Homework completion program in Atlantic County, NJ: The first five years

This research examined the Homework Completion Program in Atlantic County, NJ, where college students and police officers tutored children with homework. Children ( N = 154) reported their impression of police officers and perception of the program. Across 5 years and three program sites, children chose completing homework as the best part about the program and they mostly reported feeling happy when seeing a police officer and finding police officers if they needed help. In summary, the program has shown promise in achieving the goals of preparing children for a college education and building trust between children and police officers.

Predictors of Parent Engagement in Community-Based Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: A Brief Report

Despite substantial empirical support, correlates of retention and success in community-based parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) implementation are not well defined. Widespread application of PCIT necessitates improved understanding of intervention components relating to family outcomes beyond highly controlled research trials. Using data collected as part of routine care, this study examined homework completion, time in intervention, and parent perceptions of pre-intervention behavioral issues as predictors of PCIT completion in a community-based sample. Subjects included 78 parents (49 women and 29 men) of 45 children (20 girls, 25 boys; mean age = 5.53 years) participating in PCIT in an outpatient behavioral health clinic in a small Midwestern U.S. city. Unlike previous controlled trials, homework completion did not predict child behavior growth or intervention completion. Reasons for early termination were examined thematically, and parent stress emerged as a possible avenue for future intervention in helping parents successfully complete PCIT. The issue of intervention dosage was also explored to see if families who prematurely terminated from PCIT still evidenced gains in child behavior.

The Effects of One-to-One Laptop Program on Help-Seeking and Homework Completion

Many students prefer to abandon rather than seek help during their homework. However, seeking support is recognized as an effective learning strategy to complete assignments. Technology-supported classroom could have a beneficial impact on this strategy and, therefore, on homework completion. This article aims to compare students from a one-to-one laptop program to others studying in a traditional classroom environment on their 1) help-seeking strategies and 2) homework completion frequency. Quantitative analyses tend to confirm the initial hypothesis. However, they reveal the necessity to sensitize students regarding the appropriate use of technological tools to ensure their beneficial impact on learning.

Engagement in Learning as Mediator between Motivational Beliefs and School Achievement: A Path Analysis

"This study applied the Expectancy-Value Theory to explore the directionality of the associations among academic self-efficacy, motivational beliefs (e.g., expectation of success, task value), procrastination, and engagement in learning as well as the impact of these constructs on educational attainment. The data analysis was done by using structural equation modeling. The results reveal important associations among students’ personal variables. Correlational and path analyses show that: (a) self-efficacy is consistently found to predict both expectation of success, task value and procrastination, (b) the associations between self-efficacy and engagement are mediated by motivational beliefs and procrastination, (c) different faceted of engagement (class participation, homework completion, absenteeism) in high school predict educational attainment, and (d) class participation had stronger effects on educational attainment than homework completion. The data analysis provided empirical evidence to better understand the mechanism that mediates self-efficacy and school achievement. Also, the study provides empirical evidence supporting the multifaceted nature of school engagement and demonstrates its utility relative to educational success. The implications of these findings for teaching and learning a specific subject matter in formal classroom contexts are discussed. Keywords: self-efficacy, engagement in learning, expectation of success, valuing of school, procrastination."

Facilitating Parental Involvement in Speech Therapy for Children With Speech Sound Disorders: A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists' Practices, Perspectives, and Strategies

Purpose This study investigated the extent to which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) facilitate parents' completion of homework activities for children with speech sound disorder (SSD). In addition, this study explored factors related to more consistent communication about homework completion and strategies considered particularly effective for supporting this element of parental involvement. Method Licensed SLPs serving at least one child with SSD were invited to participate in an online survey. Questions relevant to this study gathered information regarding (a) frequency of communication about homework distribution and follow-up, (b) demographic and workplace characteristics, and (c) an open-ended question about the specific strategies used to support parental involvement and completion of homework activities. Results Descriptive results indicated considerable variability with respect to how frequently SLPs engaged in communication about homework completion, but that school-based SLPs were significantly less likely to engage in this type of follow-up. Strategies considered effective, however, were similar across therapy contexts. Conclusion These results suggest potentially important differences between school-based services and therapy in other contexts with respect to this particular aspect of service provision for children with SSD.