Public hearings into the approaches to homework in Victorian schools start on Monday in Melbourne.

The hearings will run for three days and will hear evidence from a number of people and organisations with an interest in the effectiveness of homework as a learning tool. 

The terms of reference for the inquiry relate to: evidence supporting the value of homework; current approaches to homework, including application of, and access to, technology outside of the classroom/school; and future of homework in Victorian schools. 

Education and Early Childhood Development, school principals’ associations, parent bodies and parents, schools’ associations, individual schools, teachers and students, the education union and organisations concerned with disability and disadvantage will give evidence.

The committee will also be hearing from Associate Professors Richard Walker and Mike Horsley, of Sydney University and Central Queensland University respectively, who are the authors of a major book on the subject of homework Reforming Homework.