International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Investigating the Relationship Between Homework and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies among Malaysian Secondary School Students

Open access
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between homework and self-regulated learning strategies among secondary school students. In addition, the present study also examines gender differences in the mean of homework management scores. This study conducted a cross-sectional survey to collect responses from 970 high school students in the northern state of Penang. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and Pearson correlation. The findings showed that the students' most frequent homework management strategy was arranging the environment. We also reported that the female students demonstrated significantly higher mean scores in all homework management dimensions. Furthermore, homework management demonstrated a significant correlation with other related variables: expectancy, value, homework effort, homework completion, and self-regulated learning strategies. These correlations were consistent in magnitude and direction with theoretical predictions, thus providing evidence for the applicability of the HMS to high school students in Malaysia for Mathematics homework. The findings of this study also give parents helpful information for assisting their children with their homework. In addition, the results of this study may help teachers to have a better understanding of the differences between the needs of male and female students in completing their homework, which can help the teachers create a more effective assignment and schedule proper times for their students to manage and complete the homework assignments.
Battle, A., & Wigfield, A. (2003). College women’s value orientations toward family, career and graduate school. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62(1), 56–75.
Bembenutty, H. (2010). Homework completion: The role of self-efficacy, delay of gratification, and self-regulatory processes. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 6(1), 1–20.
Bembenutty, H. (2011). Homework’s theory, research and practice. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 22(2), 185–192.
Berger, J. L., & Karabenick, S. A. (2011). Motivation and students’ use of learning strategies?: Evidence of unidirectional effects in mathematics classrooms. Learning and Instruction, 21(3), 416–428.
Cooper, H. (1989). Homework. Longman.
Cooper, H., Lindsay, J. J., Nye, B., & Greathouse, S. (1998). Relationships among attitudes about homework, amount of homework assigned and completed, and student achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), 70–83.
Cooper, H., Robinson, J., & Patall, E. (2006). Does homework improve academic achievement? A synthesis of research, 1987–2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1–62.
Corno, L., & Xu, J. (2004). Homework as the job of childhood. Theory into Practice, 43(3), 227–233.
Deslandes, R., & Rousseau, M. (2008). Long-term students’ management strategies and parental involvement in homework at the elementary level. International Journal of Parents in Education, 2(1), 13–24.
Eccles, J. S. (2009). Who am I and what am I going to do with my life? Personal and collective identities as motivators of action. Educational Psychologist, 44(2), 78–89.
Eccles, J. S., Adler T.F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J., & Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values and academic behaviors. In J. T. Spence (Ed.). Achievement and achievement motives?: Psychological and sociological approaches (pp. 75–145). Freeman.
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values and goals. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 53(1), 109–132.
Epstein, J. L., & Voorhis, F. L. Van. (2001). More than minutes: Teachers’ roles in designing homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 181–193.
Gaspard, H. (2015). Promoting value beliefs in mathematics?: A multidimensional perspective and the role of gender. (Thesis, University of Tubingen).
Guo, J., Nagengast, B., Marsh, H. W., Kelava, A., Gaspard, H., Brandt, H., Cambria, J., Flunger, B., Dicke, A.-L., Hafner, I., Brisson, B., & Trautwein, U. (2016). Probing the unique contributions of self-concept, task values and their interactions using multiple value facets and multiple academic outcomes. AERA Open, 2(1), 1–20.
Horn, L., & West, J. (1992). National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988?: A profile of parents of eighth graders. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
Killoran, I. (2003). Why is your homework not done? How theories of development affect your approach in the classroom. In Journal of Instructional Psychology (Vol. 30, Issue 4, pp. 309–315).
Leone, C. M., & Richards, H. (1989). Classwork and homework in early adolescence?: The ecology of achievement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18(6), 531–548.
Li, J. (2001). Chinese Conceptualization of Learning. Ethos, 29(2), 111–137.
Maher M. Abu-Hilal, Faisal Abdelfattah, Adel Abduljabbar, & Marsh, H. W. (2013). Attitudes toward school, homework, subject matter value, self-concept and positive affect?: A structural equation model. 5th IEA International Research Conference, 1–9. http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/IRC/IRC_2013/Papers/IRC-2013_Abu-Hilal_etal.pdf
Mau, W.-C., & Lynn, R. (2000). Gender differences in homework and test scores in Mathematics , Reading and Science at tenth and twelfth grade. Psychology, Evolution and Gender, 2(2), 119–125.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Patton, J. E., Stinard, T. A., & Routh, D. K. (1983). Where do children study?? Journal of Educational Research, 76(5), 280–286.
Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1991). A manual for the use of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ). Ann Arbor, MI: National Centre for Research to Improve postsecondary teaching and learning.
Ramdass, D., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2011). Developing self- regulation skills: The important role of homework. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 22(2), 194–218.
Trautwein, U. (2007). The homework achievement relation reconsidered?: Differentiating homework time, homework frequency and homework effort. Learning and Instruction, 17, 372–388.
Trautwein, U., & Ludtke, O. (2009). Predicting homework motivation and homework effort in six school subjects?: The role of person and family characteristics, classroom factors and school track. Learning and Instruction, 19, 243–258.
Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., Schnyder, I., & Niggli, A. (2006). Predicting homework effort?: Support for a domain-specific, multilevel homework model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 438–456. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.2.438
Trautwein, U., Marsh, H. W., Nagengast, B., Lüdtke, O., Nagy, G., & Jonkmann, K. (2012). Probing for the multiplicative term in modern expectancy–value theory?: A latent interaction modeling study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(3), 763–777.
Van Voorhis, F. L. (2004). Reflecting on the homework ritual: Assignments and designs. Theory into Practice, 43(3), 205–212.
Velayutham, S., & Aldridge, J. M. (2013). Influence of psychosocial classroom environment on students’ motivation and self-regulation in science learning?: A structural equation modeling approach. Research in Science Education, 43(2), 507–527.
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Fredricks, J. A., Simpkins, S., Roeser, R. W., & Schiefele, U. (2015). Development of achievement motivation and engagement. In M. E. Lamb, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.). Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, Vol. 3. Socioemotional processes (7th ed., Issue April 2016, pp. 657–700). Hoboken, NJ?: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy316
Xu, J., Fan, X., & Du, J. (2015). Homework management scale?: Confirming the factor structure with middle school students in China. Psychology in the Schools, 52(4), 419–430. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21826
Xu, J. (2006). Gender and homework management reported by high school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 26(1), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410500341023
Xu, J. (2007). Middle-school homework management: More than just gender and family involvement. Educational Psychology, 27(2), 173–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410601066669
Xu, J. (2008). Validation of scores on the homework management scale for middle school students. The Elementary School Journal, 109(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/doi/abs/10.1086/592368
Xu, J. (2010a). Gender and homework management reported by African American students. Educational Psychology, 30(7), 755–770. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.506673
Xu, J. (2010b). Homework purpose scale for high school students?: A validation study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 70(3), 459–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164409344517
Xu, J. (2017). Homework expectancy value scale for high school students: Measurement invariance and latent mean differences across gender and grade level. Learning and Individual Differences, 60, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.10.003
Xu, J. (2018). Reciprocal effects of homework self-concept, interest, effort, and math achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 55, 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.09.002
Xu, J., & Corno, L. (2006). Gender, family help and homework management reported by rural middle school students. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 21(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/doi=10.1.1.536.1737
Xu, J., Du, J., & Fan, X. (2017). Self-regulation of mathematics homework behavior?: An empirical investigation. Journal of Educational Research, 110(5), 467–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1125837
Xu, J., & Wu, H. (2013). Self-regulation of homework behavior?: Homework management at the secondary school level. Journal of Educational Research, 106(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2012.658457
Yang, F., & Tu, M. (2019). Self-regulation of homework behaviour: relating grade, gender, and achievement to homework management. Educational Psychology, 40(4), 392–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2019.1674784
Yang, F., & Xu, J. (2015). Examining the psychometric properties of the homework management scale for high school students in China. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 33(3), 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282914548326
Zimmerman, B. J. (1998). Academic studying and the development of personal skill: A self-regulatory perspective. Educational Psychologist, 33(3), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1998.9653292