Education

Research news in brief from the College of Education

Here is a sampling of research being done in the College of Education at Penn State.

Study finds parental help with homework has no impact on student achievement

Parental help with homework has no significant impact on children’s academic achievement in elementary school, according to Penn State College of Education researchers.

“There is no statistically significant association between parental help with homework in elementary school and children’s achievement, period,” said Katerina Bodovski, professor of education (educational theory and policy).

Bodovski is lead author of a new paper, “Parental Help With Homework in Elementary School: Much Ado About Nothing?” that was recently published in Journal of Research in Childhood Education. The study, which draws on two nationally representative datasets, showed no statistically significant association between parental help with homework and student achievement. Further, the association between parental help with homework and achievement did not vary by parental level of education or child’s achievement level.

Bodovski’s co-authors on the paper are Ismael G. Muñoz, a recent doctoral graduate in the Department of Education Policy Studies (EPS); and Ruxandra Apostolescu, a doctoral candidate in EPS.

According to Bodovski, parental help with homework has long been hailed by educators and policy makers as an effective mechanism to help children succeed in school. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education promotes homework as an “opportunity for children to learn and for families to be involved in their children’s education.” On the other hand, Bodovski said, a number of studies, including an article by University of Delaware Professor Laura Desimone, have demonstrated a negative impact of parental help with homework on children’s achievement. The negative relationship has been explained by the fact that parents tend to help struggling children and that their efforts were not enough to overcome the students’ deficiencies.

“If the purpose of homework is for the child to practice some skills or knowledge they learned in school, that is lost if the parent is doing the work,” Bodovski said.

Read the full story online.

Study finds white children more likely to be overdiagnosed for ADHD

A new study led by Paul Morgan, Harry and Marion Eberly Faculty Fellow and professor of education (educational theory and policy) and demography, and published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities, examines which sociodemographic groups of children are more likely to be overdiagnosed and overtreated for ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

The researchers analyzed data from 1,070 U.S. elementary school children who had previously displayed above-average behavioral, academic or executive functioning the year before their initial ADHD diagnoses.

The team said those children were considered unlikely to have ADHD by the researchers because children diagnosed and treated for ADHD should display chronically inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive behaviors that impair their functioning and result in below-average academic or social development.

A problem with ADHD overdiagnosis, Morgan said, is that it contributes to stigma and skepticism toward those experiencing more serious impairments.

“It undermines a confidence in the disorder,” he said. “If anyone can be diagnosed with ADHD, then what is ADHD? For those who have significant impairments, they may experience greater skepticism about the condition. Mental health resources are already scarce. Those with serious impairments could lose out.”

In addition, said Morgan, previous research has shown that among children with no or mild ADHD symptoms, being diagnosed with the disorder may result in lower academic achievement and behavioral problems during elementary school, perhaps because these children may be more likely to compare themselves with children without disabilities, and so adopt negative ability beliefs that interfere with their learning and behavior.

He added that overtreatment of ADHD unnecessarily exposes children to medication’s negative side effects, such as sleep problems or decreased appetites.

Read the full story online.

Last Updated November 15, 2022

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