Learning in the shadows: parents’ investments, family burden, and students’ workload in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Privatization, marketization, investment, and competition of education have become a global phenomenon with significant implications. While research on demand and patterns of shadow education are increasingly available across the world, very little is known about the scope of parents' investments, family burden, and students' workload. This paper focuses on shadow education in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Shadow education is defined as fee-based private supplementary tutoring that replicates the official school system. The study conducted on shadow education uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design with quantitative data from questionnaires of 354 participants, involving students and parents, and qualitative data from interviews of 24 participants, including students, parents, and teachers. The aim of this paper is to examine how parents' investments in their children's private tutoring create high expectations and competition that bring financial burden to families in a disadvantaged society. It addresses the experiences of students' workloads due to extra lessons of several subjects in a day, exam preparation pressure, and parents' and peer pressures in the desire not to lag behind. It shows how students deal with time shortages for workloads from extra lessons and deprive themselves of sports and social activities, which are part and parcel of being a mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy human being. The study draws on the theories of educational privatization, competition, investment, and capability approach, which are then associated with the research contexts of this paper.

Shadow Education and Its Academic Effects in Bangladesh: A Vygotskian Perspective

“…Many Bangladeshi parents, however, felt that their children had little prospect of passing an examination or getting better grades without private tutoring ( Schuler, 2007 , p. 190). They have largely supported the scaffolding instruction, although it comes with a financial burden for them ( Mahmud, 2021 , p. 47). While the world is moving to education sustainability and applicability, private tutoring in many contexts, including Bangladesh, still focuses on paper work and examination success rather than touching other critical skills necessary for students’ and community achievement.…”

Teaching in the shadows: Exploring teachers’ intentions and behaviors towards private tutoring in Bangladesh

“…But in reality, they provide tutoring services, violating the regulations [ 31 ]. As Bangladeshi teachers are significantly underpaid [ 16 , 33 , 48 ], they are “forced” to supplement their salaries by finding other means of income, like private tutoring [ 49 ].…”

“…Several factors, including social norms, peer pressure, test-related stress, and the low quality of mainstream education, nurture the private tutoring culture [ 14 , 15 ]. Private tutoring contributes significantly to students’ learning, but it also exacerbates social inequality and financial strain on families [ 16 ], and overburdens students with excessive study [ 17 ].…”

Dearth of Distinct Exam Centres in Bangladesh: Teaching and learning Disruptions for Closures during Public Examinations

“…Because private tutoring is linked to a family's financial means, it inevitably raises issues of family strain, which differs from parent to parent. (Mahmud, (2021).…”