Shadow education : determinants and implications of private supplementary tutoring in English at secondary level in Bangladesh

Abstract

Shadow education has become a common phenomenon in Bangladesh, having expanded remarkably during recent decades. As defined in this thesis, shadow education means fee-based private supplementary tutoring that parallels mainstream schooling and offers academic lessons outside school hours. This study examines determinants underlying the demand for private tutoring in English. It considers why students feel that they need supplementary tutoring in English outside school hours. The research identifies the patterns, costs, scale and intensity of private tutoring in English. It investigates positive and negative implications of tutoring with a focus on how private tutoring impacts on learners’ social and educational factors in Bangladesh. The study used a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data. The research instruments were questionnaire survey and individual interview. A sample of 802 participants including 401 secondary students and their 401 parents (either fathers or mothers) was chosen for questionnaire survey; and 48 participants comprising 16 students, 16 parents and 16 teachers provided information through individual interviews. The grades 8 and 10 were purposefully sampled among the five grades (6-10) of secondary education. The investigation was conducted in eight secondary schools, among which four were urban and four were rural, between August 2014 and March 2015. Among the 401 students, 71.3% stated that they received private tutoring in English and 28.7% stated that they did not receive it during the previous twelve months. The research showed inequality in various aspects of tutoring between urban and rural areas. In the urban area, 84.7% students participated in tutoring, while 60.7% did so in the rural area. The study considers learners’ family socio-economic backgrounds and their perceived learning through fee-based tutoring in urban and rural locations. The researcher employed Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of capital in this study. He has conceptualized Bourdieu’s economic, cultural and social capital. The study finds associations between students’ family socio-economic foundations and their academic attainments through tutoring. It reveals that economic, cultural and social capital had significant relationships with students’ reported learning through tutoring. The study uncovers tutoring nature, factors of the demand for tutoring, and perceived impact of tutoring on learners’ educational and social aspects in secondary schooling. The findings show some positive implications of tutoring that concern learners’ examination preparation and their academic improvement. In contrast, tutoring is reported to bring mental pressure for students and to hamper mainstream schooling to some extent. Tutoring increases inequalities between high-income and low-income as well as urban and rural groups. It creates a cost burden to learners’ families and reduces time for their sports and social activities.