Shadow Education

Does private tutoring improve student learning in China? Evidence from the China Education Panel Survey

“…First, subject-specific tutoring has a statistically significant and positive effect on students' performance on Chinese and mathematics tests, although these effects are at best modest in magnitude. Second, echoing findings of many recent qualitative studies (Liu, 2018;Zhang, 2014;Zhang & Bray, 2016), our analyses suggest that private tutoring improves students' academic performance mainly through enhancing their test-taking skills or through helping them accumulate more subject-specific knowledge, rather than through improving their general cognitive skills. This implies that to really serve the function of enhancing China's human capital formation, the private tutoring sector may need to be transformed so that it not only helps students understand better materials covered in regular classes, but also helps them develop more general cognitive skills.…”

“…Due to various deficiencies in the formal education system, such as large class sizes and low public educational spending, private tutoring (sometimes referred to as 'shadow education') has become a significant phenomenon in many East Asian and Southeast Asian economies such as China (Zhang, 2014;Zhang & Bray, 2016), Hong Kong (Bray, 2013;Bray, Zhan, Lykins, Wang, & Kwo, 2014), Japan (Sato, 2012;Stevenson & Baker, 1992), Malaysia (Tan & Gibson, 2017), Singapore (Cheo & Quah, 2005), South Korea (Choi & Cho, 2016;Ha & Park, 2017;Ryu & Kang, 2013), Taiwan (Kuan, 2011) and Vietnam (Dang, 2007;Ha & Harpham, 2005). Yet the role private tutoring plays in the development of a country's education system is being hotly debated.…”

“…In 2016, there were more than 380,000 tutoring institutions nationwide, employing some 8.5 million tutors (Chinese Society of Education, 2016). Tutoring was delivered in a variety of forms, ranging from one-to-one tutoring, to small group meetings, to large-scale lectures, with instructional materials tailored to fit clients' learning needs (Zhang, 2014;Zhang & Bray, 2016). However, observers in China have expressed concerns over this rapidly emerging market, especially on the backwash it has on regular schooling.…”

“…Reportedly, some teachers reserve their energy for private lessons, knowing that they will still receive their standard salaries as long as their school-based work is not seriously problematic. Some were even found to have deliberately withheld content in regular classes as a way to 'force' their students to enrol in their private tutoring classes (Zhang, 2014;Zhang & Bray, 2016). Moreover, students may pay more attention in private tutoring sessions (whether or not delivered by their regular school teachers), because they often cover materials that are ahead of the school schedule and/or more exam-oriented, which renders teaching in regular classes more challenging (Liu, 2018).…”

A review of Shadow Education and K-12 Students’ Learning

“…Nowadays, shadow education has become increasingly prominent in many parts of the world [2]. China is among the countries where it is most prevalent [3].…”