into completion and better learning.

In 1990, Fitzgerald and Kay responded to an OSEP request for proposals that asked, "Has the increased reliance on homework created a bridge between home and school or resulted in increased parent/child friction and the need for tutorial services?" To answer this question, Fitzgerald and Kay brought together school districts and families (some with children with disabilities) from five Vermont communities for focus group and individual interviews.

Several themes emerged. First, parents felt ill-equipped to help their children with homework. They cited lack of information about the curriculum and lack of information about the new curriculum reforms.

"Parents were very concerned that this lack of information would hamper their efforts to help their children, who in many cases needed specialized assistance," Fitzgerald reports. "Parents also wanted to know and understand the classroom teacher's expectations and approach for homework. Many felt that these expectations needed to be made explicit from the get-go."
Another theme centered on parents' preference for homework that was tailored to the individual child and that respected child and family needs. Parents of children with disabilities recounted stories of how homework could be inappropriate. As one parent summarized, "What's the point in giving someone an assignment that they can't possibly do?"

Overwhelmingly, parents preferred homework that involved concrete, authentic projects that were motivating for children. Finally, parents wanted a comprehensive, two-way communication system.

"The daily demands of homework create the need for some parents to have a dependable, ongoing source of information about the details of class work and curriculum," Fitzgerald explained. "Parents said they would like more recognition of their role in homework, more feedback on the results, more opportunities for parent conferences, and more time to really talk at meetings."