| This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of consistent school-to-home communication on homework completion, project completion, grades, attendance, student engagement, student behavior, and student attitude toward homework. Three high school English composition teachers reported data from a sample of 121 sophomores, who completed a pre- and post-survey, the Student Survey of Homework Practices. Each teacher taught a control and treatment class in which communication with the home was increased through phone calls home and weekly notes sent home with students. The post-test analyses by group found that students in the treatment group significantly decreased the amount of homework planning they did. Post-test analyses by teacher found that students in two of the control groups reported significantly more problems with forgetting materials for homework and procrastination. Post-test analyses by teacher also revealed some of the possible detrimental effects that negative behavior can have on academic-related measures. In addition, the teachers' fidelity of implementation during this study proved to be an obstacle that future researchers will have to address. |
