Debbie Pushor PhD

Tamara has just completed a draft of her master’s thesis on parents’ perspectives of homework and its impact on children, parents and families. Her thesis defense will be scheduled in Fall 2008. Her thesis proposal is currently posted as an introduction to her proposed research. Her thesis will be posted prior to Christmas break. Homework has become a very hot topic in educational literature in the past couple of years. It is interesting to note the arguments of both proponents and opponents. Tamara conducted a narrative inquiry with three parents to garner their perspectives and to bring parent voice to this important debate. I believe her work will be affirming for parents and will invite educators to rethink their often taken-for-granted homework practices and policies.

About Tamara Murray
Tamara’s career began in the Kinistino School Division, after her graduation from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992. She worked in a small school as the Learning Assistance and Release Teacher for children in grades 3 to 9. Tamara then returned to Saskatoon where she has taught primarily grades 5 to 8 for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. Currently, Tamara is teaching at an alternate school for youth in grades 6 to 9 who have experienced challenges with the structure of the regular school system.

Tamara’s experiences with teaching middle years students, combined with her experiences as a parent of children early in elementary school, prompted her to attend to the issues of homework within the family setting. She began her master’s program at the U of S in 2006 and she will complete it in 2008 with her narrative inquiry entitled, Parents’ Stories of Homework: What does it mean for children, parents and families?

Tamara is the mother of two sons. Jonah is nine years old and Elijah is seven years old. Both boys are actively involved in swimming and playing electric guitar. Tamara’s partner, Matthew, works for the City of Saskatoon and as primary caregiver to their sons. They currently have two pets: a bearded dragon named “Drake” and an Havanese dog named “Panda.” They also have a Bull Mastiff dog on the way.

In her limited spare time, Tamara finds her ‘zen’ through gardening, playing games with her children, baking, and reading many fantastic books. Because Tamara thrives on the excitement of learning new things, who knows what her future might hold!

Tamara Murray’s Abstract
The objective of this program of research was to listen to parents’ voices on homework with a focus on what homework means for their children, themselves and their families.  While, within this body of literature, there is consensus on a definition of homework, a multitude of studies on homework and its effect on academic achievement and the development of work habits, and an extensive body of literature on types of homework assignments, there are no qualitative studies on homework from parents’ perspectives. Within schools, teachers are positioned as knowing professionals and parents are positioned as helpers, who know less about the learning process.  Power and authority rest with educators who make decisions important to teaching and learning – decisions about homework policies and practices, for example – often with little or no parent input or participation.  Because teachers ask for little input from parents, parents rarely feel they can talk to teachers about their children’s experiences with homework and the resulting impact on their family.

Determining what knowledge parents hold about homework, how they feel about homework, how homework impacts their children, how homework impacts them as parents, and how homework impacts their families was the focus of this narrative inquiry. The parents’ stories highlight the non-academic benefits the parents believe exist for their children through their engagement with homework. They also bring to the fore the many reasons homework can be problematic for their children and for them as they attend to the individuality of their children and the complexity of their family lives. They raise important issues for educators to consider in relation to homework: the implications variations within families, schools, teachers, parents and students may have for homework policies and practices; the need for reciprocity in home/school communications, the development of equitable rather than hierarchical relationships between parents and educators, and a rethinking of systemic structures which lead to conformity rather than reform. Possibilities for changes in teacher education, both preservice and inservice; for a rethinking of policy and practice for both parents and educators; and for the direction of future research all emerge in this work.

Continue with Tamara Murray’s Thesis

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