Guardiola 1

Jorge Guardiola

Dr. Nelson

English 1301-122

8 November 2022

Homework, students, and parents: A rhetorical Analysis

“The importance of harnessing the educative potential of parents by encouraging

involvement in their children’s learning has gradually become an accepted practice.” (K, H

Williams 210). Students, teachers, and parents are ought to be in touch and Keith Williams along

with Hefin Williams really shows the effectiveness of their research throughout their whole

article. From the title “Mathematics problem-solving homework as a conduit for parental

involvement in learning. Evaluation of a pilot study” the audience is brought on by the effect of

putting “parents’ involvement” in there by making the audience question the several reasons how

a parent can be involved and how effective it is. Statements like these are what persuade the

audience along with the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, therefore, making this analysis effective.

First off, William uses ethos citing from the minister of education, David Blunkett “Four

years later the then minister for education, David Blunkett, ridiculed researchers for ‘churning

out findings that no-one with the slightest common sense could take seriously’” (Blunkett 212).

Gives the name of an expert in the topic of education to support the upcoming statements.

“According to Blunkett (1999), researchers had claimed that daily homework was (K, H

Williams 212) ‘bad for you’ (Blunkett 212). He saw the relationship as common sense: “time on

task was ‘a key indicator of success’” (K, H Williams 212). Writing the argument of the person
 Guardiola 2

being named and later supporting it with what the expert stated makes the argument more

credible to the audience.

Furthermore, the use of ethos is later on added to the following paragraphs in the

analysis. The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted ), accountability for standards, the

quasi-market in schools and “the invocation of parents as moral and educational policemen”(H,

K Williams). The introduction of an organization from the United Kingdom is shown and so

cultural views, ideas, and environment differ from the U.S still the U.S is mentioned to go along

with the view of increased parental involvement. This focus is not limited to England: in the

USA, Kraft and Rogers claim that the government has cited increased parental support as a “top

priority” (Williams 210). Citing the research of Kraft and Rogers to support that not only is the

involvement growing in England but in the U.S too. There is an abundance of research on

parental involvement (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler,2005) adding more to the U.S by citing that

there is more information yet it fails to add claims after the citation of Hoover-Dempsey &

Sandler. Contrasting England to other countries seen with the U.S follows Australia. “Most

recently, projects in the UK and Australia, both called the Everyday Mathematics Project, sought

to stimulate parents into recognising and acting upon opportunities for mathematical talk in

everyday life” (Jay, Rose, & Simmons, 2017; Northcote & Marshall, 2016). Adding up other

countries and contrasting them with England persuades the audience into broader research.

In addition, we see the use of logos in the next section of the article in the form of tables

and models. Figure 1 “The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of parental involvement”

(Hoover, et.al) shows the breakdown of the different levels that have been used to integrate

parents into schoolwork. Besides the levels, the audience also sees the different categories in

each level ranging from 3 to 4 categories with their respective sub-categories. Adding to the use
 Guardiola 3

of logos Williams also uses a table summing up the responses that were given by the parents and

they are displayed in table 2. “Common parental responses” ( H, K Williams 220) dictate the

title for the graph giving out up to 15 responses given by parents some of them bold to show the

difference between them. “During these interactions knowledge, skills and understanding (KSU)

of mathematical problem-solving strategies and concepts were being developed as outlined

below” (H, K Williams 220) the table is a demonstration for the audience to see how feedback

was taken in the form of (KSU). Followed with different details viewed throughout the

questions, “During mathematical talk KSU was transferred by parents that included: justification

of choices; use of skills; modelling of recording and calculation strategies; identification of key

information; adaptation of the task; and common errors and misconceptions.” (Williams 221).

Moreover, pathos comes around the final section of the article becoming close to

connections of the tables and following the arguments of logos in the model.

She could have brought it home and done it the way school had done it then I could do it

the way I would do it. Then you could bring the two together so that in a way she is

teaching me and I am teaching her. (P school D 221).

Williams by putting this sort of statement towards the end of the article shows how effective the

results were even though it shows it on the table and models the opinions of parents are better to

understand for the audience. Transitioning next to teachers with their feedback.

They got better at it . . . at first it was just very much just concerned with showing others

what they had done . . . but then it became very reflective . . . those who had done it

themselves [without parental involvement] were still very open to discussing different

ways of being able to do it and it opened their eyes. (T school B 222).

 Guardiola 4

Teacher’s feedback shows just not feelings towards how the students are learning but how it

benefits the student to go out and engage in homework with their parents involved.

Finally, William’s article has effectiveness in using several rhetorical appeals ethos,

pathos, and logos. Pathos falls in the Feedback of the teachers and Parents showing their mood

and emotions towards the idea of being involved in student work. Logos is presented to the

audience in the form of a table and a model showing the different answers of parents in the

project and ethos is illustrated in the form of citing those experts and organizations that Williams

did his research. Having put all these together in the form of an article shows the effectiveness of

the article and the analysis of his work.

 Guardiola 5

Works Cited

Keith Williams and Hefin Williams, “Mathematics problem-solving homework as a conduit for

parental involvement in learning. Evaluation of a pilot study” EDUCATIONAL REVIEW 2021,

VOL. 73, NO. 2, 209–228 https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2019.1566210