Parent and child perceptions of homework practices and their associations with children's achievement

The present study investigated the differences between parent- and child-reported perceptions of parental homework practices and their associations with children’s achievement in Lithuania across grades three and four. A total of 446 parent-child dyads participated in the study. In grade 3, parents completed questionnaires on the frequency of their homework help and autonomy support, while children completed questionnaires about their perceptions of the frequency with which their parents provided homework help and autonomy support. Children’s achievement was measured using literacy and math tests in grade 3. In grade 4, children’s scores on the national standardized exam in literacy and math were obtained from school records. Hierarchical regressions were used to predict children’s achievement (national standardized scores in literacy and math), after controlling for the autoregressors (literacy or math skills), child’s gender, and the highest education level in the family. Children reported receiving more help and less autonomy support than was reported by parents. Additionally, parent-reported help negatively and parent-reported autonomy support positively predicted children’s achievement in literacy and math. As for children’s perceptions, only child-reported help negatively predicted math achievement. These findings indicate that parents and children may differently perceive parental homework practices: children feel more controlled than parents believe they are, and less autonomy supported than parents believe themselves to be.