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Whose homework? researching parental labour in socio-economically diverse communities

conference contribution
posted on 2004-01-01, 00:00 authored by Kirsten Hutchison
Recent government education policies in Britain, USA and Australia advocate increased parental involvement in schooling. In the context of inadequate resourcing of public schools, increasingly parents assume significant responsibility for their children's education through active involvement in schools and at home. However, numerous studies have identified barriers to inclusion in the life of schools faced by families living in poverty, by families whose first language is not English, by Indigenous families. Class linked analyses of homework suggest that homework can be a source of stress in many families which serves to reinforce educational and social inequalities and underline cultural differences.


This paper reports on a feminist ethnographic study of homework which examines the nature and underlying purposes of tasks children bring from school for completion at home, the impact of homework on families, and the kinds of parental labour performed in homes where homework is completed. It reconceptualises homework as a 'field of practice' and develops a Bourdiueian analysis of parental management of homework across 2 socio-economically diverse communities. The paper argues that the pedagogical work in the home is increasingly complex and that the labour performed by parents is misunderstood and devalued in policies which shape homework.

History

Event

Australian Association for Research in Education. Conference (2004 : Melbourne, Vic.)

Pagination

114 - 114

Publisher

Australian Association for Research in Education

Location

Melbourne, Vic.

Place of publication

Melbourne, Vic.

Start date

2004-11-28

End date

2004-12-02

ISSN

1324-9339

Language

eng

Publication classification

E3 Extract of paper

Editor/Contributor(s)

P Jeffrey

Title of proceedings

AARE 2004 : Doing the Public Good: Positioning Educational Research : International Education Research Conference Proceedings

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