Homework, Hegemony, and the Marginalised Parent: Unmasking Structural Barriers to Working-Class Involvement in Mathematics Education in South Africa

Introduction: This study interrogates how mathematics homework in South African rural schools reproduces structural inequality through neoliberal and colonial schooling systems. Methods: A systematic review of 18 qualitative and quantitative studies (2018–2024) was conducted using secondary data analysis from academic and policy sources. Results: The findings reveal that economic hardship, epistemic exclusion, and linguistic barriers severely limit rural parental involvement in homework. Homework reinforces educational stratification by privileging middle-class norms and resources. Discussion: The deficit discourse surrounding “uninvolved” parents is critiqued, revealing systemic oppression embedded in education policy and practice. Homework is often portrayed as a site of alienation, rather than empowerment. Limitations: The study is limited by its reliance on secondary data and exclusion of direct parental voices from primary data collection. Conclusions: Educational equity demands the abolition of homework as currently structured and the reimagination of parental involvement within a decolonial, socialist ethic that values rural parents as co-educators.