Private supplementary tutoring received by grade 9 students in Chongqing, China : determinants of demand, and policy implications

Abstract

This study examines multilevel factors that drive the demand for private supplementary tutoring among Grade 9 students in Mainland China. As in other parts of the world, private supplementary tutoring in academic subjects has become a major phenomenon in Mainland China. The growing demand is associated with the combined effect of factors at the system, institutional, household, and individual levels. The thesis draws on data collected through a mixed-methods approach in Chongqing which, with a population of 29 million, is the largest of China’s semi-autonomous municipalities.

Three major steps were taken to serve the purpose of the research. First, the author analyzed questionnaire responses from students and parents about the features of tutoring received by the sampled students and related factors. Second, descriptive statistics were analyzed to speculate on the links between background factors of the sampled students and their participation in tutoring. Binary logistic regression was further performed to assess the most significant determinants of the probability of participation, using the background factors as predictors. Third, on the basis of the above, data collected through interviews and case studies with various stakeholders were analyzed to explain how factors at multiple levels shaped the demand patterns.

The findings allowed the thesis to develop a model of key determinants of demand for tutoring. The model includes macro-level factors such as educational policies, high-stakes examinations, and the traditions of a Confucian culture. At the institutional level, school type was the strongest predictor of participation. Students sampled in the key schools in the metropolitan area were about five times more likely to receive tutoring than those in the remote rural schools. At the household and individual levels, the students’ socioeconomic status and academic aspirations had significant and positive effects on their likelihood of receiving tutoring.

According to the study, over 90% of the students receiving tutoring were tutored by mainstream teachers. This feature, which reflected both students’ demand for tutoring and teachers’ desires to supply it, shaped power relations in the schools. The links between power relations and the patterns of demand for tutoring were investigated through social theories on power bases.

The thesis contributes to research in a wider context by refining understanding of the nature of shadow education and by developing theories on the demand for tutoring from a Chinese perspective. It documents teachers’ involvement in private tutoring through the lens of power relations. The research findings have practical implications for policymakers and planners, school leaders, and families in making educational decisions.