Primary school homework may reinforce educational inequality by rewarding families with more time and resources, University of Manchester researchers said on Wednesday.
The study argues that homework is not only an activity for children at home. It also asks parents to invest time, knowledge and resources, which can give some children an advantage over others.
The paper, titled “Time for homework: doxic expectations on parents’ use of time in the home-school relationship”, appears in the British Journal of Sociology of Education and has the DOI 10.1080/01425692.2026.2709061.
The researchers found that parents face very different demands on their time, particularly when homework has to fit around work, childcare and other family responsibilities.
Schools, they argue, may treat a parent’s ability and willingness to spend time on homework as a measure of how well that parent supports their child’s education. That can produce a “deficit” view in which families with less time or fewer resources are seen as less engaged.
The research uses a detailed case involving a parent, a teacher and the first author, who was herself a parent at the school. The authors say this unusual position let them examine how different people experience the same homework practice in very different ways.
They draw on the sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu. In that reading, the time and knowledge available to a family can be converted into educational advantage, a form of cultural capital.
The researchers also describe expectations about the “proper” use of parents’ time as part of the educational field’s “doxa”, beliefs so taken for granted that they seem natural.
One parent in the paper described trying to help her children while working until 8pm, and said late-night homework could be extremely difficult. She argued that homework should be a “bonus” for parents able to do it, not something expected of every family.
She also described the experience as potentially “shaming” for parents who do not understand the work themselves.
One teacher in the case, by contrast, saw homework as a chance for parents and children to spend time together. She argued that parents have a responsibility to prioritise their children’s education and that schools sometimes have to compensate when parents are not involved enough.
The researchers say this shows a tension between two understandings of homework. For teachers it can support learning and strengthen relationships, while for some parents it is an extra demand on limited time and a judgement on whether they use that time properly.
Money matters as well, according to the study. Wealthier families may offset a lack of time by paying for private tutoring, while families with fewer resources may have to choose between homework and paid work, childcare or household tasks.
The researchers describe homework as a form of the “colonisation” of home life by school, building on earlier research that used the phrase.
They say removing homework alone would not necessarily end inequality, because other forms of parental engagement could take its place and continue to favour families with more resources. They add that dropping homework as a school-directed practice would be desirable.
Dr Emilia Howker said the findings should make schools cautious about reading time spent as commitment.
“We need to be careful about assuming that a parent who spends more time helping with homework is necessarily more committed to their child’s education,” said Dr Emilia Howker. “Some parents simply have more time and resources available to them. When schools reward that investment, we risk turning differences in family circumstances into differences in children’s educational opportunities.”