PERSONAL DEBATE 1
Personal Debate: Homework for Children with Special Needs
School of Education, Liberty University
EDSP 723: Administration and Supervision of Special Education
February 23, 2025
Homework has been used for many years to reinforce learning, develop independent
learning habits, and extend the classroom experience to the students’ homes. However, for
children with special needs, the homework debate raises important issues regarding
effectiveness, equity, and the psychological implications of assignments made beyond the
school day. In evaluating the role of homework as a special education leader, accountability,
family engagement, and student well-being must be balanced. This paper looks at both sides of
the debate over whether or not homework is good for students with disabilities and what this
means for special education administrators.
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Justification for Homework
According to Sipila-Thomas et al. (2020), homework is a valuable tool for students with
special needs because it promotes skill mastery, self-discipline, and independence, therefore
improving educational outcomes. Self-management strategies such as well-organized checklists,
timers, and parent-supported routines increase student engagement and homework completion
rates for students with disabilities. These findings emphasize that when properly structured,
homework serves as a vehicle for reinforcing executive functioning skills critical for lifelong
success (Sipila-Thomas et al., 2020).
Furthermore, homework helps maintain and develop the relationship between schools
and families, and the parents are involved in their children's education. Womack and Johnson
(2022) stated that students with disabilities require meaningful parental engagement in their
education to enhance learning and attendance. Some positive aspects of homework are that it
offers a good chance for positive parent–student interactions, which are related to more
effective communication between schools and homes and, in turn, to higher levels of student
achievement.
Also, students with disabilities may require additional time and opportunities to understand
specific ideas, so homework is a valuable chance to help build up the student’s persistence and
resilience. According to Payne and Swanson (2023), the heterogeneous grouping of structured
homework support can reduce stress and increase motivation if it is designed specifically for
students’ needs. When households and educators are able to develop good and feasible
homework schedules for students with disabilities, they are likely to perform better and have
better self-esteem in their classroom work.
Justification Against Homework
On the other side of the debate, however, critics argue that homework is a source of
unnecessary stress and emotional strain for students with disabilities and their families.
Students with learning disabilities experience significantly higher levels of stress and frustration
PERSONAL DEBATE 3
when doing homework than their peers without disabilities (Katz et al., 2022). This stress also
affects parents, who are often not in a position to offer the necessary support, which results in
increased frustration, feelings of inadequacy, and strained family relationships. Katz et al. (2022)
argued that parents of children with learning disabilities feel guilt and shame more frequently,
which can be detrimental to parent-child relationships and the child’s self-esteem. Homework is
often ineffective in meeting the diverse learning needs of students with disabilities. A number of
students with attention, memory, or executive functioning deficits are not able to complete
assignments independently, and with parental help, they also find it difficult (Womack &
Johnson, 2022).
When students with disabilities do not receive individualized modifications and
accommodations, they are more likely to procrastinate, disengage, and develop negative
attitudes toward learning. This disengagement can result in more academic gaps and low
motivation to finish future tasks. Furthermore, Xiao et al. (2022) found that students who have
excessive homework time are likely to be anxious and depressed, especially if they have dyslexia
or other learning disabilities. Students with disabilities may spend much more time on
homework than other students, which puts them at risk of academic burnout, stress, and sleep
deprivation. In the most extreme cases, the negative effects of these outweigh any possible
educational benefits, so some experts have recommended reducing or replacing homework
models for students with
disabilities.
Conclusion
As a school counselor and school leader, I have experienced the debate of homework
first-hand and have seen how hard it is for students with disabilities to do their homework.
However, some students are capable of scheduling their time and work and are quite capable of
doing work that builds on what they learn in class and helps them to develop autonomy and
selfcontrol. However, others fail tests, cry, and feel hopeless when asked to do homework that is
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beyond their cognitive ability. However, I have seen that many parents are tired of daily battles
with homework and often do not know how to help their children without adding more chaos
to their lives. The fact is that conventional approaches to homework are not effective for
students with special educational needs. Instead, we should be supporting the implementation
of more flexible and open-ended homework policies that would enable students to participate
in the learning process in a way that is most convenient for them (Katz et al., 2022).
As special education leaders, the discussion has to change from whether or not students
are completing their homework to whether or not every homework task is meaningful. Experts
in special education should advocate for the removal of policies that result in an overload of
homework while still ensuring that students are able to reinforce learning (Payne & Swanson,
2023). It also means that other approaches, such as self-management strategies, structured
supports such as visual schedules, and family collaboration can make a homework experience
positive and productive instead of demoralizing (Sipila-Thomas et al., 2020). We must also assist
teachers and families in assisting students in the most effective way so that homework does not
become a source of stress but of success instead. In the end, there is one thing that we want to
achieve; to provide equal opportunities for every student to learn and succeed. For instance,
when it comes to homework, we can ensure that students with special needs are receiving
highquality instruction without unnecessary barriers to their academic and emotional well-
being through a student-centered, inclusive approach.
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References
Katz, I., Alesi, M., & Moè, A. (2022). Homework stress and learning disability: The role of
parental shame, guilt, and need frustration. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice,
37(4), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12294
Payne, S. B., & Swanson, E. (2023). Supporting families to motivate their middle school student
during homework time. Teaching Exceptional Children, 55(6), 422–430.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599221099656
Sipila-Thomas, E. S., Cho, E., & Brodhead, M. T. (2020). Self-management strategies to support
homework completion with students with developmental disabilities. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 52(6), 414–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920910454
Womack, T. A., & Johnson, A. H. (2022). Examining the likelihood of parents’ homework
involvement with elementary-age students with individualized education
programs. Remedial and Special Education, 43(4), 211–221.
https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325211047956
Xiao, P., Zhu, K., Liu, Q., Xie, X., Jiang, Q., Feng, Y., Xiaoqian, W., Tang, J., Song, R. (2022).
Association between developmental dyslexia and anxiety/depressive symptoms among
children in China: The chain mediating of time spent on homework and stress. Journal of
Affective Disorders, 297, 495–501. http://doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.120
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