The role of the perceived usefulness of teacher feedback on elementary students’ homework engagement

The impact of homework on students’ school engagement and achievement differs according to several factors, such as the feedback provided by the teacher. However, to favor homework engagement, it seems important that students perceive the feedback as useful - a variable that has received little attention in the literature, namely at elementary school level. Thus, this study aims to analyze the relationships between elementary students’ perception of the usefulness of homework feedback and three dimensions of homework engagement variables: effort, emotions, and the use of self-regulation strategies during homework completion. The participants were 5th and 6th graders (N = 299) who responded to self-report instruments focused on mathematics. A multivariate regression model showed that, controlling for gender and prior achievement, the perceived usefulness of homework feedback is positively related to the three outcome variables. That is, when students perceive homework feedback as useful, they are likely to increase their homework effort, their positive homework emotions, and the use of self-regulation strategies. Therefore, to enhance students’ homework engagement, teachers must be sensitive to the way students perceive homework feedback.
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