Should we Help our Children with Homework? A Meta-Analysis Using PISA Data

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Cross-cultural Studies
• Academic Achievement Research

Background:

• The impact of homework on academic performance is a contentious issue with no consensus.
• Parental involvement in homework is frequently discussed but its precise effect remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the influence of parental homework assistance on academic achievement.
• To examine the cultural and academic invariance of this influence.
• To assess the temporal stability of parental homework help effects.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis of data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) evaluations (2009-2018).
• Inclusion of countries that administered the PISA family questionnaire.
• Analysis of 180 effects, including moderator and multimodal inference.

Main Results:

• Increased parental homework help correlated with lower academic achievement (d = 0.23).
• The negative effect was more pronounced in European countries compared to Asian countries.
• No significant differences were observed across academic subjects; results were stable over time.

Conclusions:

• Family assistance with homework does not guarantee academic success.
• The manner in which help is provided is more critical than the amount of help.
• Findings are consistent across subjects and time, with some cross-cultural variability.