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Improving the mathematics homework completion of middle school students through involvement of their parents in using a homework telephone hotline system
Abstract
The present study, conducted among middle school students in a suburban school district in the midwestern United States, encouraged parental involvement in (a) learning about their children's homework assignments, and (b) monitoring their children's homework completion. A telephone answering system allowed students and parents to access information about homework and other school information after school hours. A pilot study found that 88% of students had utilized the system, the majority of them calling for information regarding mathematics assignments. However, two-thirds of students surveyed estimated that their parents had never utilized the system. The assignment completion rates in mathematics of 60 “at risk” students was monitored while their parents received various levels of information regarding how to use the system more effectively to monitor their children's performance. Analysis of the data was expected to demonstrate a significant difference between the assignment completion rates of students whose parents received specific information about how better to utilize the homework hotline system and personal encouragement to use it, as compared to groups whose parents received no encouragement and/or no information about how better to use the system. While some small differences were seen, these results were found to be statistically insignificant due to high variability within each treatment group as well as other possible factors. Results of the study, including how these data fit with the current literature, are discussed. New directions for future research are also explored.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Mathematics education|Secondary education|Individual & family studies|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Thurman, Carol, "Improving the mathematics homework completion of middle school students through involvement of their parents in using a homework telephone hotline system" (1999). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9936775.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9936775