Making Sense of Primary School Homework: Mothers' constructions of homework, homework support and mothering

家庭作业在英国小学是一种常见的做法。研究表明，大多数小学生定期接受家庭作业，而且很大比例的家长积极支持家庭作业，社会上关于母亲适合照料子女的主流观念意味着，在许多家庭中，母亲主要承担家庭作业支助。研究发现，无论工作状态如何，这都是正确的。母亲对孩子的教育进步负有责任，但矛盾的是，母亲往往同时被贴上不感兴趣或有缺陷的标签。过去的研究主要集中在家庭作业对提高学业成绩的潜力上，很少将家庭作业作为一种家庭实践进行探索。母亲如何理解、发展或体验自己的家庭作业角色是未知的，因此母亲在支持孩子教育方面的工作往往被忽视。我的博士研究探讨了是什么驱使母亲参与小学家庭作业，是什么塑造了她们的想法，她们如何理解自己的支持角色，她们采取了什么行动，以及她们对这些经历的反思。利用访谈和母子作业互动视频中的数据，我构建了书面“肖像”，揭示了母亲的做法和观点，突出了他们细微的技能，知识和动机，以支持家庭作业。我证明了家庭作业渗透到母亲，而母亲和母子关系反过来塑造家庭作业的经验和制定。这项工作表明，家庭作业不仅仅是学校指导的教育练习。它是一种关系体验，也是母性的指示器。母亲对家庭作业过程既重要又有推动力。该奖学金有5个目标：i）与不同种族血统的母亲进一步开展研究，以扩大研究的相关性ii）出版物，包括一本学术书籍和论文iii）通过会议和研讨会为未来的研究合作建立网络iv）将研究结果传达给相关受众，如学者，学生，通过客座演讲、博客文章、文章和面对面的培训活动，为教师和母亲做好准备;五）为该项目后续的未来研究做好准备。虽然我的博士研究对象包括来自不同社会经济背景的母亲、有学习困难的孩子的母亲、单身母亲和残疾母亲，但对来自不同种族传统的母亲进行少量的额外研究将允许分析更大范围的母亲家庭作业经历。这一加强的基础将使我能够编写一本学术书籍，传播这项研究中关于母亲机构和技能的强有力的故事，并编写一份文件，概述母亲在家庭作业支持期间的关系行为模式，包括她们如何使用自己的身体、话语、空间、时间、家庭做法和知识。这一模式可用于未来各种家庭和学校背景下的关系行为的研究。一位艺术家将从视频数据中发展图像，让我在这两本出版物中说明母亲们强烈的关系支持。奖学金支持我参加会议，在那里我可以建立网络，为未来的合作做准备，传播研究结果，并为我的书获得反馈。我将为小学PGCE学生做客座演讲，为从事教育研究的同事举办研讨会，并为在线教育者和育儿机构（如TES和MumsNet）撰写短文和博客文章。研究金最后为对家长家庭作业经验和发展积极的家庭-学校做法感兴趣的当地教师举办了一次活动。在奖学金结束时，我将提高我的学术生涯技能，将我的工作传播给学术界，教育界和非专业观众，并将自己确立为一名早期职业学者。

Homework is a common practice in UK primary schools. Research indicates the majority of primary pupils regularly receive homework and high proportions of parents actively support it. Dominant social ideas about mothers' suitability for care tasks means that, in many families, mothers principally undertake homework support. Studies find this is true regardless of work status. Mothers are responsibilised for their child's educational progress, yet paradoxically, are often simultaneously labelled as uninterested or deficient. Past research has focused on homework's potential to improve academic outcomes, with little exploration of homework as a home-based, family practice. How mothers understand, develop or experience their homework role is unknown, and mothers' work in support of their child's education is thus often overlooked.My PhD explored what drives mothers' involvement with primary homework, what shapes their ideas, how they make sense of their support role, what actions they take, and their reflections on these experiences. Using data from interviews and video of mother-child homework interactions, I constructed written 'portraits' which reveal mothers' practices and perspectives, highlighting their nuanced skills, knowledge, and motivation to support homework. I demonstrated that homework seeps into mothering, whilst mothering and mother-child relationships in turn shape how homework is experienced and enacted. This work suggests that homework is more than a school-directed educational exercise. It is a relational experience and indicator of mothering. Mothers are both important to, and have agency in, the homework process.The fellowship has 5 aims: i) further research with mothers of different racial heritages to broaden the study's relevance ii) producing publications, including an academic book and paper iii) building networks for future research collaborations through conferences and seminars iv) communicating findings to relevant audiences, such as academics, students, teachers and mothers, including by guest speaking, blog posts, articles, and face-to-face training events and v) preparing for future research which follows on from this project. It thus supports my development as an early researcher with expertise in mothering, parental engagement in education and homework.Although my PhD included mothers from different socio-economic backgrounds, mothers of children with learning difficulties, single mothers and mothers with disabilities, a small amount of additional research with mothers from different ethnic heritages will allow analysis of a greater range of maternal homework experiences. This strengthened foundation will enable me to develop both an academic book to disseminate the study's powerful stories of maternal agency and skill, and a paper, outlining a model of mothers' relational behaviours during homework support, including how they use their bodies, words, space, time, family practices and knowledge. This model can be used in future studies of relational behaviours in various family and school contexts. An artist will develop images from the video data, allowing me to illustrate, in both publications, mothers' intense, relational support.The fellowship supports my attendance at conferences where I can build networks in preparation for future collaborations, disseminate findings, and gain feedback for my developing book. I will give a guest talk for Primary PGCE students, seminars for colleagues working in educational research, and write short articles and blog posts for online educator and parenting outlets such as the TES and MumsNet. The fellowship ends with an event for local teachers interested both in parental experiences of homework and in developing positive home-school practices. By the end of the fellowship, I will have advanced my skills for an academic career, disseminated my work to academic, educator and non-specialist audiences, and established myself as an early career scholar.