Parents, Teachers And Students Are Rebelling Against Homework (Like The Finnish)

How European.

A 60 Minutes segment extolling the virtues of not doing homework has reignited the debate over study outside of school.

Reporter Charles Wooley spoke to a number of parents who had recently encouraged their young children not to do homework, on account of the stress it caused in the home.

University of Canberra lecturer Dr. Misty Adoniou, told News.com.au that she had also followed in those footsteps.

“I actually went to the school and said to the teachers, ‘When my children don’t return homework, blame me and not them’,” she said.

The research cited in the segment was published in 2012, by Central Queensland University professor Mike Horsley and University of Sydney professor Richard Walker.

In their study, Reforming Homework: Practices, Learning and Policies, it was revealed that very young students who didn’t do their homework did not suffer later in life.

“We spoke to Professor Mike Horsley who said studies from Europe have shown that there is no connection between doing your homework when you’re a little tyke and going on to university or doing better academically,” Wooley told News.com.au.

“In fact if you look at a country like Finland where they don’t do homework until quite late they get a much better school retention rate than Australia.”

(Don't start burning those textbooks just yet, high schoolers. The recommendation was made for primary and prepubescent students.)

For some years, French president Francois Hollande has encouraged a ban of all homework for children under 11.

Professor Horsley told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier in the year he wouldn’t go that far.

"We say in our book that we should not ban homework because it is important for kids to get themselves organised and manage their own learning, but if it is hours and hours of drill and practice, then we would not support that," he said.