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Private supplementary tutoring: comparative perspectives on patterns and implications

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Russian translation of an article first published in English, in: Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, Vol. 36, No4, 2006, p. 515-530
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Presidential Address
Schooling and Its Supplements: Changing Global Patterns
and Implications for Comparative Education
MARK BRAY
Schooling has become a standard component in the daily lives of families, and edu-
cation is typically the largest item in government budgets. Many scholars have docu-
mented the spread of schooling and have analyzed the implications of that spread.
Recent decades have brought great expansion of supplementary education alongside
schooling. Some of this supplementary education mimics schooling as a shadow, and
some complements schooling with elaborate and/or different curricula. The supple-
mentary education is commonly a substantial component of household budgets. This
essay examines the nature of changing patterns of schooling and supplementary edu-
cation around the world. It views the topic through the lenses of (in)equalities, re-
marking on bidirectional inuences between schooling and its supplements. Among
major intensifying forces in supplementary education have been governmental achieve-
ments in expansion of schooling and in reductions of inequalities. Supplementary educa-
tion then to some extent resists reforms by restoring and maintaining inequalities. The
essay concludes with remarks about the implications for comparative analysis of both
schooling and supplementary education.
Introduction
The eld of comparative education permits big-picture analyses as well
as more detailed foci on specic settings. This essay, prepared as a contri-
bution to the 61st annual conference of the Comparative and International
Education Society (CIES), is concerned with the big picture. The confer-
ence theme was Problematizing (In)Equality: The Promise of Comparative
and International Education.The subthemes included:
Problematizing Teaching and Learning
Problematizing Development and Innovation
Many colleagues and students have contributed to my thinking on this topic. For specic com-
ments on drafts of this essay, I thank Nutsa Kobakhidze, Ora Kwo, Maria Manzon, Larry Suter, and Wei
Zhang.
Received April 22, 2017; revised April 22, 2017; accepted April 22, 2017; electronically published
June 6, 2017
Comparative Education Review, vol. 61, no. 3.
q2017 by the Comparative and International Education Society. All rights reserved.
0010-4086/2017/6103-0009$10.00
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Problematizing Inclusion/Exclusion
Problematizing Neoliberalism and the Market.
The essay will make some remarks under each of these headings, as well as
on the overall theme.
Traditionally, CIES presidential addresses have built on their authors
own scholarly work and have charted some directions for the wider eld.
I shall follow that tradition. I have also followed an established path insofar
as part of my preparation commenced with review of the words and wisdom
of my forebears.
Among previous presidential addresses, especially pertinent is that by
David Baker (2014a), which addressed consequences of the education rev-
olutionand was elaborated in his book The Schooled Society (2014b). Baker
is also known for his work on the so-called shadow education system of pri-
vate supplementary tutoring (e.g., Stevenson and Baker 1992; Baker and Le-
Tendre 2005). The metaphor of the shadow, though imperfect, is widely
used because much of the curriculum in the parallel supplementary sector
mimics that in regular schooling: as the curriculum changes in the schools,
so it changes in the shadow. Part of my own work (e.g., Bray 1999, 2009; Bray
et al. 2013) has built on these writings to highlight the global expansion
of shadow education, which has far-reaching implications for types of (in)
equalities. The present essay has a broader focus than shadow education in-
sofar as it embraces activities that do not mimic schooling and as such may
better be called supplementary education rather than (narrowly dened)
shadow education. Within that remark, however, areambiguities that demand
careful attention.
Wiseman (2013, xi) is among scholars who have called attention to re-
lationships between schooling and supplementary education. He pointed
out that the global expansion of mass education has been documented
and debated as one of the foremost issues in comparative and international
education research in the 20th century,but suggested that the expansion
and institutionalization of supplementary education promises to usurp mass
education as the most important (and still among the least understood)
education phenomena of the 21st century.Whether the expansion and
institutionalization of supplementary education will usurp mass education
in this way remains to be seen, but the phenomena are indeed of great
and underrecognizedimportance.
With such matters in mind, this essay rst summarizes aspects of schol-
arly analysis on the expansion and institutionalization of mass education,
and on the reasons for the expansion and institutionalization of supple-
mentary education. The essay then turns to aspects of the nature and impli-
cations of supplementary education, and to an agenda for comparative ed-
ucation scholars.
BRAY
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The Spread, Expansion, and Dominance of Schooling
Particularly signicant in the extensive literature on the global spread of
schooling is the work of Meyer and associates (e.g., Meyer and Hannan
1979; Meyer et al. 1992). For example, Boli et al. (1985, 145) pointed out
that the prevalence of mass education is a striking feature of the modern
world. Education has spread rapidly in the last 2 centuries, becoming a
compulsory, essentially universal institution. It has even expanded greatly in
the poorest countries. Unesco [sic] estimates that about 75 per cent of the
children of primary school age in the world are enrolled in something
called a school.Since those words were written, the coverage of schooling
has spread further. UNESCO (2016, 411, 420) recorded a 2014 global gross
enrollment ratio of 105 percent in primary schooling and of 75 percent
in secondary schooling. Rates were lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and in
South and West Asia, but in all regions huge expansion had been achieved.
Education is commonly the largest item in government budgets, typically
consuming 1020 percent of the total (UNESCO 2016, 47376).
For the CIES, Revisioning Education for Allwas the theme of the 2014
annual conference and related to Mundys presidential address the follow-
ing year. Mundy (2016, 4) recognized that the commitments in UNESCOs
1946 Constitution to full and equal opportunities for education for all,
echoed in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, had
historical roots in the evolution of the modernstate. The notion of Education
for All (EFA), she added, emerged as an aspirational statement and as part of
the embedded liberalismof the postWorld War II architecture(Mundy
2016, 4). In 2015 the EFA agenda was absorbed into the United Nations Sus-
tainable Development Goals (SDGs). Remarking on trends, UNESCO (2016,
162) observed that: Despite challenges, the worldwide movement to univer-
salize a long cycle of education and improve learning levels gathers steam.
These aspirations are deeply embedded in the aims, policies and plans of al-
most all countries, regardless of population, location and degree of devel-
opment.The document noted that, historically, education had served elite
interests but that in contemporary times the aim of good quality education
for all had become the norm and was driving both national commitments
and the work of international agencies.
Baker (2014a, 6) had also remarked on some implications of these pat-
terns. Since the mid-nineteenth century, he observed, this massive regime
of education has produced a powerful culture, transformed most individ-
uals in the world, and created far-reaching consequences for all facets of
society.The comment resonated with remarks four decades earlier by Meyer
(1977, 55), who had noted that education restructures whole populations,
creating and expanding elites and redening the rights and obligations of
members.
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In addition to emphasizing the expansion of schooling, these authors
have highlighted similarities in models of schooling. Meyer and Ramirez
(2000, 16) ascribed these similarities to world forces,that is, a cultural
principle exogenous to any specic nation-state and its historical legacy.
Among underlying factors, they suggested, were the integrating forces of
global communications and exchange, changing normative models of the
nature and rights of citizens in nation-states, intensication of professional
models of education systems, and the impact of international bodies such as
UNESCO, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD). These forces are said to have led to isomor-
phism in which, at least supercially, school systems across the world in-
creasingly resemble each other. However, analysts do note continuing varia-
tions (Carney et al. 2012; Tröhler & Lenz 2015). Baker and LeTendre (2005,
170) observed that basic organization of mass schooling and the assumptions
behind it are similar worldwide, but how this gets worked out in practice in
nations is far from uniform.Their commentary placed more stress on iso-
morphism, but they recognized variations in patterns and welcomed con-
tinuing discussion. The expansion and evolution of supplementary education
add elements that complicate pictures and call for further research and policy
studies.
The Parallel Spread and Expansion of Supplementary Education
The opening paragraphs of this essay alluded to denitional challenges
in what might be placed under the heading of supplementary education.
Forms of shadow education are a useful place to commence. For my 1999
book, published by UNESCOs International Institute for Educational Plan-
ning (IIEP), I took the shadow metaphor from three sources in theearly 1990s
(Marimuthu et al. 1991; George 1992; Stevenson and Baker 1992). I focused
on private supplementary tutoring and considered the shadow metaphor ap-
propriate for several reasons: First, private supplementary tutoring only exists
because the mainstream education exists; second, as the size and shape of
the mainstream change, so do the size and shape of supplementary tutoring;
third, in almost all societies much more public attention focuses on the main-
stream than on its shadow; and fourth, the features of the shadow system are
much less distinct than those of the mainstream system(17).
My concern in the book was with activities dened by (20):
Supplementation: tutoring in subjects already taught in school, and ex-
cluding for example language classes for minority children whose fam-
ilies were anxious for new generations to retain competence in languages
not taught in their schools.
BRAY
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Privateness: support by individuals and companies for prot-making pur-
pose or at least to cover costs, and excluding supplementary help at public
expense and the voluntary assistance of family members.
Academic: languages, mathematics, sciences and other subjects exam-
ined by schools, and excluding musical, artistic or sporting skills learned
primarily for pleasure and/or more rounded personal development.
These parameters t the purpose of the 1999 book, which itself built on
awareness of hidden household costs of schooling (Bray 1996), though at
the time I noted some blurring of denitional boundaries and subsequently
expanded that commentary (e.g., Bray et al. 2013; Bray and Kobakhidze
2014). Thus, although some shadow education is indeed precise mimicry of
schooling, using the same textbooks and even the same teachers, other
classes supplement the mainstream with different books, providers, peda-
gogic styles, and so on. Also while some people use the word tutoringfor
all types of instruction, including large classes of the type found in Hong
Kong and elsewhere (Koh 2014; Yung 2015), others use the word only for
one-to-one or small-group instruction. Partly because of such denitional
challenges and also because many families, particularly in the upper and
middle classes, seek forms of provision beyond strict shadowing, the present
essay focuses on supplementary education rather than just shadow educa-
tion as dened in my 1999 book. This wider focus also permits comments
on differentiation of patterns among social and economic groups and in a
range of national contexts.
Beginning nevertheless with a relatively narrow focus, the history of
private supplementary tutoring in academic subjects is arguably as long as
that of schooling itself. As a form of educational provision, in many societies
tutoring was an alternative to schooling for certain social strata (see, e.g.,
Maynes 1985), and it seems likely that over the centuries it has also been
a supplement for some academically needy students whose families could
afford it. Scholarly literature has documented the existence of private sup-
plementary tutoring at least since the early twentieth century in countries
as diverse as Japan, Greece, and Mauritius (e.g., Foondun 2002; Tsiloglou
2005; Sato 2012). During the second half of the twentieth century, pri-
vate supplementary tutoring became a major activity in such countries as Sri
Lanka and the Republic of Korea (Hemachandra 1982; Seth 2002), and
since the turn of the twenty-rst century it has expanded signicantly in all
world regions (Bray 2009; Aurini et al. 2013; Park et al. 2016). It is now a
standard feature of family life in countries as diverse as Canada (Aurini and
Davies 2013; Eckler 2015), China (Zhang and Bray 2016), Egypt (Hartmann
2013), and England (Kirby 2016).
Cross-national data on private supplementary tutoring are difcult to
compile not only because of the challenges of collecting information from
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students, tutors and/or parents but also because of the variations in de-
nition (Bray 2010). Nevertheless, collections of snapshots from various set-
tings provide one basis for comparison at both primary and secondary levels
(e.g., Bray 2011, 2123; Bray and Lykins 2012, 47). More systematic cross-
national data have been collected through the OECDs Programme for In-
ternational Student Assessment (PISA). PISA questions on tutoring have
been problematic (Bray and Kobakhidze 2014), but those asked in 2012
and 2015 were arguably clearer than in previous rounds. Figure 1 shows the
proportions of sampled 15-year-old students who indicated in 2012 that they
hadreceived(a) out-of-school classes organized by a commercial company
and paid for by their parents, and (b)paidorunpaidpersonaltutoring.
1
Greece
and the Republic of Korea have long been well known for the scale of sup-
plementation, but the gure also indicated high proportions in countries as
diverse as Thailand, Brazil, Russia, and Turkey. In most countries the dominant
form was personal tutoring (paid or unpaid), but in many countries classes
organized by commercial companies were very prominent.
Other literature has highlighted considerable private supplementary
tutoring at the primary level. In the Republic of Korea, for example, ofcial
statistics indicated that 80.7 percent of sampled elementary school pupils
were receiving supplementary private education in 2015 (KOSIS 2016). Much
of this provision was in institutions called hagwons, though some tutoring was
provided by individuals through semiformal or informal arrangements. The
scale of supplementary education had increased over time, and a survey of
parents indicated that the top reasons related to competition to enter high-
ranking colleges. Parents were not in general critical of their childrens ele-
mentary schools, and concern about school learning atmosphere and facili-
ties was at the bottom of the list of 12 reasons for seeking tutoring (KOSIS
2016). In the middle of the list (number 5 out of 12) was Private tutoring is so
widespread that I feel uncomfortable if my child does not participate.Similar
factors apply in Japan, where a 2007 survey found that 38 percent of grade 6
students and 65 percent of grade 9 students were attending tutorial enter-
prises called juku ( Japan Ministry of Education . . . 2008, 13).
2
Dierkes (2013)
described supplementary education in Japan as an insecurity industrysince
1
The gure has been ranked by proportions of paid/unpaid personal tutoring. The precise
questions in the English-language version were:
Thinking about all school subjects: on average, how many hours do you spend each week on the
following? When answering, include time spent on the weekend too.
c) work with a personal !tutor1(whether paid or not): __ hours per week
d) attend out of school classes organised by a commercial company, and paid for by your parents:
__ hours per week
2
Bearing these statistics in mind, as well as more recent literature (e.g., Zhang and Yamato 2017),
readers might wish to scrutinize the numbers for Japan in g. 1. Indeed other numbers in g. 1 may also
need to be viewed with caution, given the challenges of collecting such data highlighted in my coauthored
2014 article (Bray and Kobakhidze 2014).
BRAY
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FIG.1.Percentages of 15-year-old students receiving supplementary education, 2012. Source :
Adapted from Park et al. (2016), 233. A color version of this gure is available online.
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it feeds on, and to some extent promotes, parental anxieties (see also Entrich
2016).
Low-income regions of India provide a contrasting setting that never-
theless has some similar patterns. Pratham (2015, 270) indicated that in 2014,
58.4 percent of sampled West Bengal rural students in grades 15werere-
ceiving private supplementary tutoring and that the gure for grades 68was
76.2 percent. Proportions for urban students would probably have been even
greater (Indian Institute of Management Calcutta 2011; Majumdar 2014).
Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, remarked on ndings
from a 2001/2 survey of primary education in West Bengal that was repeated
in 2008/9. The later report showed signicant improvements in quality and
quantity, but also showed expansion of private tutoring. The survey included
focus on both primary schools and Sishu Siksha Kendras (SSKs), which are
community-based alternatives to primary schools. Sen (2009, 13) described a
real regression . . . on the dependence on private tuition.Proportions of
children receiving supplementation had risen from 57 to 64 percent among
sampled primary school students and from 24 to 58 percent among SSK
children. Again the parents were to some extent driven by competition for
entry to the next level of education. Sen reported an intensication of the
general conviction among the parents that private tuition is unavoidableif it
can be at all afforded(13).
Canadian research exemplies parallels in a very different context.
Aurini and Davies (2013, 156) described Canada as a relative newcomer to
supplementary educationbut added that these services were becoming in-
creasingly popular as indicated by estimates of 33 percent of parents having
purchased some sort of supplementary education and 29 percent of nine-
year-old children having received some sort of private tutoring (157). As in
the Republic of Korea, demand was not greatly driven by dissatisfaction with
schooling but rather by a perception that the supplementary education could
increase childrens competitive advantage. Because school content and eval-
uations varied widely in the context of Canadas diversied administrative
structures, shadow education providers could not easily secure economies
of scale by serving multiple schools. As a result, the larger businesses offered
more generic educational instruction. Some called themselves learning cen-
ters,developed their own evaluation materials, and advertised their ability
to build childrens self-esteem and learning skills (Aurini and Davies 2013,
162).
Examples could be taken from other contexts to show further com-
monalities and variations. The overall picture is of growth of supplemen-
tary education worldwide, notable in only a few countries during the late
twentieth century but now becoming a standard feature of daily life for many
families. In some countries, the dominant form is close mimicry of regular
schooling, but in other countries, particularly for the younger age groups,
BRAY
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it is broader. Juxtaposition of Korea, India, and Canada shows that supple-
mentary education has expanded in countries with very different cultures
and economic features.
What Implications for (In)Equalities?
Space constraints preclude detailed analysis of the changing nature of
supplementary education across the globe. Nevertheless, some key remarks
may be made under several subheadings devised for the 2017 annual con-
ference. Each category deserves more detailed treatment beyond the out-
lines presented here, and may be part of the scholarly agenda.
Problematizing Teaching and Learning
Initial questions are why parents and students choose to invest time and
money in supplementary education and do not see schooling as enough by
itself. Of course the answers vary according to the types of supplementary
education, the providers, and the consumers. Shadow education may be sought
to help students either to keep up with or to stay ahead of their peers. Other
forms of supplementary education may be investments in cultural and per-
haps social capital (Bourdieu 1986). Consumers may feel pressured by teach-
ers and peers.
Shadow education that completely mimics regular schooling may be par-
ticularly problematic. Students who are low-achieving because of a mismatch
in curriculum or unfullled learning needs with unsympathetic teachers may
be subjected to repeat hours with more of the same.In this case, investments
in private tutoring are unlikely to deliver positive returns and could even
contribute to boredom and rebellion.
Next along the spectrum would be shadow education with only slight
differences from regular schooling. Many Cambodian teachers provide pri-
vate tutoring to the students for whom they are already responsible in
mainstream classes, often in the same classrooms (Brehm and Silova 2014;
Bray et al. 2016). The private classes commonly provide exercises to practice
and amplify the lessons in regular classes. Students in private classes may also
receive tips on how to pass the examinations set by the teachers for their
regular classes. Students who do not attend the private classes may feel dis-
advantaged next to their peerseven to the extent of considering that they
do not receive the full government-mandated curriculum that should have
been provided to all.
Shadow education that addresses the subjects of regular schooling but
in different ways may also be problematic. Kumon was established as a com-
pany in Japan in 1955, and now serves 4.26 million students in 49 countries
(Kumon 2016). It is especially known for its approach to mathematics that
emphasizes drilling with worksheets and formulae rather than understand-
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ing, and may cause dissonance with the pedagogic approaches of main-
stream teachers. A different problem arises for example in Taiwan when
students gain the materials from their tutors before their mainstream teach-
ers, and are then bored during their mainstream classes ( Jheng 2015). Some
forms of tutoring elaborate on schooling, stretching high achievers. When
some students receive it but others do not, challenges for regular teachers
arise from the diversity that it creates within classrooms.
Problematizing Development and Innovation
Because they are in a marketplace that is highly dependent on client sat-
isfaction, tutors may have stronger incentives than regular teachers to per-
form well. Also, tutors have more exibility and fewer bureaucratic constraints.
Some large tutorial companies, such as Benesse in Japan, have signicant
research arms (Zhang and Yamato 2017). Large companies of this kind can
concentrate abundant nancial and human resources on specic educational
areas for development and innovation. Clear division of labor may separate
teaching from marketing, counseling, and research, with tutors focusing on
tutoring rather than development of pedagogy and associated materials. Even
at the other end of the scale, self-employed tutors are mindful of their vul-
nerability if they do not deliver what the clients desire, and are likely therefore
to be more client-oriented than teachers who have secure jobs with guaran-
teed remuneration.
However, such patterns are not always straightforward. The tutoring sec-
tor has open gates, meaning that almost anybody can offer service in the
marketplace. Many tutors are university students with no pedagogical train-
ing, and some are even secondary school students (see, e.g., Ho 2010). In the
older age group, many tutors have been unable to secure alternative employ-
ment and join the industry as a stopgap. Woodward (2010, 1314), in a book
entitled How to Start a Business as a Private Tutor, reported that the most fre-
quent question by people considering careers in tutoring was whether they
needed to be qualied teachers. Woodwards answer was:
NO! You do not have to be qualied. The Oxford Dictionary denition of a
teacher is as follows: A person who explains, shows and helps to impart knowledge by way
of instruction and example.Do you honestly think you need to go to university and
wear a gown and a mortar board and obtain a B.Ed. in order to do this? (1314)
Woodward added the view that a reasonably well-educated adult is perfectly
able to pass information to a child, probably better than a teacher is(14).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, others in the industry consider this perspective dan-
gerous. Nevertheless, it shows through extreme example some of the poten-
tially problematic dimensions of supplementary education.
BRAY
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At the other end of the spectrum are tutors in the commercial sector
who were originally teachers in regular schools but who were attracted by
higher incomes, reduced bureaucratic demands, pedagogical freedom, or
other dimensions. When the supplementary industry takes good teachers
away from the schools, then the latter suffer. Insofar as schools have be-
come more tightly controlled by accountability measures and managerial-
ism, they have unintentionally dampened innovative teaching and profes-
sional growth. The supplementary sector may then become a more dynamic
arena than the main body.
Problematizing Inclusion/Exclusion
Some stakeholders, noting that children from low-income families are
excluded from fee-charging supplementary education, have proposed voucher
systems. In the United States, this was a component of the No Child Left Be-
hind (NCLB) legislation approved in 2001 (Sunderman 2006; Mori 2013).
School districts were required to provide Supplemental Education Services
(SES) to disadvantaged students, commonly through private providers. In Aus-
tralia a parallel scheme launched in 2004 was entitled the Tutorial Voucher
Initiative, through which eligible parents could spend up to A$700 (US$550)
on tutoring (Watson 2008). This evolved into a scheme entitled An Even Start,
launched in 2007 (Davis 2013, 4).
These schemes have not been unproblematic. In Australia, Watson (2008)
and Davis (2013) highlighted variations in take-up rates, shortcomings in
monitoring and accountability, lack of evidence of sustainable gains, and in-
adequate supply of tutors especially in rural areas. For these and other rea-
sons, including political ones, An Even Start was abandoned four years after
its launch. The NCLB has sustained a longer history and achieved learning
gains particularly among students with disabilities and among African Amer-
icans and Hispanics (Mori 2013, 200). However, critics have highlighted in-
efciencies and relatively low take-up rates.
Further challenges have arisen from institutional cultures. Koyama (2010,
4) presented a telling remark from one education manager that if schools
had been doing their jobs better all along, then thered have been no need
for NCLB or SES.The manager predicted that as test scores improved and
schools emerged from failing status, in part because of the tutoring, then SES
will become a legitimate and necessary part of public schooling even if NCLB
loses support.The next stage, the manager suggested, would be that SES
would become institutionalized and its value will go unquestioned just as
private tutoring has become commonplace for children in middle- and upper-
class families, aiming to get into top colleges.Such remarks might warn ad-
vocates of voucher schemes elsewhere. The United Kingdoms Sutton Trust
is among them (Davis 2015; Kirby 2016). The logic of the recommendation
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is that society becomes more unequal when prosperous families are able to
purchase supplementary education and poor families cannot. However, pro-
vision of government-sponsored vouchers amounts to ofcial recognition that
schooling by itself is inadequate to meet needs, and could imply that all chil-
dren ought to be receiving some sort of supplementary education through
either family or public resources.
Problematizing Neoliberalism and the Market
The expansion of supplementary education is underpinned by increased
acceptability of the notion that education is a marketable service. This no-
tion is evident around the world in school sectors in which policy makers
have encouraged business models with a goal of making institutions more ef-
cient and sensitive to clients (see, e.g., Apple 2006; Ball 2006; Lubienski and
Lee 2013). In contrast to government-initiated reforms, the development
of supplementary education has largely been a bottom-up process. Market
forces tend to reinforce inequalities, since high-income families can purchase
more and better supplementary education than can low-income counterparts.
Regulation of the sector has lagged behind that of schooling, in part because
Ministries of Education have felt unwilling to enlarge their roles in a domain
for which they have limited expertise and control.
Among dimensions of my own work exploring this theme is an Asian re-
gional study (Bray and Kwo 2014). It showed a few countries having strong
regulations but many others having minimal or no regulations. The coun-
tries with regulations tended to focus more on the business side (registra-
tion, contracts, taxation, etc.) and safety (re escapes, toilets, etc.) than on
educational matters such as curriculum and tutorsqualications. As noted
above, the sector has few barriers to entry, and a further problem is that
consumers may not be able easily to evaluate the quality of services received.
More detailed research in China has permitted elaboration on these themes
(Zhang and Bray 2017). The work addressed patterns of micro-neoliberalism,
that is, privatization and marketization at the individual, family, and institu-
tional levels, and identied interactions between the public and private sec-
tors at the conuence of mainstream and shadow education. The research
identied four mixing zones, namely kickbacks for teachers referring stu-
dents to tutorial centers; teachers who also worked as tutors; schools that
entered collaborative relationships with centers for students to be tutored;
and partnerships between schools and tutorial centers for identication of
high-achieving students for school admission. Although the study was in the
specic location of Shanghai, it seems likely that its patterns would have
counterparts elsewhere in China and more widely. The research identied
layers of complexity in the nature of neoliberal forces and the value of micro-
level analysis to complement broader work.
BRAY
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Understanding the Global Expansion of Supplementary Education
Returning to the beginning of this essay, it is useful to recall the early
work of Meyer (e.g., 1977) and more recent commentators (e.g., Baker and
LeTendre 2005; Mori and Baker 2010; Tröhler and Lenz 2015) to identify
the forces underlying the global expansion of supplementary education and
the implications of that expansion. As noted above, even in 1985 Boli et al.
had pointed out that about 75% of primary-aged children across the globe
were enrolled in something called a school(145). The nature of schools
varied considerably between and within countries, but the basic model was
clearly recognizable. Supplementary education varies even more, but also has
commonalities across the globe. Forms of shadow education that mimic
schooling resemble each other precisely because of this mimicry. In format,
one-to-one and small-group tutoring seem to be common in all world regions,
in part because relatively prosperous parents assume that such individualized
instruction is particularly efcacious. Some countries have developed more
industrialized models with lower unit costs and therefore prices more easily
reached by less prosperous families. At the extreme, hall tuition classesin
Sri Lanka commonly serve 1,000 students at a time (Pallegedera 2011, 7), and
star tutorsin Hong Kong attract several hundred students to lecture theaters
with overow rooms connected by video screens (Kwo and Bray 2011). Al-
ternative modes include correspondence courses and tutoring through the
internet (Ventura and Jang 2010). Thus, the formats of supplementary edu-
cation are wider than those for schooling, but the focus on academic subjects
remains recognizable.
Going further, just as the forces of globalization in economics, social pol-
icy, and technology have led to much isomorphism and expansion of school-
ing, similar forces operate in the supplementary sector (g. 2). Families across
cultures may have similar visions for their children, especially in the elite social
strata and increasingly in the middle and lower classes. Education has long
been seen as an instrument for social advancement across generations, and
when schooling is perceived not to be adequate by itself, families in countries
as diverse as Canada, India, and Kenya choose to invest in supplementary
education.
Within this framework, however, are variations in the responses of dif-
ferent social classes. Elite families may demand, and can afford, types of
supplementary education that go beyond school curriculumsuch as art,
music, and foreign travelthat are out of range for lower income fami-
lies. Their demand may be based both on desires for their children to have
rounded personal development rather than just being narrowly academic,
and on an understanding that these qualities are valued by the types of
elite schools, universities, and employers to which the parents aspire. Fam-
ilies in lower social classes may not be able to afford such forms of supple-
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mentary education and may also be more oriented toward schools that value
examination grades more strongly. These families are therefore more likely
to focus on academic forms of supplementary education provided individ-
ually or in small groups if they can afford the generally higher prices of such
instruction, or in larger classes if they are more constrained by price (and if
the families live in locationsmostly urbanin which those larger classes
are available).
The question then turns to the consumption patterns of the lowest in-
come groups. Some families feel that they really cannot afford supplemen-
tary education and in that sense have lost the race even before they have
begun. They set their sights low, enduring the demands of schooling and
expecting subsequently to join the labor market in low-income occupations
that require little schooling success. Others somehow squeeze their house-
hold budgets to nd the resources. In this connection, it is pertinent to recall
Sens (2009, 13) report in India about an intensication of the general
conviction among the parents that private tuition is unavoidableif it can be
at all afforded.
This remark links to other determinants of supplementary education.
In some settings, teachers focus on whole-person development and broad
FIG.2.Forces in the expansion of supplementary education. A color version of this gure is
available online.
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educational goals, while tutorial centers focus on ways to achieve high scores
in examinations and appeal to students on the grounds that they can offer
that specialized service (see, e.g., Wang and Bray 2016). In other settings,
both the schools and the tutorial centers focus on examinations and there-
fore look increasingly alike. Again in the Indian context, Majumdar (2014, 8)
cited one interviewee who felt that: If and when [tutorial centers] are
authorised to issue certicates, schools will certainly close down. . . . We al-
ready notice the falling attention of students in class. As long as they can pay
someone who will show them how to pass their exams, they do not need to
attend classes.This remark links on the one hand to questions of efciency
in achieving the objectives of passing examinations and on the other hand to
the authority to issue certicates. Since the latter is still controlled by the
state, the activities of the state to a large extent still shape the shadow sector.
Nevertheless, various commentators have noted ways in which the shadow
sector has ceased to be a shadow and has come to dominate the school sector.
This raises the question of which sector is the shadow of which. Students in
most countries are compelled by law to attend at least primary and junior
secondary schooling, but even at these levels students may choose to give
more attention to the shadow sector than to their schools (see, e.g., Jheng
2015). At higher levels students may choose to skip classes to attend private
tutoring lessons during school hours. Silova and Kazimzade (2006, 128) in-
dicated that in Azerbaijan teachers and education ofcials reported empty
classes in secondary schools when students left en masse to attend private
tutoring classes. Similar observations have been made in Turkey, in which
parents have obtained false medical certicates to gain legitimate reasons for
their children being absent from school (Altinyelken 2013, 199).
Especially when such supplementary education reaches a large scale, it
becomes self-perpetuating. At some point there is a watershed beyond which
the supplementary education is no longer just a supplement but becomes
a requirement. The commercial sector has ways to market its products, rais-
ing anxieties among parents and students and then promising to alleviate
those anxieties (Kim 2012; Dierkes 2013; Entrich 2016). Further, when the
sector attracts some of the best teachers from the schools, it shifts balances
in the effectiveness with which each side can play its roles. Mori and Baker
(2010, 40) highlighted a symbiotic relationship between the schooled society
and supplementary education in which as the former intensies, the logic
of the latter expands and heads toward a universal practice.Supplementary
education has become a de facto requirement for many families.
Pursuing the Promise of Comparative Education
The theme for the 2017 CIES conference was not only about problem-
atizing (in)equality but also about the promise of comparative education. As
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in other domains, the principal dimensions of promise are in understand-
ing patterns and dynamics, and perhaps in offer of options to policy makers
and practitioners. This essay commenced with the expansion of schooling
before turning to the expansion of supplementary education. The expan-
sion of schooling has been widely recognized; but particularly in the 1990s
and 2000s, when talking about shadow education with personnel from such
countries as Egypt, Greece, and the Republic of Korea, I commonly found
surprise that the phenomenon was a signicant issue elsewhere. Because at
that time shadow education rarely featured in the research literature or re-
ports of international bodies, policy makers and practitioners in those coun-
tries commonly thought that shadow education on a signicant scale was
unique to their own settings. Comparative analyses thus showed that coun-
terparts elsewhere faced related issues. Some aspects of the promise of com-
parative education may be disappointing, namely that forces are complex and
the challenges of inequalities can rarely be addressed through simple solu-
tions. Indeed one lesson is that well-meaning initiatives, such as vouchers for
low-income families, can have unintended and unanticipated problems. How-
ever, it is arguably better to be aware of the complexities than to proceed in
simplistic ways.
Nevertheless, to fulll their roles meaningfully, comparative education
scholars need to remedy past neglect. They have been slow to recognize
the issues, with the literature on shadow education developing only in the
1990s and after even though shadow education had long been a major phe-
nomenon in various parts of the world; and even now the theme is given in-
adequate attention. Thus, although UNESCO, for example, did make pass-
ing reference to shadow education in its 2015 Education for All Global Monitoring
Report (UNESCO 2015a, 202) and in its visionary Rethinking Education: Towards
a Global Common Good? (UNESCO 2015b, 74), these were only minor acknow-
ledgments. Similarly, the OECDs annual Education at a Glance (e.g., OECD
2016) does now mention private tutoring among its indicators but has never
given the matter detailed attention. The phenomenon has also been absent
from core publications of other agencies (e.g., Asian Development Bank 2008;
World Bank 2011).
To address this neglect, one major need is for basic factual information.
Indicators on schooling have greatly improved during recent decades, though
still have major shortcomings (see, e.g., UNESCO 2016, 178203). Indicators
on supplementary education are still in their infancy, arguably comparable to
those on schooling several decades ago. Very few governments collect sys-
tematic and regular data on the topic, the chief exception being the Republic
of Korea (e.g., KOSIS 2016); and data collected by nongovernmental orga-
nizations and university-based researchers are patchy in coverage and meth-
odological rigor. Beyond basic questions of how much supplementary edu-
cation is received by what categories of children, at what seasons, in what
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modes, and from what types of tutors, further questions must be asked about
curriculum, teaching and learning styles, and much more. In effect, the range
of questions and needed answers from the supplementary sector parallels
that from schooling.
To investigate such matters, tools can of course be borrowed from in-
vestigations of schooling. Studies in specic locations can highlight features
that may then be contrasted with patterns elsewhere and contribute to wider
understanding. Analysis may usefully focus on units within nation-states as
well as on whole countries, including individuals, classrooms, and schools
that on the cube developed by myself and Murray Thomasanother former
CIES presidentwould be at the lower levels (Bray and Thomas 1995, 475).
Researchers of supplementary education may face challenges of access in-
sofar as tutorial centers may not welcome them, and tutoring in homes may
be much harder to access than teaching in schools (Bray et al. 2015). Nev-
ertheless, social scientists already have multiple tools for multiple settings
and purposes, and new ones can be developed.
Another purpose of comparative analysis, especially in journals such as
the Comparative Education Review, is broader conceptualization. Comparison of
patterns across the world provides evidence for such conceptualization and
exposes forces that may not be detected so easily when focusing only on in-
dividual countries or locations within countries. Boli et al. (1985, 146) re-
marked that explaining the rise of mass education involves analyzing the
power relations of interest groups in society.This is indeed the case, and also
applies to the rise of supplementary education. The interest groups include
families, schools, teachers, tutors, universities, and employers. A decade later,
Carnoys (2006) CIES presidential address included focus on the role of the
state, which he felt might have deserved more attention in the addresses of
CIES presidents during the previous 15 years. Indeed the state was and re-
mains of crucial importance, especially since, as Carnoy noted (p.555), the
way changes take place in educational systems is largely dened by the po-
litical relationship of the nations citizenry to the state and the way that the
state has organized the educational system politically.Carnoy also suggested
that even when education is partly privateand partly public,it is the state
that denes the meaning of private and public education(555). Yet while this
observation seems to apply to schooling, perhaps it does not apply so obviously
to supplementary education, much of which develops in a bottom-up way.
Conclusion
The themes addressed above lead to further questions about the direc-
tions of change. Mundy (2006, 4) noted that the United Nations Declaration
of Human Rights and the UNESCO Constitution were driven by a shared
social imaginary.Developments were taken to their next stages by the EFA
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agenda launched in 1990, the 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
and the successor, 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet ironi-
cally, although efforts to reduce social inequalities were a major force behind
the movements, they have arguably contributed to demand for potentially
unequalizing supplementary education. First, more families receive greater
amounts of schooling and therefore nd labor market and other opportu-
nities within reach that would previously have been considered unattainable.
During eras in which tertiary enrollment rates were low, most families had a
mind-set that postsecondary education was for other families rather than for
them. Similar remarks applied in earlier eras to secondary education and,
before that, to primary education. The expansion of schooling through the
EFA agenda and related policies has given families awareness that they can
compete for opportunities, but also that they may need supplementary edu-
cation to compete effectively.
Second, although international agencies, governments, and social re-
formers may advocate equalization of access and subsequent opportunities,
families may have very different views. Recognizing erce competition in an
increasingly mobile and globalized environment, they seek ways to differ-
entiate themselves from others. When governments work hard to equalize
schooling, families turn to the less-regulated supplementary sector to secure
advantages (Zhang and Bray 2017; Zhang and Yamato 2017). The inequalities
thus persist, despite huge efforts by schools, policy makers, and others. It
seems that when social inequalities are reduced or eliminated in one sector,
they emerge in another. In some respects, patterns seem to resemble the
action of a roly-poly doll, which always stands upright again after it has been
pushed over.
The beginning of this essay noted Wisemans (2013, xi) remark that the
expansion and institutionalization of supplementary education promises to
usurp mass education as the most important (and still among the least un-
derstood) education phenomena of the 21st century.Repeating my own
comment on Wisemans remark, it remains to be seen whether the supple-
mentary sector actually usurps the place of schooling, but it certainly is grow-
ing in scale and signicance and remains one of the least understood edu-
cation phenomena of the contemporary era. The sector is diverse in focus,
format, and clientele and has corresponding diversity in implications in dif-
ferent locations and among different social groups. Addressing these matters
prompts a call for greater attention in the eld of comparative education.
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... The impact of family structure instability on educational outcomes may also vary when educational pursuits are more intense and competitive than in Western countries. This may be especially important in countries like South Korea (hereafter Korea), where families invest heavily in children's educational opportunities through private supplementary educational markets known as shadow education (Bray, 2006). Shadow education includes secondary educational pursuits such as tutoring, or learning at educational institutes or learning centers, separate from mainstream education (Bray, 2006). ...
... This may be especially important in countries like South Korea (hereafter Korea), where families invest heavily in children's educational opportunities through private supplementary educational markets known as shadow education (Bray, 2006). Shadow education includes secondary educational pursuits such as tutoring, or learning at educational institutes or learning centers, separate from mainstream education (Bray, 2006). The popularity of shadow education has grown and globalized, as more and more families in both developing and developed nations have adopted the use of shadow education as an educational strategy (Bray, 2009;Yung and Bray, 2021). ...
... The popularity of shadow education has grown and globalized, as more and more families in both developing and developed nations have adopted the use of shadow education as an educational strategy (Bray, 2009;Yung and Bray, 2021). Albeit costly, shadow education has long been a mechanism to create educational advantage in high-income, East Asian nations Bray, 2006), as it provides families with opportunities to proactively supplement their children's public education. These investments provide children with an advantage in the intense educational competition that is characteristic of these nations' educational systems (Baker and LeTendre, 2005;Lee et al., 2009). ...
Article
Research examining the impact of family structure on educational achievement often overlooks differences in non-Western countries, where patterns of family formation and disruption are different, and educational pursuits are more intense. Using the Korean Youth Panel Survey, we examine the impact of family structure and shadow education on educational achievement in South Korea. While traditional resources explain much of the variation in shadow education use, family structure is also associated with the use of shadow education. Students in non-traditional families not only use shadow education less frequently, but their ability to translate shadow education into college entrance exam success also differs.
... Although neither conceptually nor technically the same phenomenon, private tutoring, as one example of both shadow education and private investment in education, is often interpreted to equate with these two much broader constructs rather than serve as an example of each (Schaub et al, 2020). For example, Bray (1999Bray ( , 2009Bray ( , 2013Bray ( , 2014Liu & Bray, 2020) often uses the term shadow education in reference to supplemental, privately-paid, academic lessons outside of school. Many researchers continue to use the metaphor of shadow education even when speaking only of private tutoring because private tutoring, as a prime example of shadow education, mimics the mainstream school system (e.g., Bray & Lykins, 2012;Bray & Kabakhidze, 2014;Byun, 2014;Choi, 2012;Choi & Park, 2016;Lee & Shouse, 2011;Zhang & Bray, 2020). ...
... Personal tutors are often either schoolteachers supplementing their regular income or people with subject matter expertise but without teacher credentials, such as college students. Private tutoring can be provided by family members (Park et al, 2011), although this type of private tutoring has been largely ignored by researchers, possibly because there is not a direct cost involved or because family tutoring is also a form of parental involvement (see, for example, Bray, 1999;Stevenson & Baker, 1992). A final type of private tutoring is online tutoring, where students receive tutoring through the internet (Bray, 2006;Burch, Good, & Heinrich, 2016). ...
... Private tutoring can be provided by family members (Park et al, 2011), although this type of private tutoring has been largely ignored by researchers, possibly because there is not a direct cost involved or because family tutoring is also a form of parental involvement (see, for example, Bray, 1999;Stevenson & Baker, 1992). A final type of private tutoring is online tutoring, where students receive tutoring through the internet (Bray, 2006;Burch, Good, & Heinrich, 2016). ...
Article
By using multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling, this study investigates shadow education across and within national educational systems in order to estimate the effect of educational equity on the relationship between private tutoring and student achievement. Data are from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 and supplemented by World Bank data. Results indicate students’ participation in three types of private tutoring (commercial company, personal, and family tutoring) are negatively related to student achievement in the cross-national sample. Evidence suggests, however, that private tutoring may differently associate with student achievement depending on student- and nation-level educational equity factors and contexts. Finally, the validity of private tutoring as a measure of shadow education is deconstructed given these results.
... Hanehalkı gelir düzeyinin, ailenin eğitime yapılacak harcamanın sınırlarını ortaya koyması bakımından önemli bir etken olduğu birçok araştırmayla da ortaya konulmuştur (Sarkar, 2017;Acar vd., 2016;Bayar ve İlhan, 2016;Sülkü ve Abdioğlu, 2014;Yolcu, 2011;Ekinci, 2009). Bununla birlikte birçok ülkede yükseköğretim, öğrenciler ve aileleri için bir yatırım olma özelliği taşımaktadır (Bray, 2006;Martins, 2006;Aurini, 2004). Örneğin; Güney Afrika'da gerçekleşen bir araştırmada alt gelir grubunda yer alan ailelerin harcama bütçeleri içerisinde eğitim harcamaları oranları %1.79 iken orta ve üst gelir düzeyindeki ailelerin oranları ise %2.81 olarak hesaplanmıştır (Martins, 2006 İlerideki araştırmaların, düşük gelirli hanelerin, devlet yükseköğretim kurumlarına devam eden çocukların eğitim çıktıları ile özel yükseköğretim kurumlarında okuyanların eğitim çıktıları analiz edilebilir. ...
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Gerçekleştirilen çalışmanın amacı Türkiye hanehalkı yükseköğretim harcamalarının belirleyicilerini tespit etmektir. Çalışmada TÜİK 2019 Hanehalkı Bütçe Anketi verileri kullanılmıştır. 11521 haneye ait verilerin kullanıldığı çalışmada verilerin analizinde tanımlayıcı istatistikler ve Probit Regresyon modeli kullanılmıştır. Analizde kullanılan veriler 2019 Aralık ayına göre enflasyondan arındırılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre gelir, hanehalkı reisinin yaşı, eğimi düzeyi, cinsiyeti (kadın), hanehalkı büyüklüğü, evde internet bağlantısının varlığı, hanede 0-5 yaş ve 6-18 yaş arası bireyin varlığı karakteristiklerinin yükseköğretim harcaması üzerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkiye sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Buna karşın hanehalkı reisinin medeni durumu, çalışma durumu ve sigorta durumu karakteristiklerinin hanehalkı yükseköğretim harcamalarına herhangi bir etkisi görülmemiştir.
Book
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Quality is a term that refers to various aspects of our life and functioning, e.g. product quality, food quality, service quality, quality of life. Overall quality is increasing and we as consumers/clients expect high quality. Times are changing, globalization processes are progressing, there is a risk of conflicts in the world, etc., which all affect various aspects of quality, including, of course, the quality of our life. Therefore, there are many challenges to quality. Questions should be asked about the future of quality – what should we focus on, what aspects of quality will be particularly important, etc., and what will be the quality of the future based on this – what event can we predict, how the world and our functioning as consumers/clients, but also organizations, will change. This book presents a set of papers trying to find out these answers. Various aspects of quality and quality management are presented which show the most important challenges to quality and also are the signs of times we live in.
Article
Using interview data collected from mothers and tutors, this research demonstrates that academic improvement and parental involvement combine to justify outsourcing mothers' educational work, which requires mothers to supervise their children and leads to role strain. Therefore, middle-class families hire tutors providing after-school educational help to maintain a coherent image of intensive mothering. This outsourcing could ease parent–child conflict, maintain the mother's caregiver role (following engendered emotional norms and patriarchal order), and provide another adult role model for the child. Lower-middle-class mothers value tutors' cultural capacity to educate their children both academically and behaviourally. Upper-middle-class mothers outsource teaching aspects, which could risk their carer role, and use educational professionalism to justify the hire. By focusing on Taiwanese mothers' tutor-hiring phenomenon in relation to outsourcing mothering for schooling, this article contributes to sociological perspectives on shadow education and demonstrates how tutoring complements mothering and schooling in Taiwan.
Article
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Private tutoring is now a major component of the education sector in many developing countries, yet education policy seldom acknowledges and makes use of it. The present study aims to identify the impact of private tuition on English subject on students of secondary level of Khulna City in Bangladesh. The findings of empirical work display the impact of private tuition of English on achieving higher grade, understanding in classroom, capacity to explain lesson, answering the learned questions and capacity to sum up of knowledge and mistakes. Firstly, it has ascertained that the discrimination between male and female students is not evident regarding private tutoring. Secondly, it is validated that the academic performances of the students develop if they receive supplementary or private tutoring. Finally, it demonstrates that the level of understanding of lessons can widen if the students receive private tutoring. This study also articulates possible theories like socio-cognitive conflict regarding various aspects of private tuition based on the demand of the students of secondary level. It concludes that tutoring can raise the effectiveness of the education system by offering proper guidelines for student and providing greatest efforts to improve their academic records in competitive examinations. Abstract-Private tutoring is now a major component of the education sector in many developing countries, yet education policy seldom acknowledges and makes use of it. The present study aims to identify the impact of private tuition on English subject on students of secondary level of Khulna City in Bangladesh. The findings of empirical work display the impact of private tuition of English on achieving higher grade, understanding in classroom, capacity to explain lesson, answering the learned questions and capacity to sum up of knowledge and mistakes. Firstly, it has ascertained that the discrimination between male and female students is not evident regarding private tutoring. Secondly, it is validated that the academic performances of the students develop if they receive supplementary or private tutoring. Finally, it demonstrates that the level of understanding of lessons can widen if the students receive private tutoring. This study also articulates possible theories like socio-cognitive conflict regarding various aspects of private tuition based on the demand of the students of secondary level. It concludes that tutoring can raise the effectiveness of the education system by offering proper guidelines for student and providing greatest efforts to improve their academic records in competitive examinations.
Chapter
Full-text available
Cuốn sách “Giáo dục Phổ thông Việt Nam: Chuyển biến và Sáng tạo” - một sản phẩm trí tuệ của Mạng lưới Giáo dục (EduNet) thuộc Tổ chức Khoa học và Chuyên gia Việt Nam toàn cầu (AVSE Global) - bao gồm các bài viết lí luận và báo cáo nghiên cứu thực nghiệm, truyền tải thông điệp mà chúng tôi dành cho những người làm trong lĩnh vực chính sách, đặc biệt gửi tặng các thầy cô, các bậc phụ huynh cũng như toàn thể xã hội để cùng nhau tạo ra những cộng hưởng thay đổi tích cực trong giáo dục. Thay đổi từ chính chúng ta - những người đi trước - sẽ truyền cảm hứng và khát vọng thay đổi tới các em học sinh yêu thương. Quy tụ những chuyên gia, nhà khoa học tâm huyết ở cả trong và ngoài nước, EduNet tập trung nghiên cứu, đề xuất chính sách liên quan đến các vấn đề mang tính cốt lõi, những thách thức cũng như cơ hội của ngành giáo dục và toàn xã hội. Do đó, chúng tôi hy vọng cuốn sách này là cây cầu nối tri thức tiếp thêm động lực để các thầy cô liên tục sáng tạo trong những bài giảng cùng hoạt động giáo dục. Từ đó, thế hệ trẻ sẽ viết nên những giấc mơ của chính họ và tiếp nối sự nghiệp trồng người của dân tộc Việt Nam. Niềm vui chung của chúng ta là được nhìn thấy nhiều thế hệ người Việt trưởng thành với nền tảng giá trị cốt lõi, tri thức tiên phong, phong cách sống có trách nhiệm với xã hội và môi trường. Tôi và đồng nghiệp đã đóng góp một chương trong cuốn sách này. Chúng tôi viết về nỗ lực học tập, phát triển chuyên môn do một nhóm giáo viên THPT. Mời độc giả đón đọc Chương 8. Giáo viên cùng học - Mô hình học tập chuyên môn do giáo viên khởi xướng.
Thesis
In recent times educational researchers have given attention to Private tutoring in English (PTE) due to the overwhelming prevalence of PTE in Bangladesh. Some studies have explored the factors influencing students’ inclination towards PTE. However, in PTE, teachers played a vital role, so teachers’ perceptions and inclinations are as important as students. Not many studies have investigated the reasons behind teachers’ inclination towards PTE and overall perception of teachers about PTE in ESOL country like Bangladesh. This study examines the teachers’ perception and the factors leading teachers’ inclination toward PTE in Bangladeshi Secondary level Bangla medium educational platform. By adopting the Herzberg’s two-factor theory (1966) as the conceptual framework of this study, the researcher proposes to count PTE as another dimension of an English teaching ‘job’ for teachers and tries find out the motivators and hygiene factors which are responsible for their satisfaction in taking PTE sessions that ultimately motivated them towards PTE. The researcher also tries to give voices to the teachers and represents their perceptions of the overall PTE situation. This study uses a qualitative research methodology and multiple case-study based research that included a semi-structured qualitative interview of with six secondary English school teachers who are currently involved in PTE. The study researcher finds out that the main reasons behind teachers’ inclination towards PTE are comfortability, ability to balance double role, responsibility for students, popularity and recognition count as an achievement for PTE tutors, etc. These findings will determine which motivational factors of teachers are needed to bring them back to take English classes effectively in mainstream school. If authorities recognize the motivations behind their inclination and acknowledge their viewpoints towards PTE and investigate these situations and take proper initiatives on bringing back effective teaching in the mainstream English classroom with fully motivated teachers, thus students will be more benefited by those initiatives. Key Words: Private tutoring, PTE, Inclination, Perceptions, Satisfaction, Motivation
Thesis
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Seit geraumer Zeit wird von einem Paradigmenwechsel in der Steuerungsphilosophie des öffentlichen Sektors gesprochen. Output- und Wettbewerbssteuerung, essenzielle Bestandteile der sog. Neuen Steuerung, werden zunehmend auch im Zusammenhang mit dem staatlichen Bildungssystem diskutiert. Daher thematisiert die vorliegende Magisterarbeit nicht-intendierte Effekte neuer Steuerungsmechanismen im Schulsystem. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf testbasierten Rechenschaftssystemen, wie sie bereits seit einigen Jahren in England und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika systematisch Anwendung finden. Jedoch weisen eine Vielzahl von Presseberichten, aber auch wissenschaftliche Publikationen auf negative, nicht-intendierte Wirkungen dieser Maßnahmen hin. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit sollen daher Ergebnisse einer explorativen Studie mit Grundschullehrkräften aus Rheinland-Pfalz vorgestellt werden, in der nach Anzeichen für evtl. ähnliche Effekte im Rahmen von Vergleichsarbeiten gesucht wurde. Die übergeordnete Intention der Arbeit besteht darin, eine differenzierte Betrachtungsweise bezüglich der Möglichkeiten und Grenzen neuer Steuerungsmechanismen im Schulsystem zu unterstützen und nicht einer Diskreditierung der Lehrerprofession Vorschub zu leisten.
Thesis
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This dissertation attempts to reveal whether shadow education provides certain educational opportunities for students from disadvantaged family backgrounds also and thus helps these students to overcome their disadvantages and achieve academic resiliency and educational success. My main research question thus reads as follows: Does shadow education inherits the potential to function as an instrument to neutralize disadvantaged family background? Focusing on the case of Japan, this issue is approached from different perspectives of concern: First of all, any analysis concerning the implications of shadow education regarding social inequality in educational attainment needs to clarify how the access to shadow education supply is regulated as well as which effects certain shadow education investments actually produce and whether differences in the access and effects are found between students of different social strata. It goes without question that unequal access to informal education fosters educational as well as social inequalities, if students who receive additional lessons gain significant advantages over their peers. Consequently, the effects of investments in additional lessons determine whether differences in the access to such lessons actually contribute to educational inequality. Furthermore, changes regarding the connection between formal and informal education sectors have to be taken into consideration to clarify whether once existing inequalities persist, have increased or possibly decreased. Since the late 1990s, Japanese education has entered a state of continuous reformation resulting in a rapid transformation. However, the impact of these vast changes on social inequality formation was not adequately discussed. In particular, the effects of vast changes in the regular schooling system on its shadow (and vice-versa) are not clear. In summary, four major research dimensions are identified, through which clarification shall be achieved regarding the issue whether investments in shadow education inevitably result in inequality or might also contribute to equal educational opportunities. Both access to shadow education (restricted versus open) and effects of shadow education (positive versus negative/neutral) might stay stable (continuity) or change due to certain educational or overall societal developments which affect whether investments are made. Each variation in access or effects might affect the outcome for educational inequality or opportunity production. To provide empirical evidence on the issue whether shadow education inherits the potential to function as an instrument to neutralize disadvantaged family background, this work primarily focuses on students from disadvantaged family backgrounds and how (if so) they make use of shadow education and by this gain advantages from such investments or not. Hence, the implications of access to shadow education, its effects, the ongoing persistence (continuity) and possible changes of this market focusing on educational and social inequality and stressing the importance to recognize nation-specific features of shadow education as reflected in the diversity of its supply, are content of this dissertation.
Book
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Although private supplementary tutoring has expanded worldwide and become a major industry and a daily activity for students, tutors and families, the research literature has been slow to catch up. The topic is in some respects difficult to research because contours are indistinct and the actors may hesitate to share their experiences and perspectives. Presenting methodological lessons from diverse cultures, this book contains chapters from both high-income and low-income settings in Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. Separately and together, the chapters present valuable insights into the design and conduct of research. Readers will gain insights for design of instruments, collection of data, and interpretation of findings.
Article
In many settings a perplexing scenario is unfolding in which school systems claim to move towards whole-person development while students and parents run in the opposite direction of narrowly defined academic achievement enhanced by private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education because much of its content mimics that of regular schooling. It has long been clearly visible in Asia, and is now increasingly visible elsewhere. This study focuses on school teachers’ perceptions of shadow education in the context of a flourishing sector that parallels and to some extent contradicts progressive education reforms. Drawing on 47 in-depth interviews with teachers from 12 secondary schools in Hong Kong, the research found ambivalent views towards private tutoring. This ambivalence reflected intrinsic contradictions between the educational ideals of whole-person development and the function of schooling in social stratification. Such tensions are likely to become increasingly evident elsewhere as commercialised forms of private supplementary tutoring expand.