A changing environment of urban education: historical and spatial analysis of private supplementary tutoring in China

Abstract

Recent decades have brought dramatic urbanization in China. Whereas 17.9% of the population lived in urban areas in 1978, by 2018 the proportion was 59.6%. Urbanization has many implications for social sectors, including education. China’s government has long been concerned about imbalances in access and quality of schooling, and contemporary times have brought new imbalances through market forces in the so-called shadow education sector of private supplementary tutoring. These imbalances arise from both demand and supply. Urban families may have higher incomes and be more competitive, leading them to seek greater amounts of private supplementary tutoring; and tutorial companies favour areas with population density because such areas can generate higher enrolments. China has the world’s largest school system and also the world’s largest shadow provision. This paper contributes to the broader literature by conceptualizing the space of shadow provision in educational, social and geographical terms. It highlights the changing scale and nature of private supplementary tutoring, presenting first a prehistory and then four stages in evolution. The paper observes the roles of new technologies and government regulations, and notes the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.