Publicly-funded private supplementary tutoring : a multiple-case study of Hong Kong's after-school learning support partnership pilot scheme

Abstract

Private tutoring for primary and secondary students has always operated in a fee-charging mode. In order to allow students from low-income families to enjoy the potential benefit of private tutoring, the Hong Kong SAR government launched the “After School Learning Support Partnership Pilot Scheme” in 2011. The nature of tutoring is always dependent on the context. The Pilot Scheme created a new context for tutoring activity in Hong Kong. The government funded local primary schools to employ pre-service teachers as tutors. The tutors were employed to work under the authority of the schools, who held control over curriculum design and the administration of tutorial classes. This study compares the experience of eight tutors through the use of a questionnaire and interview. It was found that there were two major types of after-school classes in the Pilot Scheme –focused on either subject teaching or homework guidance. A tutor may had different roles in different classes, and these were mainly shaped by schools’ arrangements and student factors. This study examines that the power relations among schools and tutors were not simply a matter of oppressor and oppressed. The relationship of power involved a series of strategies and factors. Overall, this study provided insight on the operation of this publicly-funded after-school program.