New research reveals that many Aussie parents are out of their depth when it comes to their child’s homework – with many not understanding the requirements of the task in order to be of assistance.
Over 1,000 parents and 500 school children aged 11-16 years took part in the nationwide survey on homework habits.
The survey was commissioned by school learning tool, Firefly Learning; which makes the educational journey easier and more collaborative between parents, children and teachers.
Almost 30% of parents are unable to assist their children with homework due to not understanding the task at hand.
However, with easier access to learning resources and being on the same page as their children’s teacher, this issue could be resolved.
Forgetting was the main excuse for 11 and 12-year-olds, while 16-year-olds said they had too much homework to complete. However, the real reason for not completing homework across all ages was a preference for alternative demands like out of school interests and busy schedules (26%).
Firefly is an online school learning tool where teachers can set homework, give feedback, share resources and engage parents at the push of a button, giving them more time to teach, whilst keeping parents, students and their school up to date in real-time.
Students can work on tasks independently, submit homework, get instant feedback from teachers and track their progress.
Parents have easily accessible insight into their child’s performance, homework and attendance, with a private messaging service allowing instant communication with the school and teachers.
Denise Bramhall, sales manager Australia for Firefly Learning, said the resource has value for school leaders looking to streamline school reports.
“Senior school leaders collect learning data from across the school to instantly report on school progress and use this to evidence success, for example to parents or regulatory bodies,” Bramhall told The Educator.
“Senior leaders can make meaningful comparisons between departments and clearly understand the success of their policies and make changes accordingly.”
Bramhall said technology can boost parental engagement in their child’s learning by helping schools engage with their parent community beyond sending generic information and announcements.
“Giving parents access to the resources to support their children along with what the criteria for success looks like will always have to have positive outcome on student learning,” she said.