Secondary school teachers’ homework practices and perceptions of student achievement: A qualitative case study of 7th grade teachers at one Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Homework is a widely discussed topic of education around the world and an important part of school-aged students’ daily routine. According to the PISA (2012), students of Kazakhstani educational institutions spend about 9 hours/week, which is the fourth highest after China, Russia, and Singapore. It is two times more than the world average. It is argued by some that students are overloaded with homework and spend too much of their lives studying. Less time is available for leisure activities or spending time with their families. This study is focused on 7th grade schoolteachers’ homework practices and perceptions of the effect of homework on students’ academic achievement. The research covered the following main areas: secondary school teachers’ homework practices, teacher’s perception on the effect of homework on student academic achievement. The research was conducted in one of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools of Kazakhstan. A small-scale qualitative case study research design was used to find answers to the main research questions by conducting semi-structured one-to-one interviews and analysis of the individual homework policies of teachers. There were presented following findings based on two main research questions. The majority of teachers understand the purpose of the homework differently based on types of subject, the purpose of the class. Also, according to the findings, teachers assign various types of homework to motivate and interest students, however, not all students enjoy doing assignments. Moreover, teachers indicated that they struggle to provide constructive and valuable feedback. Secondly, the ideas about the common homework policy were different among the participants. Part of the teachers supported homework policy, as it will have guidelines for teachers, students and parents, while another part of participants thought that homework policy will increase the amount of homework and teachers could not be creative anymore as they should follow the guidelines. Keywords: homework, teachers’ practice, teachers’ perception, homework policy, students’ achievement