Homework and special educational support needs in confinement

Abstract

The study of homework has been one of the most controversial topics, placing special emphasis on the time, quantity and format most suitable for the different educational stages, just as the need to be personalised for pupils with special educational needs has been stressed. However, the new situation of non-presence in the face of pandemic time brings the functionality of homework back to the forefront. Thus, the following study was carried out with the aim of finding out how families perceive homework during confinement depending on the presence or absence of special educational needs in their children. 1787 Spanish families participated by filling in an ad hoc questionnaire composed of 41 items. The results show that parents who have children with special educational needs find school tasks more difficult and numerous, as well as perceive less benefit, appreciate their children as less capable of carrying them out and consider them to be a greater obstacle in the parent-child relationship. This underlines the need to activate new mechanisms of communication and coordination with families to meet the new demands of pupils with special needs in a more virtual educational scenario and, furthermore, for teachers to personalise school tasks and provide complementary resources for a better understanding of their performance.