Intervention Package to Increase Homework in Sixth Graders with Organizational Difficulties

Abstract

At the end of elementary school, students often find themselves unprepared for the more complex middle school environment. Students facing this daunting transition are at risk for school disengagement, yet at this grade level, they are still concerned about homework performance (Akos, 2002). Since 28% of average-achieving students have problems completing their homework (Polloway, Epstein, & Foley, 1992), the development of homework interventions while students are still motivated is crucial. Unfortunately, many interventions are written as handbooks without supporting empirical evidence and are not held up to the rigors of scientific testing. This study examined the effects of a homework intervention on sixth graders with organizational difficulties using a withdrawal of treatment (ABA) single-subject design. The intervention consisted of systematic daily adult support and prompting of student homework completion steps during school, including the use of a student homework planner to write down homework assignments. The study included a homework checklist to ensure all intervention steps were followed and as an important measure of treatment fidelity. Although the homework intervention presented here was effective for some students, results were mixed. Two students, when compared to classmates, improved their homework completion levels with the onset of this intervention and reached more socially acceptable levels of homework completion. Two students showed no significant changes in overall rates of homework completion. For one participant, the homework intervention actually coincided with a sharp decrease in overall rates of homework completion - exactly the opposite of the desired result. The organizational measure given to students and parents before and after the intervention phase of this study did not yield significant results.