Shadow education: understanding social issues, seasonal tutoring hours and disparities in rural Bangladesh

• In Event: Learning in and Out of Formal Schooling

Proposal

Paper summary
Although shadow education or fee-charging private tutoring has become noteworthy across countries recently, very little is known about social issues, seasonal tutoring hours and disparities in the rural area. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design including quantitative and qualitative data collected from questionnaires of 448 participants involving students and their parents as well as individual interviews of 24 participants comprising students, parents and teachers. The study focuses on important social issues including tutoring provider’s service, ethnic minority, parental qualification, and family economic ability in rural Bangladesh. It also identifies private tutoring hours and disparities by term or season in a disadvantaged area. The article argues for unequal access to fee-charging private lessons between provider’s fair and commercial, minority and majority, educated and uneducated, and low-income and high-income groups. Conceptually, seasonal tutoring hours, social perspectives, and disparities draw implications in rural education, social equity aspects, and policymaking.

Keywords: Shadow education; social issue; social inequality; seasonal tutoring; cram schooling; educational inequality.

Introduction, background and literature
Though fee-charging private tutoring, commonly known as shadow education, has prevailed for decades contributing to children’s academic skills as a school alternative assistance, it has been nurturing social important issues, seasonal tutoring, and disparities in the rural jurisdiction. In the study, ‘season’ implies a suitable and acceptable particular time (normal, forthcoming examination, and vacation periods) for receipt of student’s private tutoring. Bagdasarova & Ivanov (2009) stated that 40.5% of students participated in tutoring regularly throughout the year, while 20% received tutoring occasionally, and 12.3% did so just before examinations in Kyrgyz Republic. The article argues unequal access of fee-charging lessons between provider’s fair and commercial, minority and majority, educated and uneducated, and low-income and high-income groups. A huge number of students have been participating in tutoring in many parts of the globe (Aurini et al., 2013; Bray, 2009; 2021a; Kwok, 2004, 2010; Silova, 2010). Tutoring providers’ service, seasonal tutoring, family socioeconomic conditions, and students’ learning satisfactions are allied in some cases. It is perceptible that a number of tutoring providers intend to create sources of incomes and that serve customers who ostensibly want value for money. Exceptions exist while teachers serve tutoring with fair mentality. They suppose school salaries are low in terms of their living costs, and so they supply extra lessons to fulfil students’ learning demand.

Objectives/research questions
Based on objectives of the research, the study will seek answers to the following questions:
• How are social issues perceived in private tutoring in the rural area of Bangladesh?
• What disparities of seasonal tutoring hours are noticeable in that rural area?


Theoretical framework
The study employs theories of neoliberal ideology (Apple, 2000; Wells 2002) and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986) that might be connected with expansion of fee-based tutoring, shapes of social issues, seasonal tutoring and disparities. The rise of neoliberal ideology and people’s ideas on education are growingly instilled with notions of efficiency, accountability and choice (Apple, 2000; Wells 2002). Neoliberals accuse public school systems at times. They emphasize the spread of market competition in schooling. They make an argument about school teachers’ professional efficacy, accountability, and parental preferences. Private education providers, in particular, private tutors might have confidence in neoliberal belief and offer school alternative lessons for students’ assistance and parental demand with a view to creating their sources of incomes or profits.

Methodology
Considering the characteristics and dimensions of the design, the study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2012). According to Creswell (2012; p. 542) “the method consists of first collecting quantitative data and then collecting qualitative data to help explain or elaborate upon the results”. The structured questionnaire for survey and individual interview have been employed in this research.

Participants and sampling
The research got in contact with students, parents and teachers via schools. The researcher used ‘opportunistic’ and ‘snowball’ (Creswell, 2012; p. 209) purposeful sampling. The investigation included four schools in Patuakhali, a rural and coastal district in Bangladesh. For the survey process, a total of 448 participants involving 224 students and their 224 parents (either father or mother who takes care of son’s/daughter’s lessons) was selected. In individual interview protocol, 24 participants including eight students, eight parents, and eight teachers provided their perceptions and views. Two students, two parents, and two teachers participated in interviews from one sampled school.

Data collection procedure
Student questionnaire and parent questionnaire were used for data collection in the survey process. The researcher distributed questionnaire folders (student and parent) to students after a short briefing about the purposes of the research in the classroom. The investigator told students to deliver parent-questionnaires (including consent forms) to their parents who look after their lessons at home. Both students and parents filled out survey questionnaires at homes and returned them to the researcher at schools. Individual interviews were audio-recorded, which took 30-40 minutes. The research used Bengali language, a mother tongue of participants, to conduct survey and interview protocols.

Data analysis
Quantitative and qualitative data were mixed in the analysis. Descriptive statistics was employed in the quantitative data analysis. The interview data were analyzed through coding process. The investigator followed three activities: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing in the qualitative analysis.

Results, implications and conclusions
The study has contributed to understand the influence and impact on social particular issues and seasonal tutoring. It has contextualized a feature of how a rural society experiences disparities of seasonal tutoring hours and social perspectives in tutoring in terms of provider’s service, ethnicity, parental education and household financial ability. It is obvious that emergent popularity of tutoring and students’ frustration with school instruction necessitate the existence and competition of tutoring seasonal participation alongside the mainstream schooling in an underprivileged society. Implications of the paper include consciousness of policymakers about students’ social issues, seasonal tutoring and disparities. Concerned authorities need to be wise not to wait for initiatives regarding social issues and disparities in fee-charging tutoring for underprivileged and minority students in particular.

Author

• Rafsan Mahmud, Bangladesh Open University