Homework set by primary schools could be reinforcing educational inequality by giving an advantage to children whose parents have more time, money and resources to support their learning, new research from the University of Manchester suggests.
The study highlights how expectations for parental involvement can disadvantage families juggling work, childcare and other responsibilities, while potentially rewarding those better placed to provide additional educational support.
Researchers argue that homework is not simply an activity for children to complete outside school. It also places demands on parents, whose time, knowledge and financial resources can influence how successfully children complete their work.
This can create an uneven playing field, with schools potentially mistaking parents' ability to help with homework for their level of commitment to their children's education.
The research found that some parents experience homework as stressful and even shaming, particularly when they lack the time or confidence to help with schoolwork. One parent, identified as Emma in the study, described the difficulties of supporting her children after working until 8pm, arguing that homework should be considered a bonus rather than an automatic expectation of families.
The researchers also warn that more affluent families may be better equipped to overcome time pressures by paying for private tutoring, giving their children additional support that less financially secure households may struggle to afford.
Dr Emilia Howker said: “We need to be careful about assuming that a parent who spends more time helping with homework is necessarily more committed to their child’s education.
“Some parents simply have more time and resources available to them. When schools reward that investment, we risk turning differences in family circumstances into differences in children’s educational opportunities.”
“If homework rewards families who have the most time, knowledge and money to invest, then it can end up reinforcing the very inequalities that education is supposed to overcome,” said Professor Laura Black. “Simply removing homework may not solve the problem, because other forms of parental involvement can create similar advantages. The bigger challenge is to rethink what we expect from parents in the first place.”
The researchers argue that simply scrapping homework would not necessarily eliminate educational inequalities, as other forms of parental engagement could create similar advantages.
Instead, they are calling on schools to reconsider their expectations of families and recognise the different circumstances in which parents live, rather than interpreting limited involvement as a lack of interest in children's education.
