THE EFFECT OF PRIVATE LESSON ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENT IN J.S.S CLASS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter comprises review of related literature, which captures private tuition as a determinant variable in students’ academic achievement. It also comprises influence of private tuition on pupils’ academic achievement, influence of school based, home based, one-to-one and large class private tuitions on pupils’ academic achievement and a summary.
2.2 Private tuition as a determinant variable in students’ academic achievement
There are many factors that influence an individual’s academic performance. Bray et al. (2003) refers to those factors as variables. The variables, argue Bray et al. are multiple and interlocking. Kulpoo (1998) refers to the factors as input variables. These are the factors that affect literacy and numeracy in individual students. According to Kulpoo (1998), some of the factors include private tuition, family interest, regularity of homework, human resources in school and frequency of teacher / parent interaction.
According to Dag and Hai- Anh (2008), private tuition is defined as fee based tutoring that provides supplementary instruction to children in academic subjects that they study in the mainstream education system. According to HaiAnh and Rogers (2008), analyzing the evidence on learning gains attributable to private tuition is tricky because of the potential endogeneity of private tuition, which many studies have failed to address. Endogeneity, argue Hai-Anh and Rogers (2008), refers to the unobserved factors that may affect both investment in private tuition and student performance. Therefore, identification of the impact of private tuition on individual’s academic achievement is rather difficult because of the other factors (variables) that come into play.
A study to analyze the impact of each of the multiple interlocking variables, including supplementary private tuition was conducted in Mauritius
(Kulpoo, 1998). The study involved a test of reading literacy. From the study, Kulpoo (1998) established that private tuition was the single and the strongest factor that influenced individual’s academic performance. Private tuition was found to account for 18 percent of the test scores while other factors such as the frequency of teachers’ meetings with parents and human resources at school accounted for 10 and 12 percent respectively.
2.3 Influence of private tuition on pupils’ academic achievement
According to Bray et al. (2008), many people assume that shadow education (private tuition) delivers positive results in academic achievement. However, argue Bray et al. (2008) this assumption might not be true given the potential endogeneity of private tuition which many students have failed to address. This school of thought is also shared by Hai-Anh and Rogers
(2008).According to Hai-Anh and Rogers (2008), private tuition yields substantial increase in learning gains. However, argue Bray et al. (2008), the assumption that private tuition delivers positive results in academic achievement is not always true.
Private tuition is found to increase test scores in India (Bernajee et al.2007) and mean pass rates on the baccalaureate exams in Israel (Lavy et al.2005).Private tuition is also found to improve students’ chances of joining the best universities in Japan (Ono et al., 2007).Private tuition is also found to increase academic performance in the United States (Briggs et al.2001; Jacob et al.2004) and students academic achievement in Vietnam (Dang et al.2007).
A study carried out in Japan (Sawada, Toshio & Kobayashi, 1986) analyzed the effect of ‘juku’ attendance on mathematics performance of upper elementary and lower secondary students. According to Sawada et al.1986, jukus are private tuition centres in Japan. The study extended work conducted under the auspices of the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement and covered 375 pupils in eight schools. From the study, the researchers observed that time spent in jukus gave students greater opportunities to learn, and that this resulted in high scores.
Liu and Jeng (2012) carried out a related study in Taipei, China. Liu and Jeng (2012) relied on a sample of 13,978 grade 7 students. The researchers established a significant positive effect of private tuition on academic achievement on analytical ability and mathematical performance. In the Republic of Korea, Sohn, Heekwon, Lee, Jang and Kim (2010) summarized studies using a number of variables. Sohn et al. (2010) used six studies to examine relationships between private tuition and academic achievement. Out of those six studies, five showed positive correlation.
In Nepal, Thapa and Amrit (2011) carried out a study involving 22500 students on the grade 10 School Leaving Certificate Examination. The survey involved both public and private schools. Thapa and Amrit (2011) found that students in public schools who had received private tuition had higher scores by 1.7 percentage points.
In Pakistan, Aslam, Monazza and Atherton (2011) analyzed data from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER-Pakistan 2011).This data was on children of primary school age from 19006 rich and poor households. According to Aslam et al. (2011), both poor and rich children were shown to benefit from private tuition.
In Singapore, Cheo, Roland and Quah (2005) investigated the learning achievement of 429 grades 8 ‘express’ in three premier secondary schools. Their study established that private tuition has a positive influence on the subject that private tuition is received.
In Sri Lanka, Gunasekara (2009) examined a phenomenon where at the end of senior secondary education, students abandon their schools in order to focus on cramming for examinations in private tuition centres. Gunasekara (2009) found that private tuition contributes more to achievement of credible success in examinations than school education.
In Vietnam, Dang and Hai-Anh (2008) analyzed 1997/98 national household data. Dang and Hai-Anh (2008) found a positive correlation between private tuition and achievement. Ha, Thu and Harpham (2005) carried out a similar study in Vietnam. They analyzed data from 1000 eight-year-old children randomly selected from 4716 households in 2002.They found that recipients of extra classes were more than twice as likely to read correctly as children who had not had extra classes.
In Bangladesh, Nath and Ranjan (2008) used data from a 1998 national survey of pupils aged 11-12 who had received private tuition. Out of the population, Nath and Ranjan (2008) found that 49.6 percent of the pupils had met the benchmark criteria of having a basic education. From the other groups of the pupils who had not received private tuition, Nath and Ranjan (2008) established that only 27.5 percent had met the benchmark.
Hamid, Obaidul, Sussex and Khan (2009) carried out a related study on 228 grade 10 students in eight rural schools. The survey established that students who had received private lessons had double the chance of attaining higher grades than their counterparts who had not received private tuition.
A similar study was carried out by Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) in Taipei, Chaina. Kuan and Pig-Yin (2011) accessed a pair of data that allowed them to control for students’ socioeconomic status, ability, and attitude. The study was on the influence of private tuition on mathematics achievement of 10013 grade 9 students. Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) established that students who had received private tuition were on the average more studious and higher achieving.
Zang and Yu (2011) carried out a study involving 25 schools in Jinan, Shandong province in the Peoples’ Republic of Korea. In the study, Zang and Yu (2011) examined the relationship between private tuition and performance in the High School Entrance Examination. Zang and Yu (2011) found a positive correlation between private tuition and achievement for low performing urban students.
In Kenya, Otieno (2005) conducted a study on the influence of remedial tuition on the attitude of students towards physics. Otieno (2005) carried out the study at Arya Boys Secondary School, Nairobi. According to Otieno (2005), remedial tuition is a form of private tuition. From the study, Otieno (2005) established that remedial tuition influenced students’ academic achievement in physics.
A similar study was conducted in Kenya by Njagi; Amos and Mutinda (2011). Njagi et al. (2011) conducted a survey on the factors influencing demand for private supplementary tuition in public secondary schools in Kitui Central District, Kenya. From the survey, Njagi et al. (2011) established that private supplementary tuition influenced students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools.
Moriasi (2003) conducted a related survey in public secondary schools in Manga District, Kenya on the determinants of provision of remedial lessons.
According to Moriasi (2003), remedial lessons are forms of private tuition. Moriasi (2003) established that remedial lessons influenced students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools.
However, not all private tuition improves students’ academic achievement. Byun and Soo-Yong (2011) conducted a study in the republic of Korea.Byun and Soo-Yong (2011) used propensity score matching. According to Byun and SooYong (2011), propensity score matching is a statistical matching technique that attempts to estimate the effect of a treatment by accounting for the covariates that predict receiving the treatment. It therefore attempts to reduce the bias due to confounding variables that could be found in an estimate of treatment effect obtained from simply comparing outcomes among units that received the treatment versus those that did not receive. Byun and Soo-Yong (2011) found that achievement gains were low at cram schooling, which focused primarily on test preparation. Byun and Soo-Yong (2011) also established that one-to-one private tuition made little or no gains.
In Georgia, the National Examination Centre examined the impact of private tuition on the scores in the ability test of the national examinations. This involved testing in 2008 grade 12 students who took the standardized ability test.
The students were asked whether they were receiving (Group 1), would receive (Group 2) or would not receive (group 3) private tuition classes in the ability domain. During the 2009 national examinations, the researchers found that Group 3 students who did not receive private tuition showed more progress in main testing than group 2 and 1 (Bakhutashvili, 2011)
In Egypt, the Ministry of Education carried out a study in 1990/91which involved 18000 primary school children (Fergany, 1994). From the study, private tuition was found to have no significant effect on pupil achievement.
2.4 Influence of school based private tuition on pupils’ academic achievement
According to Hamid et al. (2009), school based private tuition refers to extra lessons organized outside of official tuition hours. Nath and Ranjan (2008) refers to school based private tuition as outside programmes that offer instruction to students at their formal learning institutions. According to Sawada et al. (1996), school based private tuition include programmes such as morning classes, evening classes and classes conducted over the weekends including Saturdays or Sundays. Sawada et al. (1996) further argues that morning classes are conducted very early in the morning before official class hours begin. As for the evening classes, argue Sawada et al. (1996), most students take the tuition lessons immediately after official classes and just before nightfall. According to Liu and Jeng (2012), holiday private tuition organized at students’ learning centres is also school based private tuition.
According to Liu and Jeng (2012), school based private tuition influences students’ academic achievement. Liu and Jeng (2012) carried out a study in Taipei, China using a sample of 13978 grade 7 students. From that sample, Liu and Jeng (2012) compared academic achievement of the students who took school based private tuition with those who did not. From the study, Liu and Jeng (2012) established a significant positive effect of school based private tuition on students who had taken school based private tuition.
Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) conducted a similar study in Taipei, China. The researchers used a sample of 10013 grade 9 students. Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) compared academic achievement of students who had taken school based private tuition with those who did not. According to Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011), students who had received school based private tuition were on the average more studious and higher achieving than those who did not.
In India, Aslam et al. (2011) carried out a survey including 4000 pupils’ respondents in grades 2 and 4 in 160 primary schools. The study analyzed data from 2007/08 schools Tells Survey in Utter Pradesh and Bihar. According to Aslam et al. (2011), children who had received school, based private tuition achieved more gains in both mathematics and reading than those children who did not.
In Kenya, Otieno (2005) carried out a study involving secondary school students on the influence of remedial tuition on the attitude of students towards physics. According to Otieno (2005), remedial tuition is a programme under school based private tuition. Otieno (2005) compared academic achievement between students who received school based private tuition with those who did not. From the study, Otieno (2005) established that students who had taken school based private tuition realized higher test scores than those who did not.
However, not all students who take school based private tuition achieve higher scores in academic achievement. A study carried out in Georgia by Bakhutashvili and Sophrie (2011) in 2008 and involving grade 12 students proved the contrary. Bakhutashvili and Sophrie compared academic achievement of students who took school based private tuition with those who did not. The students were asked whether they were receiving school based private tuition (Group 1), would receive school based private tuition (Group 2) or would not receive school based private tuition (Group 3).During the 2009 national examination, the researchers found that Group 3 students who did not receive any school based private tuition showed more progress in main testing than Group 2 and 1.
2.5 Influence of home based private tuition on students’ academic achievement.
According to Sawada et al. (1986), home based private tuition refers to supplementary tutoring lessons provided to pupils or students at their homes. Njagi (2011) argues that home based private tuition can either be provided at the pupils’ homes or at the homes of their tutors. According to Sawada et al. (1986), home based private tuition is very effective and results in high students’ academic achievement.
In a survey by Nath and Ranjan (2008) in Bangladesh which involved pupils aged between 11-12 who had taken home based private tuition, it was revealed that most of the pupils had met the benchmark criteria of having a basic education. From the other groups of the pupils who had not received home based private tuition lessons, Nath et al. (2008) established that only a few had met the benchmark.
Hamid et al. (2009) carried out a related study on 228 grade 10 students in eight rural schools. The study established that students who had received home based private tuition lessons had double the chance of attaining higher grades than their counterparts who had not received any. Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) conducted a similar study to that of Hamid et al. (2009) in Taipei, China. Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) controlled for students’ socioeconomic status, ability and attitude. The study was on the influence of private tuition on Mathematical achievement of 10013 grade 9 students. Kuan and Ping-Yin (2011) established that students who had received home based private tuition lessons were on the average more studious and higher achieving.
In the Peoples’ Republic of Korea, Zang and Yu (2011) carried out a study involving 25 schools in Jinan, Shandong province. In the study, Zang and Yu (2011) found a very strong correlation between students who had received home based private tuition. According to Zang and Yu (2011), the students were high achieving.
In India, Aslam et al. (2011) carried out a survey. The survey involved 4000 students in grade 2 and 4 in 160 rural primary schools. This survey analyzed data from 2007/08 schools’ Tells Survey in Utter Pradesh and Bihar. According to Aslam et al. (2011), children who had received home based private tuition lessons achieved gains in both mathematics and reading than those who did not.
In Kenya, Otieno (2005) carried out a survey on the influence of remedial tuition on the attitude of students towards physics in secondary schools. Otieno carried out the study at Arya Boys Secondary school, Nairobi. According to Otieno (2005), remedial tuition is part of extra classes or private tuition programmes and can be offered to students at their homes or at the homes of their tutors. Otieno (2005) established that students who took remedial tuition at their homes realized higher test scores in physics than their counterparts who did not take such lessons.
2.6 Influence of one-to-one private tuition on students’ academic achievement
According to Nath and Ranjan (2008), one-to-one private tuition refers to an individual face-to- face tutoring. Nath and Ranjan (2008) further argue that this type of private tuition is not very prominent among most students and their tutors.
According to Nath and Ranjan (2008), one-to-one private tuition is done at the students’ homes or at the homes of their tutors and involves mostly the students’ mainstream teachers. However, according to Nath and Ranjan (2008) a few of the students’ tutors are not their regular teachers.
According to Hamid et al. (2009), one-to-one private tuition is very expensive to the consumer and hence few students take one- to- one private tuition. On the other hand, argue Hamid et al. (2009), one-to-one private tuition yields great influence on students’ academic achievement.
In a study to analyze the effect of private tuition on mathematics performance of upper elementary and lower secondary students in Japan, the researchers established that most of the students who took one-to-one private tuition out of a sample of 375 pupils in eight primary schools scored higher grades (Sawada, Toshio & Kobayashi, 1986)
In another study involving a sample of 13978 grade 7 students in Taipei, China, Liu and Jeng 2012 established that most of the students who had taken one-to-one private tuition out of a sample of 13978 respondents were among the best achievers on analytical ability and mathematics performance.
In Kenya, Otieno (2005) analyzed the influence of one-to-one private tuition on the attitude of students towards physics at Arya Boys Secondary School, Nairobi. Otieno (2005) referred to private tuition as remedial teaching. According to Otieno (2005), most of the students who had taken one-to-one private tuition were among the best achievers in the class.
2.7 Influence of large class private tuition on standard eight pupils’ academic achievement
According to Zang and Yu (2011), large class private tuition refers to extra lessons organized for many pupils or students in the same class. Zang and Yu (2011) also argue that large class private tuition is mostly conducted by regular teachers for their pupils and mostly take place in a school setting. However, argue Zang and Yu (2011), large class private tuition can also take place in private tuition centres.
According to Byun and Soo-Yong (2011), most private tuition is large class private tuition. What this means, according to Byun and Soo-Yong (2011) is that most private tuition is delivered through large class private tuition except one-to-one and sometimes home based private tuition which may involve small groups.
According to Zang and Yu (2011), large class private tuition influences students’ academic achievement. Zang and Yu (2011) carried out a study involving 25 schools in the peoples’ Republic of Korea.In the study, Zang and Yu (2011) compared students who took large class private tuition with those who did not. From the study, Zang and Yu (2011) established that students who took large class private tuition were among the best at the High School Entrance Examination.
In Vietnam, Ha et al. (2005) established that students who took large class private tuition performed better at examinations than those who did not. The researchers analyzed a sample of 1000 eight-year-old children. Out of those respondents Ha et al (2005) compared performance of the pupils who took large class private tuition with those who did not.
In Egypt, a study carried out by the Ministry of Education in 1990/91 on a sample of 18000 primary school children produced negative results on the influence of large class private tuition. From the study findings, it was found that large class private had little or no significant influence on pupils’ academic achievement.
In Kenya, Gichunga (2011) analyzed the factors influencing provision of holiday tuition in Laikipia District; Kenya. In the study, Gichunga (2011) sought to find out the influence of large class private tuition on students’ academic achievement. From the findings, Gichunga (2011) established a significant influence of large class private tuition on students.
The Nature and Scope of Private Tuition
Private tuition is a complex and irregular phenomenon. It is complex because it does not have a direct connection with formal education. It is irregular because most governments face some difficulties to manage, inspect, regulate and control the provision of this service (Bray, 1999; KWOK Lai-Yin, 2004). Therefore its scale, setting, management and reasons for private tuition may differ from one society to another. Bray (1999) for example, contends that “the significant factors which determine the scale of private tuition are cultural, economic, as well as educational factors” (p. 29). All of these factors may affect the organization or setting of the private tuition; either to be offered by one teacher to one student mode, like in England and other countries; in a small group of students per teacher; or in large class settings like in most of the developing countries where there is a shortage of qualified subject teachers with less advanced technology.
In high income states with advanced technology, children receive extra lessons via internet, telephone and other kinds of software packages (Bray, 2006). Bray (2006) discusses the interactive MathTutor.com Company in USA which provides extra math tutoring in the student’s home, and the payment is done online through credit card. This form of private tuition accommodates tutees from different states in USA and other parts of the geographic area, but the private tutor and tutees are unlikely to ever meet in person. As another example, Indian math tutors offer extra education services to American students by using computers connected with the internet. Tutors use White Board software, in both voice and text platforms, so that the tutor and tutees can see each other over the computer and can communicate by using headphone (Bray, 2006, pp. 519–520). Therefore, the mode and supply of private tuition depends more on the market demand of the formal school subjects, the level of education of the learners, and the availability of the needed tutor (Bray, 1999, 2003).
Private tuition occurs at different levels of education, ranging from pre-school to university levels (Bray, 1999, 2003; Silova, 2010). Dang and Rogers (2008) argue that private tutoring is an important phenomenon not only for upper-secondary students who prepare themselves for university entrance exams but also for students at primary and lower-secondary levels of education. They mention Japan as an example where private tuition is common among upper-secondary graduates (p. 3). They also show that in Vietnam, 29 percent of the students preparing for university entrance examinations join private lessons.
Other studies show that in East African countries, especially Tanzania and Kenya, students attend extra lessons after their regular school hours. About 70 percent and 44 percent of primary school grade six students in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar respectively receive private tutoring and in Kenya, a study done in 1997 found that 68 percent out of 3233 national sample of grade six students received private tuition (Bray, 1999, p. 25, 2006, p. 517; Nassor & Mohammed, 1998, p. 20).
In East Asia, as another example, a study showed that, about 87 percent of elementary school students, 75 percent of middle school, and 56 percent of high school students received extra teaching after official school hours in different subjects (Nath, 2008). In England as well, it is reported that, about 27 percent of the students receive extra tuition after the regular school day (Ireson & Rushforth, 2011). Taken together, these studies indicate that the demand for extra tuition emerges in many countries at all levels of education.
The study shows that the proportions of learners who are attending extra tuition significantly increases among the students in the higher grade than in lower grades (Bray, 1999; Dang & Rogers, 2008; Nath, 2008). Nath (2008), for example, states that it was 22.3 percent of the grade one primary pupils who received private tutoring in Bangladesh; the percentage increased from the second to the fifth grade as follows: 29.5, 34.3, 37.2 and 38.4 %. Apart from the fact that the number of students who involved in private tuition increases across grade levels, private tuition has been found also expanding over time. For example, the study shows that in Japan, in the year 1976 about 39 percent received private tuition and in 1993, the number increased to 60 percent.
In the same country – Japan - at lower secondary education, the percentage of students who received private tuition reached 22 percent in 1993 from 10 percent of 1976. In Singapore, the percentage of primary school children who received private tutoring increased by 22 percent; from 37 percent in 1982 to 49 percent in 1992. The study in Mauritius reveals also that there is a growth in enrollment rate in private tuition for grade six students as it shows that those who received tuition in grade six primary education in 1986 were 73 percent and that the rate increased to 78 percent in 1995 (Nath, 2008, p. 26).
Most of the students who are in need of private tuition in Zanzibar are not different from the context of England, as explained by Ireson and Rushforth (2011). In Zanzibar, there are four main transition points where most of students enroll in private tuitions. One is when students are in standard six when they prepare to sit for the end of primary cycle exams which will then allow them to enter the two years of lower secondary education, at ages 11 to 12 years. The second point is when students prepare to take the end of lower secondary exams that enable them to enter and sit for the two years of upper secondary school examinations; this is the last cycle of compulsory basic education and most of the students’ age at this cycle ranges from 14 to 15 years. The third point where many students enrolls again in private tuition is when they sit for Advanced Certificate for Secondary School Examination (ACSEE) which if they pass, allows them to join colleges and universities. Good section detailing the scope of private tuition.
The Rise of Private Tuition
Zanzibar, as part of the United Republic of Tanzania that followed a socialist path with close ties with Russia (former USSR) and other socialist states in the world, started to feel the coming of private tuition during and or immediately after the demise of the Cold War that went together with the fall of the Soviet Union in the mid-1990s. This work does not aim to link the rise of private tuition and the collapse of the former USSR but rather to give a timeframe as to when private tuition in Zanzibar is thought to have started. Its link to the collapse of former USSR can be a separate study from this one.
The timing of private tuition in Zanzibar is also associated with the periods of the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) which was introduced by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) as a strategy of economic growth in the developing countries. The introduction of SAP in Tanzania contributed to the reduction of government’s spending on education with more emphasis going to the agricultural sector. As a result, teachers’ salaries and allowances stagnated. This affected the quality of teaching and learning in most of the schools in Tanzania and Zanzibar, in particular.
There are different explanations given in the world of academics that might have caused the rise of private tuition both in developed and developing countries. In Zanzibar, for example, the key concepts that tries to explain the coming or rise of private tuition includes the decline of state education expenditure; privatization of education and increasing spending on education by the parents; cultural and socio-economic issues; declining professional legitimacy of teachers; changing quality of education in mainstream schools; increasing demand for higher education and competition (Silova, 2010, pp. 328–331).
Declining of state education expenditures and increasing private spending on education in Zanzibar is associated with the rise of private tuition. For example in 1991, the recurrent expenditure on basic education was 39.3 percent compared to the recurrent expenditure of 86.0 percent in 1998 (Mohammed, 1999). The decrease of the government’s development budget in education resulted to the introduction of cost sharing in education from the local communities to schools. The parents’ contribution used to purchase chalks, classroom construction and furnishing. Moreover, parents also contribute to the school uniforms exercise books, pens, and other scholastic materials. This had twofold impacts, one, parents were made to think responsively and take care of their school going children. They became aware that, it is their responsibility to make sure that their children learns and learns at best. Two, it reduced the quality of learning in schools as most of the schools lacked the necessary teaching and learning materials like books, shortage of classrooms, shortage of teachers as teachers were not employed and the like (Bray, 2006). As a result, parents started to think of the ‘alternatives’ of how to make their children learn better. The immediate solution was to find someone who could teach their children at home or somewhere else with a small fee of like Tshs.100.00 per day per subject. Parents did not care about the tutor’s qualification of being trained and a ‘qualified teacher’ (Silova, 2010).
Declining in professional legitimacy of teachers and teaching profession in the societies also resulted to the rise of private and extra tuition (Silova, 2010). The situation is not different as to in case of Zanzibar. Decline in public spending in education resulted to the decreasing real salaries, deteriorating social status and declining authority of teachers in the society (Silova, 2010). Lowly paid teachers’ salaries did not support their needs and removal of teachers’ privileges like monthly allowances termed as ‘teaching allowances’ in 1990s also affected teacher’s living standards. Before the reduction and removal of teaching allowance, teaching allowances supplemented teachers’ salaries and therefore teachers were and remained among the well paid employees by the government before 1990s.
The removal of teaching allowances and the continued low pay salaries among teachers compared to fellow government employees contributed to the lowering of the teachers’ status in the society. This situation not only discouraged and demoralized teachers from teaching but also reduced teachers’ effective teaching in the regular classrooms. Teachers developed absenteeism attitude as well. As a result, teachers had to find the other way of surviving (coping strategy) - creating more income that would cover up their removed teaching allowances and lowly paid salaries by the government. In order that they can be able to meet some of their basic demands like buying food for their families, clothes and paying fees for their daughters and sons, teachers opened up tuition centers where they taught extra classes with small fee per student. Experiences shows that, in order to attract more students in their tuition classes they either did not attend their normal classes or teach ineffectively and ask students who did not understand the lesson to go for extra classes in their private tuition centers. In this respect, “private tuition has become an effective solution to the problems teachers faced and thus counterbalancing their economic hardship and restoring their professional legitimacy” (Silova, 2010, p. 331).
Increased demand and competition for higher education also contributed to the rise of private tuition (Dang & Rogers, 2008; Silova, 2010). Study shows that, in the context of the reduction of government spending in education and introduction of fees in schools, higher education became expensive and competitive particularly in the state or government funded schools and colleges (Biswal, 1999; Silova, 2010). Higher performance in the national exams determined who is joining government funded schools and colleges. This resulted to the higher competition for students to get chances of being enrolled in government schools. KWOK LaiYin (2004), in his study reported that, pressure of passing the school exams forces students to seek for extra tuition in order to have examination skills and “cope with the examination pressure” (p. 7). In this situation therefore, parents had no option than investing in private tuition so that their children could perform higher in their final exams to be able to get chances to the government funded schools and thus be able to avoid higher and expensive school paying fees (Biswal, 1999; Silova, 2010).
Private investment in education sector and rise of private schools in Zanzibar can also be associated with the rise of private tuition in the Island. In Zanzibar, private schools were reintroduced in 1992 after being abolished by the government in 1967 under the Arusha
Declarations that demanded all schools to be run by the government (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 20). Under the new Zanzibar Education Policy of 2006, private schools are recognized as important part in the development of education sector. Many private schools were opened as up to 2004 there were 157 private schools in Zanzibar (Ministry of Education, 2006). Therefore, welcoming private investors in education sector in Zanzibar is associated with the opening up of private tuition centers or academic centers as they became legal and allowed to operate under education policy. At the beginning, some of these centers acted as places where those who graduate basic education and do not qualify to senior secondary education could get trained and then sit for National Certificate of Secondary Education Exams (CSEE). Eventually, they turned to be centers for extra lessons operating out of normal class hours and mostly taught by the regular classroom teachers, graduate and senior secondary school leavers (in some cases).
The underlying assumption that private tuition can offsets the governments’ failures to provide quality education services. It is assumed that private tuition supplements or bridges the gap of the governments’ failure to provide quality education. Nath (2008) reports that the demand for private tutoring is driven by the perception that governments have failed to provide quality education to all school age children. This comes due to the fact that public schools are not very well equipped and miss important features for students to learn effectively. Most of the public schools reported to have shortage of qualified teachers, teaching and learning facilities and good care to the learners. Nath (2008) exemplifies the education system in Korea and Bangladesh that they provide low quality of education to the primary school graduates (p. 56). In Bangladesh, for example, Nath (2008) mentions that only 29 percent of the children of 11 to 12 years of age had basic primary level competences, the remaining were semi-literate or illiterate. Therefore, people feel that the amount of teaching and learning in these schools is inadequate. As such the general public looks into private supplementary tutoring to bridge the gap (Nath, 2008, p. 56). The insufficient delivery of public education service also is experienced in Zanzibar. Nassor & Mohammed (1998) for example, reveal that there are shortage of both qualified teachers and teaching and learning facilities that may help student to learn well and perform better in their education. They state that about 16.8 percent of the grade six teachers did not receive any teacher training and 17 percent attended short courses of less than one year (p. 23). Furthermore, it is revealed that only 26 percent of the standard six of primary classes have library services and only 21 percent of the primary schools have access to computer, where 48 and 47 percent of the grade six students own text books for reading and mathematics respectively (Bray, 1999, 2003; Dang & Rogers, 2008; Nath, 2008; Hungi, et al., 2009).
The level of education of the parents, household income and the household settlements of the education stakeholders are considered the major factors that determine the demand for extra tuition (Bray, 1999, 2003; Dang & Rogers, 2008; Nath, 2008). The influence of household income to private tuition depends on the characteristic of the household. (Dang & Rogers, 2008) reference that in Egypt, the demand for extra tuition is influenced by the wealth of household, while in Turkey and Vietnam, the demand for this service is determined by the household expenditure. Parental education and the location of household settlement are other factors that influence parents looking for private tutors of their children. Most of the private tutees are more likely from wealth families. They also live in urban areas and their parents are more educated than those children live in rural settings (Bray, 1999, 2006; Dang & Rogers, 2008; Silova, 2010). In Central Asia particularly in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, for example, (Silova, 2010) informs that 48 percent of students whose parents have higher education have access to extra tuition compare with 28 percent whose their parents have no such level of education (p. 331). Bray (1999) also reports that urban bias on accessing private tuition exists in some countries, such as in Cambodia, Malaysia and Egypt. In Cambodia, for instance, 61 percent among the urban public primary schools in the sample, their students receive extra tutoring compare with only 9 percent of the students in the public primary schools located in the rural areas. With regards to Malaysia, 59 percent of the students have access to private tuition compared with 28 percent in the rural school age children (p. 30). In the case of Egypt, the Household Survey of 1994 declares that 65 percent of the urban primary students and to 53 percent of the rural primary level students attend private lessons. The same situation experienced in Kenya that private classes are much more in urban than in rural. Moreover, in some societies boys are more enrolled in extra tuition than girls (Bray, 1999, p. 24, 2006, p. 517).
Parents’ expectations on the rate of returns to the education for their children are perceived as another factor that encourages them to enroll their children in private tuition (Bray, 2006; Dang & Rogers, 2008). This also increases the demand of private tuition in some subjects, such as science, mathematics and languages that are realized to be the leading subjects in the market of private tuition in many countries like in Sri Lanka, Singapore, countries in SubSaharan Africa, just to mention a few (Bray, 1999; Ireson & Rushforth, 2011).
Peer pressure among parents or influence from other parents is also considered as another factor that leads to high demand for private tutoring in some societies. Education is increasingly demanded, and its importance is being realized day after day. It is assumed that the increasing demand for education and the scarcity of education or learning resources might have resulted in the development of private tuition. (Bray, 1999) mentions that parents in Asian communities, particularly in Taiwan, are more likely to enroll their children in private tutoring when they find that children in their neighborhoods are enrolled in that programs because parents do not want their children to be left behind (Bray, 1999, p. 45). They instead allocate their children to the private tuition in order to get good grades that may lead them to continue with their further education, therefore, extra tutoring is used as a supplement for academic achievement (Bray, 2007). Nath (2008) also shows that, in India, the private tuition is welcomed by the majority because it provides opportunity to slow learners or “weaker students to make up their deficiencies”, therefore, more efforts will help them to do their schools better (p. 56). This is also shown by the study done by Warkentien and Grady, (2009) in the USA that students who don’t make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for three and more years are assigned to receive supplementary tutoring to increase their academic performance (p.2). In Israel as well, Dang and Rogers (2008) indicate that government has been financing the remedial tutoring program for underperforming high school students since 1999. For the purpose of increasing the number of students who earn baccalaureate certificates by providing them with increased instructional time. The program identifies five students from the grade tenth to twelfth in each school, who are mostly judged likely to fail their matriculation exams. Then the classroom teachers are assigned to provide after school tutoring in the subjects in which these students are weak (author, date, p. 11).
Implications of private tuition
Private tutoring has positive and negative implications for both the consumers and suppliers of this service. What could be perceived or revealed as a positive impact of private tutoring could also have a negative results in another context. Hence, the implications of extra tutoring have some support/relation with factors that influence demand for private tuition. Studies find that private tuition enhances academic performance of the students attending the private tuition. Dang and Rogers (2008) for example, report that the extra tuition in different studies shows that it has significant positive impacts to learners in India, Japan, Kenya, Vietnam and on the other hand has negative impacts to learners in countries like Korea and Singapore (p.10). Below is a case of a study done by Banerjee et al., (2007) in India in a remedial tutoring program financed NGO called Pratham that proved also that private tuition increases performance among students enrolled with this program
2.8 Summary
As shown in the discussion above, the research literature reveals mixed findings on the influence of private tuition on pupils’ academic achievement. The research literature also reveals the influence of school based, home based, one-toone and large class private tuitions on standard eight pupils academic achievement. The research literature also reveals that other than private tuition, there are other variables that influence literacy and numeracy in individual students.
2.9 Theoretical framework
Kombo (2006) defines theoretical framework as a collection of interrelated ideas based on theories that attempt to explain and clarify a specific phenomenon. In this study, the researcher will use the constructivist theory (Tobin, 1993). According to Tobin (1993), the constructivist theory postulates that learning involves individual’s constructions of knowledge and occurs through the natural interaction with one’s own environment.
According to Mergel (1998), there is a strong connection between learning and the extent to which the environment provides a rich source for learning experiences. Mergel (1998) further argues that an individual tries to assimilate or connect information to the pre- existing structures. If the new information does not fit established structures, argues Mergel (1998), then the individual provides and accommodates new structures.
According to Mergel (1998), quality learning is perceived as the reconstruction of what is already known as opposed to just acquisition of knowledge. Thus, children have an innate curiosity and constant striving to understand the world around them.
Private supplementary tuition will therefore provide learners with a rich source of learning experiences (Dang & Hai-Anh, 2007a). According to Dang and Hai- Anh (2007a), one – to – one private tuition strongly influences a pupil’s academic achievement and allows the child to interact with their own environment, as they are free to choose areas of the curriculum that interest them.
According to Bray and Lykins (2012) large class private tuition doesn’t stimulate the learners’ interest. As a result, there is little or no significant influence on pupils, academic achievement. Bray and Lykins (2012) argue that there is disconnect between learning and the extent to which the environment provides a rich source of learning experiences. According to Bray and Lykins (2012), large class private tuition yields little or no gains in students’ academic achievement.
According to Bray (2005a), school based private tuition also offers a good environment for learners to explore. According to Bray (2005a), a school environment where the tutor allows discovery by learners offers the perfect environment especially where learning experiences are spiced with play and other forms of social interaction. On home based private tuition, Bray (2005a), argues that they bring the best results in students’ academic achievement. According to Bray (2005a) the child learns in a relaxed environment where they can choose either to learn or not.
2.10 Conceptual framework
According to Dang and Hai-Anh (2008), conceptual framework is defined as a preferred approach to an idea or thought. In this discussion therefore, conceptual framework is used to show various private tuition programmes and their influence on students’ academic achievement. The researcher will adopt this approach
Figure 2.1 Private tuition programmes and their impact on pupils’ academic achievement
The conceptual framework illustrates how the various variables in the study lead to improved students’ academic achievement. According to Bray et al. (2008), most of students who take home based private tuition are among the best achievers at examinations. Bray et al. (2008) further argue students who take oneto-one private tuition are few and that their academic achievement at examinations is tremendous. According to Sawada et al. (1986), school based and large class private tuitions are most prominent and may or may not influence pupils’ academic achievement positively. According to Sawada et al. (1986), school based and large class private tuitions have little or no significant influence on pupils’ academic achievement.