Homework: An Interface between Home and School. Is it a Myth or a Reality in Rural Zimbabwean Primary Schools?

Abstract

This research examines the functionality of homework in rural Zimbabwean primary schools. The research acknowledges that, whereas homework is intended to extend the learning from school to home for the benefit of learners, in reality, is this happening in rural schools where a number of parents and guardians are either lowly educated or economically disempowered? The intended collaborative effort between teachers and parents does not seem to be working out well in some of the schools. Where this partnership is dis-functional, what is the likely effect of homework on learners? This research, therefore, examines the functionality, or lack of it, and the net-effect of homework on both the learner and the teacher. Inherently, the research also looks at the attitudes of rural parents and guardians towards the perceived roles they are supposed to play in homework management. A parent in this research is defined as ‘the biological parent or legal guardian; the person legally entitled to custody of a learner or any person who fulfils the obligation towards the learner’s schooling [1].