Relationship Between Amount of Homework and Performance in Mathematics among Public Day Secondary School Students in Hamisi Sub-County, Kenya
- November 14, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: Education, IJRSI
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VI, Issue X, October 2019 | ISSN 2321–2705
Obuya S. O. Peter, Francis C. Indoshi and Tony O. Okwach
Department of Educational Communication Technology and Curriculum Studies, Maseno University, Kenya
Abstract:-Various endeavors have been employed to improve performance in mathematics in Hamisi Sub-County including homework which teachers give to students at various amounts to no avail. Performance in mathematics is still the lowest not only in the county but also in the entire region. Appropriately managed homework may not have been exploited as research done so far has not established the amount of homework which impacts positively on the performance of secondary school students in mathematics. Existing literature indicates that teachers give various amounts of homework tasks based on their own discretion yet little is known about how much homework task is beneficial to learners in terms of improved performance in mathematics. In this study, questionnaires and document analysis guide were used to collect quantitative data which were then analyzed by use of frequencies, percentages and Pearson moment correlation coefficient. Qualitative data were analyzed by creating thematic categories and reported as verbatim excerpts. The study revealed that students assigned 21-30 mathematics questions staggered through different days within a week performed better than those assigned more or less questions for the entire topic but as a single assignment done within a period of one day. The findings of this study may be useful to the Ministry of Education, school managers and administrators to develop a policy on homework as a tool for enhancing performance in mathematics and other subjects instead of leaving its management exclusively at the discretion of teachers.
Key words: – Homework, amount of Homework, relationship, performance in mathematics.
I. INTRODUCTION
Homework was defined as the tasks assigned by teachers to students to be completed outside the class [4]. Homework was also identified as a natural connector of school and home [8]. In these ways, homework is one of the most common school activities involving teachers, students and parents [8]. Recently, however, there have been serious debates worldwide about whether or not teachers should assign homework.
