PARENT CONSULTATION - EVALUATION OF A SELF-HELP MANUAL FOR CHILDRENS HOMEWORK PROBLEMS

We tested the effectiveness of a self-help manual-based homework inter vention program for parents on children's homework problems as impleme nted through behavioral consultation. Parents were selected through lo cal school psychologists' nominations based on the children's histo;ie s of incomplete homework completion and through advertisements in the local supermarkets and newspapers. Two sets of parents were provided w ith a manual and instructed to implement the treatment across two acad emic subject areas. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed through a multiple baseline design with homework accuracy and complet ion rates as the primary dependent variables. The results indicated th at one child demonstrated improved homework accuracy and completion ra tes within one academic area during the intervention. Also, one parent reported a perceived improvement in daily homework behaviors as asses sed through a daily parent rating scale. However, bath sets of parents reported overall improvement in homework behavior during treatment ev aluation and a three-month follow-up assessment with the Homework Prob lem Checklist. At the completion of the intervention, the parents and children reported having positive perceptions of the manual-based home work program. The conclusions of previous research are discussed in li ght of our results.