This study investigates some students’ and teachers’ beliefs about the role of homework in mathematics in Sweden. By interviewing eight adolescent students and two experienced mathematics teachers the study discusses the role of homework in relation to learning, teaching, achievements, and relationship between students, teachers and parents. The results suggest that (a) students and teachers have similar beliefs and perspective on homework (b) students and teachers believe in the use of homework to increase mathematics test results (c) homework breeds relationship and communication between students, teachers, and parents (d) the quality and quantity of homework is essential, and that (e) well developed relationship between parents, students, and teachers is essential to create successful students who appreciate homework.

Orientador: Rosely Palermo Brenelli / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T22:41:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dell'Agli_BetaniaAlvesVeiga_D.pdf: 1712016 bytes, checksum: 5d78670b63d652ada93eed5c6ef63e93 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Embasados na teoria psicogenética que preconiza a existência de paralelismo entre aspectos afetivos e cognitivos da conduta, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar as relações entre esses aspectos em crianças com e sem queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem. A amostra foi constituída por 12 crianças que cursavam a 3a série do ensino fundamental de uma escola da rede pública do interior do estado de São Paulo, sendo seis com queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem e seis sem queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem, segundo a informação da professora responsável. Os participantes são de ambos os sexos com idade entre 9 anos e 1 mês a 10 anos e 10 meses. O procedimento de coleta de dados pautou-se em observações em sala de aula com a turma toda, tanto nas tarefas escolares como nas atividades lúdicas. As tarefas escolares foram aquelas dadas pela professora e para as atividades lúdicas foram oferecidos jogos de regras. A fim de coletar informações a respeito das condutas das crianças no ambiente escolar e familiar, realizou-se uma entrevista com a professora e uma entrevista com a família. Aos participantes da pesquisa foram aplicadas individualmente as provas operatórias clássicas piagetianas e o jogo Descubra o Animal. Para a análise dos dados foram criadas categorias afetivas e cognitivas a partir das observações e das entrevistas. Os aspectos afetivos da conduta foram comparados entre os dois grupos e relacionados com o índice de operatoriedade, com o desempenho em conteúdos escolares e com o desempenho cognitivo no jogo. Ao comparar os aspectos afetivos em tarefas escolares e em atividades lúdicas, os resultados demonstraram que existem diferenças entre os grupos. Nas tarefas escolares, predominaram aspectos afetivos positivos nas crianças sem queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem, enquanto que nas crianças com queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem, predominou a ausência de afetos positivos. Nas tarefas lúdicas, em ambos os grupos, evidenciou-se predomínio de afetos positivos. No que se refere às relações entre os aspectos afetivos e cognitivos analisados, os resultados demonstraram a existência de relações entre esses aspectos nas tarefas escolares nos dois grupos. Já nas atividades lúdicas, no grupo com queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem, essa relação não se manteve, isso porque esse tipo de atividade parece mobilizar condutas afetivas positivas, garantindo o interesse, sem, contudo, modificar os aspectos cognitivos. Por ser um estudo empírico, essa pesquisa contribuiu para melhor compreender a relação entre afetividade e cognição em crianças com e sem queixa de dificuldade de aprendizagem assim como compreender que aspectos afetivos e cognitivos são complementares, indissociáveis e irredutíveis / Abstract: Based on the theory of psycho-genetics that shows the existence of a parallel between affective and cognitive aspects of behavior, the objective of this research is to verify the relationship between these aspects in children with and without learning disabilities. Twelve boys and girls with ages ranging from 9 years and 1 month to 10 years and 10 months were chosen to be observed. The children were attending 3rd grade in a public primary school in a suburban town in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Based on the assessment by their teacher, half of the children showed gaps in learning and the other half had no learning disabilities. The test group was observed with other students in a classroom environment, performing teacher directed learning activities and playing activities such as rule games. In order to get further information about the children¿s behavior in school and in their family environment, both the teacher and family members were interviewed. Classical operational Piaget tests and the game Find the Animal were applied individually to all twelve participants engaged in the research. By analyzing the data obtained from observation and interviews some affective and cognitive categories were set. The affective aspects of the behavior were compared between the two groups and then were related to operational index, performance in school content and cognitive performance in the game. Comparing the affective aspects occurring in school work and in playful activities, it was shown that there were some differences between the groups. Children with no learning disabilities displayed more positive affective aspects concerning school work whereas the children with learning disabilities showed a lack of positive affection. It was clear that in both groups the positive affect was predominant in regard to playful activities. Regarding the relationship between analyzed affective and cognitive aspects the results showed that there was correlation between the aspects observed in the school work of both groups. However, with the group that exhibits learning disabilities, the relationship did not exist with the playful activities because these kinds of activities seem to require positive affective behavior, which guarantees interest without modifying cognitive aspects. Because this was an empirical study it contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between affection and cognition in children with and without learning disabilities as well as an understanding that affective and cognitive aspects are complementary, inseparable and irreducible / Doutorado / Psicologia, Desenvolvimento Humano e Educação / Doutor em Educação

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of parents and teachers of elementary school students regarding homework. Specifically, the researcher examined parent and teacher perceptions, perceptions of teachers in kindergarten through fifth grades, and parents of elementary students in kindergarten through fifth grades. In this qualitative study, the researcher analyzed feedback obtained from two focus groups: a group of three parents and a group of three teachers. One-on-one in-depth interviews of seven parents or guardians and seven elementary school teachers were utilized. These interviews were conducted in settings chosen by the participants. All participants worked in, or had children enrolled in, one school division in Southwest Virginia. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and examined by the participants to validate accuracy before coding began. Coded analysis of interview data revealed emergent themes based on frequency of occurrence. Additionally, noteworthy data discussed by participants were documented. The findings of the study indicate that homework for elementary school students can be both beneficial and detrimental for elementary school students. The following themes emerged from analysis of participant interviews: homework can lead to stress; homework should be differentiated; homework should be brief; failing to complete homework results in school consequences; homework reveals student successes and areas of concern; homework amounts don’t increase with grade level progression; nightly reading homework is acceptable; teachers have a misconception between what they believe they are assigning and what is actually occurring; and homework must have a purpose. Moreover, noteworthy ideas were: teachers will make changes to homework based on parent feedback; homework impacts sleep; homework reduction can be beneficial; parents enjoy having homework options; parents appreciate information about homework; and teachers do not like assigning homework.