Abstracts - Earli

parental valuation of specific subjects, and homework motivation (subject-specific expectancy andvalue beliefs). Furthermore, a significant cross-level interaction indicated that perceivedhomework control by teachers had a stronger effect on students low in conscientiousness than ontheir more conscientious peers.Homework quality in French as a foreign languageInge Schnyder, University of Teacher Education Fribourg, SwitzerlandRico Cathomas, Freie Universität Bozen, ItalyThe positive effects of homework have been confirmed in the past few years (Trautwein & Kßller,2003, Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006). However, the quality of homework assignments hasremained subject to criticism. Homework assignments are said to be lacking in preparation andvariety, while drill and practice remain overemphasized. Several researchers have called forhomework assignments that adhere to quality standards (Nilshon, 1998), implement adiversification of methods, and are differentiated according to student ability (Brophy, 2000).Although a closer examination of the homework selection process has often been recommended,quantitative aspects of homework assignments still receive more attention than aspects ofhomework quality. The present study examines the quality of homework assignment on the basisof data obtained from written homework journals kept by a highly representative sample of morethan 60 teachers of French as a second language in Switzerland. The journals were coded,classified, and evaluated systematically by experts using low- and high-inference ratings. Themain research concern was the actual content of French homework and how its quality can berated. The results show that drill and practice still play a dominant part in language teaching,regardless of school type, region, or teacher gender. The homework practices examined did notmeet the requirements of high-quality assignments. Homework practices in an intervention groupquestioned simultaneously (22 teachers) differed significantly from the group without treatment.Process-related analyses of students’ self-regulated homework behavioMichaela Schmidt, Technical University of Darmstadt, GermanyFranziska Perels, Technical University of Darmstadt, GermanyBernhard Schmitz, Technical University of Darmstadt, GermanyThe aim of our study was to evaluate 5th grade students’ homework behavior from the perspectiveof self-regulated learning, homework being an important setting for the application of selfregulatedstrategies. A training program that aimed to enhance students’ self-regulated learningwas developed and evaluated. Students’ homework behavior was conceptualized within a selfregulationperspective based on the process model of self-regulation (Schmitz & Wiese, 2006).The model differentiates between three phases in each learning process: the preaction, action, andpostaction phases. Eighty-four 5th grade students (30 girls and 54 boys) between the ages of 9 and11 (mean age 10.4, SD=.57) participated. Homework behavior was assessed by means of alearning diary, which students filled out every day immediately before and after doing theirhomework. The process data obtained were analyzed using trend analyses as well as interruptedtime-series analyses. The trend analyses showed the intervention to have significant effects onvariables at all three phases of self-regulation (e.g., self-efficacy). A multiple baseline design wasused to verify the training effects on the basis of process data. The interrupted time-series analyseslargely confirmed the expected training effects (e.g., motivation). In addition, ARIMA modelswere used to analyze the intraindividual relationships of variables. Most variables showedcharacteristics of AR(1) processes. The results indicate that homework behavior can be improved– 408 –