Abstract

Despite the restrictions and controversies in Turkey’s educational system, the efficacy of the homework assignments on the student’s development is indisputable. Besides, what needs to be discussed is what kind of assignments should be given to students, and how they should be evaluated. The aim of this study is to investigate the views of science teachers about homework assignments. The survey method was preferred for this study. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers, and 100 teachers were reached online and via social media. The data obtained from the study were evaluated through quantitative and qualitative analyses. This study shows that the majority of the teachers do not support banning homework, and they consider it as necessary. Teachers mostly assign homework assignments for repetition and reinforcement. Project assignments and research presentation assignments are the most commonly assigned types of homework. Teachers give homework to students which they can do mostly at home spending 0–1 hours together with their friends. According to the teachers, homework provides the most benefits for reinforcement, repetition and learning. In the study, it was found that the majority of the teachers did not use portfolios. According to the teachers participating in the study, the factors that mainly affect student motivation are concentration, reluctance and insufficient knowledge.

In order for students to develop their skills properly in the 21st century and be successful in international examinations such as TIMSS, their understanding of homework must also change to meet the requirements of the age.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.