Their family life may be in disarray. Home may be a place where there is no space to work, no quiet, no dictionaries, or no one to ask for help. Or religious obligations, music lessons, or sporting activities may leave little time for homework. If students home life is keeping them from doing homework, I try to help them create a more homework-friendly time or space in their day. Depending on the situation, I may talk to students about creating study centers for themselves at home, or I may arrange for students to do homework in school.
Homework has value when students are shown how to succeed at it.
That means we insist respectfully and firmly that assigned work be done, translating reasons for not doing homework, however legitimate, into opportunities to do homework. It means we break down homework skills into manageable chunks, then teach and re-teach them. It means we show children that we know they can succeed. Sometimes we confound students with tasks that are not appropriate for their age level. I recall once seeing my own child in a wash of tears trying to figure out similes for homework when she was eight years old.