The impact of shadow education on student academic achievement: Why the research is inconclusive and what can be done about it

Recent decades have brought global expansion of private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education. Such tutoring consumes considerable resources and is usually viewed by participating households as an investment that will increase the recipients’ academic achievements. However, research on the effectiveness of tutoring has delivered inconclusive and even contradictory findings. Part of the reason lies in definitions and foci of research, since private supplementary tutoring may have many different formats, delivery mechanisms and intensities. As with other types of education, it is important also to investigate the qualities of the instructors and the motivations of the students. This creates a complex research arena, in which practical challenges arise from shortcomings in the instruments for securing data and limitations in methods for analyzing the data. This paper assesses the current state of the literature and makes recommendations for the future research agenda.postprin

Exacerbating or Reducing Disparities? The Global Expansion of Shadow Education and Implications for the Teaching Profession

Keynote addresspreprin

Determinants of demand for private supplementary tutoring in China: findings from a national survey

Private tutoring has expanded and intensified in China. However, no government statistical data or other empirical studies fully capture its extent and characteristics. This paper analyses private tutoring received by students in Grades 1–12 as indicated by a nationwide representative survey entitled China Family Panel Studies. The paper employs a Hurdle model to examine determinants of demand for tutoring, focusing on factors related to students and their parents. The first step is concerned with the decision to receive tutoring or not; and the second step explores factors influencing expenditures on tutoring among those who decide to receive it.postprin

Regulating Private Tutoring for Public Good : Policy Options for Supplementary Education in Asia

Fulltext in: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002270/227026E.pdfRecent years have brought global expansion of private supplementary tutoring alongside regular school systems. This expansion has far-reaching implications for the nurturing of new generations, for social and economic development, and for the operation of school systems. Some dimensions are positive while other dimensions are problematic. Supplementary tutoring is especially visible in Asia. The formats of tutoring range from one-to-one provision to large classes. Some tutoring is provided by teachers and by specialist companies, while other tutoring is provided informally by university students and others. Using a comparative lens, this book examines possible government responses to the expansion of private supplementary tutoring. In general, the book suggests, the sector should be given more attention. The work shows wide diversity in the regulations introduced by governments in the Asian region. It notes not only that these governments can learn much from each other, but also that policy makers in other parts of the world can usefully look at patterns in Asia. The book also stresses the value of partnerships between governments, tutoring providers, schools, teachers’ unions, and other bodies

Marketized private tutoring as a supplement to regular schooling: Liberal Studies and the shadow sector in Hong Kong secondary education

Around the world, increasing numbers of students receive after-school private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring may be provided through informal channels or by companies; and it may be received one-to-one, in small groups, or in large classes. The tutoring is commonly called shadow education since its content mimics that of regular schooling. The spread of shadow education is part of a global shift of balance with increased roles for the private sector. Hong Kong is among the societies in which shadow education enrolment rates are particularly high. Much shadow education focuses on techniques for performance in external examinations, and is not consistent with the emphases stressed by teachers and the government. This paper focuses on a newly-introduced subject called Liberal Studies in which the tensions are especially visible. Although the official curriculum emphasizes creativity and critical thinking, many students have sought large-class tutoring focused on formulae for passing examinations. Interviews exposed the needs that the students felt were not being met in their schooling. The findings illustrate some of the complexities in relationships between the public and private sectors. Viewed in a wider context, the paper illuminates some of the mechanisms and effects of marketization which are increasingly evident globally.postprin

When Whole-Person Development Encounters Social Stratification: Teachers’ Ambivalent Attitudes Towards Private Supplementary Tutoring in Hong Kong

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The institutionalization of comparative education in Asia and the Pacific: Roles and contributions of comparative education societies and the WCCES

The institutional framework of the field of comparative education has developed significantly in recent decades. One manifestation of development has been the establishment and activities of professional societies. This paper focuses on 12 societies that operate in Asia and the Pacific. Some of these societies have long histories while others are recent creations. The paper considers the geographic and conceptual remits of these societies, and their activities including organisation of conferences and publication of journals. Patterns are viewed through the lenses of literature on intellectual fields and on academic tribes and territories.postprin

Evolving ecosystems in education: The nature and implications of private supplementary tutoring in Hong Kong

An established literature draws on ecological concepts to analyse interrelationships within education structures and processes, and the impact of shifting balances. Private supplementary tutoring is a relatively new actor in ecosystems of education around the world. It is creating significant changes in relationships, particularly as they concern the roles of teachers. This paper draws on data from Hong Kong, where private tutoring has become very visible. It presents perspectives on the phenomenon from students and teachers, drawing especially on interview data. It shows that teachers and tutors may sometimes play complementary roles, but that teachers may in some respects be marginalised by the new actors in the ecosystem. Insights from these perspectives suggest a research agenda for other parts of the world as well as for Hong Kong.An established literature draws on ecological concepts to analyze interrelationships within education structures and processes, and the impact of shifting balances. Private supplementary tutoringâ relatively new in ecosystems of education around the worldâ is creating significant changes in relationships, particularly as they concern teachersâ roles. This paper, drawing on data from Hong Kong, where private tutoring has become very visible, presents perspectives on the phenomenon from students and teachers. It shows that these parties sometimes play complementary roles, but that private tutoring may marginalize teachers in some respects. Insights from these perspectives suggest a research agenda for other parts of the world as well as for Hong Kong.postprin

Understanding the nexus between mainstream schooling and private supplementary tutoring: patterns and voices of Hong Kong secondary students

While research is increasingly available on the scale and costs of private supplementary tutoring, less information focuses on its pedagogical dimensions. This paper addresses patterns in Hong Kong. The paper begins with the quantitative picture solicited through questionnaires for students in Grades 9 and 12, and then turns to data from interviews. Among the students, some received tutoring while others did not. Those who received tutoring were asked to compare their teachers and tutors, and to indicate what they sought from the tutors that they did not find in their schooling. The students who did not receive tutoring were also asked about the culture of tutoring, and whether they would have liked to have received tutoring if they had had the necessary financial resources. Especially pertinent were statements about learning gaps and ways in which tutoring was perceived to help. The themes of this paper may resonate widely. The paper shows that students’ learning objectives may differ from those of their teachers, and comments on the implications of these patterns for wider processes of government-led reform. The paper helps to explain how well-intentioned top-down innovations may be subverted by conflicting expectations and the divergent agendas of students, teachers and tutors.postprin

Measurement Issues in Research on Shadow Education: Challenges and Pitfalls Encountered in TIMSS and PISA

Expanding numbers of researchers are focusing on the scale and impact of private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education, since much of its curriculum mimics that of regular schooling. Although shadow education has expanded significantly worldwide and is now recognized to have far-reaching significance, research faces methodological and conceptual challenges. This paper focuses on analyses of shadow education data from the Third [or Trends in] International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). An initial problem arises from definitions of shadow education and therefore from research focus. Further challenges arise from the initial phrasing and then translation of items in international questionnaires. The paper notes that some studies have been grounded in problematic data, which has led to misleading pictures. Methods and approaches are maturing, but much refinement remains necessary for adequate understanding of the nature and implications of shadow education.published_or_final_versio