Parental stress on homework in times of pandemic

Homework is one of the most controversial educational issues. From the family perspective, the debate on its functionality is tirelessly opened due to the negative consequences it can cause, including stress. This feeling is heightened in parents during a time of confinement in which they have to cope with different responsibilities. The aim of this study was to investigate parental perception of the difficulty, quantity, type of homework, benefits, competencies, obstacles and changes in terms of the degree of stress experienced in carrying out school tasks during the time of confinement. A total of 1787 families nationwide participated in the completion of an ad hoc questionnaire. The results show that families with higher levels of stress identify more difficulty, quantity, obstacles and changes, while those with lower levels of stress find that homework triggers more benefits and children with better performance competence. This underlines the need for schools to advise and guide families in the homework accompaniment model, and for teachers to design more creative and personalised homework tasks, reducing the identification of homework as a reason for family disagreement.