Embracing Alternatives to Homework in Early Childhood

Angela Eckhoff is Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning and Director of the Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center at Old Dominion University, USA.

• Introduction 1. Understanding the Social, Cultural, and Familial Contexts Influencing Development 2. Recognizing How Young Children Come to Understand and How Traditional Homework Practices Fail Them 3. Drawing Upon Community Resources to Support Learning Outside the Classroom 4. Building and Strengthening Student Understandings 5. Extending Learning Opportunities for Engagement and Reflection Through Project Work 6. Learning by Design: Early Engineering and Tinkering 7. Promoting Choice-Making and Children’s Agency 8. Connecting Critical and Multiliteracies to Family, Home, and Communities 9. Advocating for Supportive Homework Practices for Young Learners 10. Concluding Thoughts