The impact of homework incentives on student homework completion in a secondary mathematics classroom

Abstract

Assigning homework to secondary school students has been a highly discussed topic among educational researchers, as well as the general public, for several years. Several aspects of homework have been researched in depth; however, there are still significant gaps in research regarding the impact of homework incentives. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of homework incentives on student homework completion in a secondary mathematics classroom. Mixed methods research was conducted in a suburban middle school in Western New York in order to address this research topic. Quantitative data was collected in the form of student homework completion grades, and qualitative data was collected in the form of student surveys. The results of this study indicated that implementing a homework incentive in a 7th grade mathematics classroom improves the majority of students' homework completion grades. These findings have significant implications that will give secondary teachers new insight on whether to implement a homework incentive in their classroom. [from author's abstract]