Elementary school homework could be reinforcing educational inequality, study suggests

Elementary school homework could be reinforcing educational inequality, study suggests Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Homework set by elementary schools could be reinforcing educational inequalities by rewarding families who have more time and resources to spend helping their children, new research from the University of Manchester suggests. The study argues that homework is not simply an educational activity carried out by children at home. It also requires parents to invest their time, knowledge and resources, potentially giving some children an advantage over others. Researchers found that parents can face very different demands on their time, particularly when they are balancing homework with work, childcare and other family responsibilities. The study is published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education. Yet schools may treat parents' ability and willingness to spend time on homework as a measure of how well they are supporting their children's education. The researchers argue that this can create a 'deficit' view of parents, in which families who have less time or fewer resources are perceived as less engaged with their children's education. When homework becomes a parental responsibility Homework is often presented as a way for children to practice what they have learned at school. But the researchers argue that it also creates expectations about how parents should use their time, examining the process through which homework is set by a teacher, completed by a child with parental involvement, and then returned to the teacher. This creates an opportunity for parents to invest time in producing work that can subsequently be recognized and rewarded within the education system. The researchers use the sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu to argue that this investment can become a form of cultural capital—the time and knowledge available to families can be converted into educational advantage. Not all parents have the same amount of time The study highlights the very different circumstances in which parents are expected to support homework. One parent, referred to as Emma in the paper, describes trying to help her children despite working until 8 p.m. She says that doing homework late at night can be extremely difficult and argues that homework should be regarded as a 'bonus' if parents are able to do it, rather than something automatically expected of every family. Emma also describes the experience as potentially 'shaming' for parents who do not understand the homework themselves. The researchers argue that this illustrates how apparently neutral expectations about parental engagement can have very different consequences depending on families' circumstances. A parent with flexible working hours, financial resources and confidence with schoolwork may be able to provide substantial support, while a parent working long or irregular hours may have much less time available, even if they are equally committed to their child's education. Are parents being judged on how they spend their time? A central argument of the paper is that schools can develop implicit ideas about the 'proper' use of parents' time. The researchers describe these expectations as part of the educational field's 'doxa'—beliefs that become so taken for granted that they appear natural or unquestionable. This can mean that spending time on educational activities is treated as evidence of being a good or committed parent, while parents who cannot or do not engage in the expected ways may be judged as lacking commitment. The researchers argue that this can obscure the structural reasons why parents have different amounts of time available. The 'colonization' of family life The paper builds on previous research describing homework as a 'colonization of the home by school.' The researchers argue that homework does not simply extend learning beyond the classroom; it can also give schools an influence over how families are expected to spend their time together. This is illustrated by the views of one teacher, Higgins, who describes homework as an opportunity for parents and children to spend time together. She also argues that parents have a responsibility to prioritize their children's education and suggests that schools sometimes have to compensate when parents are not sufficiently involved. The researchers argue that this illustrates a tension between two very different understandings of homework. For teachers, it can be seen as an opportunity to support learning and strengthen parent-child relationships, while for some parents it can represent an additional demand on already limited time and a judgment about whether they are using that time 'properly.' A hidden advantage for families with more resources The study also highlights an apparent contradiction in how parental involvement can operate. Families with greater financial resources may be able to overcome a lack of time by outsourcing educational work, for example through private tutoring. This means that having limited time does not necessarily prevent more affluent parents from ensuring their children receive substantial educational support. Families with fewer financial resources may instead have to choose between spending their own limited time on homework and other demands such as paid work, child care and household responsibilities. The researchers argue that inequality is therefore not simply about how much parents care about their children's education, but also about who has the resources to turn that commitment into educational advantage. Why simply removing homework may not be enough The researchers argue that eliminating homework would be desirable as a school-directed parental engagement practice, but caution that this would not automatically remove inequalities. Other forms of parental engagement could emerge to take its place and continue to reward families with greater resources. Instead, the authors argue that schools need to examine the assumptions underlying parental engagement and develop practices that recognize the different circumstances in which families live. They call for schools, teachers and researchers to better understand families' experiences and to develop approaches that legitimize non-dominant experiences, rather than treating them as evidence of parental failure. Making the invisible visible The research uses a detailed case involving a parent, a teacher and the first author, who was herself a parent at the school. The authors argue that this unusual perspective allowed them to examine how different people could experience the same homework practice in very different ways. The first author describes a moment when she realized that homework was being used not only to develop children's academic skills but also as a way of encouraging a particular form of parental behavior. The researchers describe this as a moment in which something that had previously appeared natural became visible as a social practice shaped by power and class. They argue that recognizing these hidden assumptions is an important step toward challenging educational inequalities. What the experts say "We need to be careful about assuming that a parent who spends more time helping with homework is necessarily more committed to their child's education," said Dr. Emilia Howker. "Some parents simply have more time and resources available to them. When schools reward that investment, we risk turning differences in family circumstances into differences in children's educational opportunities." "If homework rewards families who have the most time, knowledge and money to invest, then it can end up reinforcing the very inequalities that education is supposed to overcome. Simply removing homework may not solve the problem, because other forms of parental involvement can create similar advantages. The bigger challenge is to rethink what we expect from parents in the first place," said professor Laura Black. More information Emilia Howker et al., Time for homework: doxic expectations on parents' use of time in the home-school relationship, British Journal of Sociology of Education (2026). DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2026.2709061 Provided by University of Manchester