Shadow Education in the Middle East Private Supplementary Tutoring and its Policy Implications

Abstract

Around the world, increasing numbers of children receive private tutoring to supplement their schooling. In much of the academic literature this is called shadow education because the content of tutoring mimics that of schooling: as the curriculum changes in the schools, so it changes in the shadow. The tutoring may be delivered one-to-one, in small groups, in large classes, and over the internet. Some tutoring is provided by regular teachers in order to gain additional income, while other tutoring is provided through commercial enterprises. Informal suppliers including university students, retirees and casual workers form a third category in the delivery of tutoring. While much research and policy attention has focused on private tutoring in East Asia and some other world regions, less attention has been given to the topic in the Middle East. It deserves much more focus because of its far-reaching implications for social structures and for mainstream education systems. Drawing on both Arabic-language and English-language literature, this study commences with the global picture before comparing patterns within and among 12 Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East. In addition to its pertinence within the Middle East itself, the book will be of considerable interest to the international audience concerned with changing roles of the state and private sectors in education.