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Abi Lacanilao

Professor Ryan Myers

English 1201

20 Jan. 2019

Research Proposal: How Does Homework Affect Students?

As a junior in high school, I am going through the most work-intensive year that I have

ever gone through. It is also one of the most important. Every decision I have made for this year

will ultimately affect the rest of my life. I chose difficult classes-such as advanced placements

and honors- to earn college credit, but also for colleges to view me as a hard-working student

who challenges herself. With this, I have been given four to five hours of homework every night.

Often times on the weekend, that amount is doubled. As I was thinking of my research question,

I was thinking of the hours of homework awaiting me. I do understand that harder classes will

come with more challenges, such as more homework, but I wondered if five hours was

necessary. Every night I struggle to stay awake to read another chapter and write another page of

notes. When I finally get to go to bed, I’m stressed thinking about the assignments I just

completed and contemplating if I’m ready for this upcoming test. I rarely get enough sleep,

making every school day more of a struggle than it needs to be. I dread going home to sit down

for hours so I can finish my homework. Though I know these tough classes will be helpful for

my future, I constantly think about how helpful this is for my learning and my mental health.

That is what has drawn me to want to research and write about homework effectiveness.

I feel very strongly about homework, especially since I have to do it every night. I

understand that I may have to do it if I didn’t finish an assignment in class, but I don’t
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understand assigning multiple things to do for one class each night. The hours add up and make

it difficult for me to understand what I’m doing, mainly because I am trying to manage

everything, along with finish. Secondly, I think homework should be kept to a minimum for

students. If it can’t be taught in class, it shouldn’t be a student’s responsibility to teach

themselves. I think if a teacher can’t teach it during their class period, then other ways should be

figured out for it to be taught or it needs to be cut. Next, I believe that additional homework is

not beneficial, but actually detrimental. Some classes, such as APs, are trying to mirror college

courses with the work and style of teaching, but college classes don’t meet every day so that

gives college students more time to complete assigned work. High school AP students must

finish the college work in a less amount of time. I believe that teachers need to be concerned

with students getting enough sleep, with students’ mental health, and making sure their students

are succeeding.Finally, I know that homework is a major debate in the education system. I also

know that some teachers are big believers in homework, while others are not. Lastly, I know that

homework is extremely stressful for students trying to develop and learn who they are. It can

take away from crucial sleep, social relationships, and mental health.

I still need to know a lot about how homework affects students. I need to research how

homework affects students’ sleep, mental health, self-esteem, and grades. It’ll also be important

to know how many students struggle and how many benefit from homework, which also depends

on the types of classes. Lastly, I would also like to know stances on homework from teachers and

school to see how they support homework. I think for my research I want to narrow in on health

effects, but I would also like to take a look at the social effects as well. I am going to start my

research on InfOhio which will give data along with articles. I’ll also access Sinclair’s library,
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which also will provide other research sources. I’m hoping to learn about the effects of

homework and how the education system can be changed, mainly away from homework. A few

research questions I’ll end with is: “In which ways does homework negatively affect a student?”

and “How can turning away from hours of homework benefit students in the classroom along

within their lives?” and lastly, “How does homework affect students in the long term (aka. With

their sleep, health, and stress)?”