Shadow education: a comparative study of two tutorial schools in Hong Kong

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the issue of shadow education in Hong Kong. It addresses the phenomenal choice for many secondary school students to attend private tutorial classes in addition to mainstream schooling with a comparative study. Two schools offering supplementary tutoring in Hong Kong – a locally-based private tutorial chain-store and an American-franchised learning centre – are selected for inquiry into students’ educational needs and how the schools respond to the needs through their curriculum. The schools are compared in terms of curriculum content, teaching mode, and assessment. The study reveals a gap between what is taught in mainstream schools and what is assessed in public examinations, leading local secondary school students to turn to tutorial schools for examination skills, the right to choose their own coaches, and extra training opportunities. Both tutorial schools respond to these needs by spicing up the learning environment, providing frequent assessments, and letting students choose their own learning style and pace. The two schools, however, are found to be very different when it comes to class sizes, business orientations, and approaches to teaching. The two different models of tutorial school are compared.