[en] Homework is one of the educational activities that has generated major controversies in recent times and there is still no way of knowing about how, when and how many should be prescribed. This is a topic of constant present and continuous debates in education. This research was performed as a compendium of three publications in prestigious journals where there are an important number of variables related to the student (academic achievement, involvement in homework, work approach used to do homework, motivation) and other variables more related context itself (parental homework support and teacher feedback). A first study included 326 students of the last three courses of primary education and in the second and third study, the sample totaled 535 students also belonging to fourth, fifth and sixth of Primary Education. With this research, it was intended to meet first the relationship between homework and academic achievement, second, the relationship between motivational student profile and involvement in homework and academic achievement and, thirdly, what personal variables and contextual linked with homework determine the type of work approach used by students to do homework.With this thesis, we will contribute to a better understanding of homework and bring a little more light to the debates and controversies surrounding the degree of usefulness of homework for academic progress of students. The influence of different variables related with homework (amount of homework completed, amount of time spent on homework, homework time management, homework motivation, approaches to homework, course and gender) in the academic achievement of students was analyzed and there are a number of conclusions with the analysis of the results of the works that make up this thesis: the amount of homework done and the optimization of the time dedicated at homework significantly and positively predicted academic performance because they are beneficial but the key is not the quantity because the key is in the quality of homework and how the students do their homework or how is the homework time management. Teacher feddback on homework is fundamental and parental homework support is important but depending on the quality. The findings obtained here will have a number of important implications in education.

[gl] Os deberes escolares son unha das actividades educativas que maiores controversias xerou nos derradeiros tempos e aínda hoxe non temos moi claro cómo, cando e cantos deben prescribirse. É un tema de constante actualidade e de continuos debates no ámbito educativo. A presente investigación realizouse como un compendio de tres publicacións en revistas de recoñecido prestixio onde teñen en conta unha serie de variables relacionadas co alumno (rendemento académico, implicación nos deberes escolares, enfoque de traballo empregado ao facer os deberes, motivación) e outras variables máis relacionadas co propio contexto (implicación dos pais nos deberes escolares e feedback do profesor). Inclúese un primeiro estudo con 326 estudantes dos últimos tres cursos de Educación Primaria e no segundo e terceiro estudo, a mostra ascende a 535 estudantes pertencentes tamén a 4°, 5° e 6° de Educación Primaria. Con esta investigación pretendeuse coñecer en primeiro lugar a relación existente entre deberes escolares e rendemento académico, en segundo lugar, a relación entre perfil motivacional do estudante e a implicación nos deberes escolares e rendemento académico e, en terceiro lugar, qué variables persoais e contextuais vinculadas cos deberes escolares determinan o tipo de enfoque de traballo que empregan os estudantes ao facer os deberes. Con esta Tese Doctoral preténdese contribuir a un maior coñecemento sobre os deberes escolares e aportar un pouco máis de luz aos debates e polémicas sobre a maior ou menor utilidade dos deberes escolares para o progreso académico dos estudantes. Analizouse a influencia que teñen distintas variables relacionadas cos deberes (cantidade de deberes feitos, tempo dedicado, tempo aproveitado dos deberes, motivación cara os deberes, enfoques de traballo nos deberes escolares, curso e xénero) no rendemento académico dos alumnos e da análise dos resultados dos traballos que compoñen esta Tese Doctoral, extráense unha serie de conclusións: a cantidade de deberes realizados dos prescritos e o aproveitamento do tempo predicen positiva e significativamente o rendemento académico porque son beneficiosos pero a clave non é a cantidade porque a clave está na calidade dos deberes e en cómo os estudantes fan os seus deberes ou cómo é a xestión do tempo invertido. O feedback do profesorado é fundamental e o apoio parental nos deberes é importante pero dependendo da calidade. As conclusións aquí obtidas terán unha serie de implicacións relevantes en educación.