Exploring the Relationship Between Extra Lessons and Math Achievement in Singapore: An Analysis Using TIMSS 2019 Data

• In Event: Large-Scale Comparative Analysis of Teaching and Learning in East Asia

Proposal

Research abstract

In response to the global trend of students enrolling in supplementary tutoring classes outside of regular school hours, our research investigates the relationship between taking extra math lessons and math achievement in the context of Singapore's education system (Bray, 2014). With the backdrop of a culture that highly values education, particularly influenced by the Confucian tradition (Zhou & Wang, 2015), Singapore has seen significant growth in private tutoring (Teo & Koh, 2020). Utilizing data from TIMSS 2019, we analyze the 8th-grade dataset to explore the impact of the duration of attending extra math lessons on students' math achievement, while controlling for variables such as socioeconomic status, self-efficacy, teaching quality, and gender (Kelly et al., 2020).

Our study employs multiple regression analysis to examine the association between the number of months attending extra math lessons and math scores (Kelly et al., 2020). Additionally, we investigate the influence of various factors, such as home educational resources (An et al., 2019), student confidence in mathematics, instructional clarity (Kelly et al., 2020), and gender, on math achievement. The results reveal that attending extra math lessons for more extended periods is associated with higher math scores, narrowing the performance gap between students who attend extra lessons and those who do not. However, on average, students who do not take extra lessons tend to achieve higher math scores.

Relevance to CIES 2024

By investigating the phenomenon of supplementary tutoring, our research sheds light on how students and their families engage in collective action as a form of protest within the education system. Supplementary tutoring can be taken as a response to perceived inadequacies in the formal education system, where students seek additional support to address educational challenges and strive for better academic outcomes. Under the comparatively Asian context, this act of protest through seeking supplementary education reflects a desire for improved educational opportunities and outcomes.

Moreover, our study delves into the factors that influence the decision to attend extra math lessons, such as socioeconomic status, self-efficacy, and teaching quality. These variables are critical in the broader context of educational protests, as they often highlight issues of equity and access to quality education. Socioeconomic disparities can impact access to supplementary tutoring, creating educational inequalities. Additionally, factors like self-efficacy and teaching quality are fundamental in shaping the educational experience and can become focal points of protest when students and communities advocate for better resources and support.

Theoretical framework

In our research exploring the relationship between taking extra math lessons and math achievement in Singapore, Bourdieu’s theory of Cultural and Social Capital serves as a guiding framework. Bourdieu’s theory posits that the types and amount of capital possessed by a household significantly influence a child’s trajectory in schooling and life (Tan, 2022). This notion aligns with our investigation into the phenomenon of supplementary tutoring as a form of collective action and protest within the education system. By seeking additional support through supplementary tutoring, students and their families aim to address perceived inadequacies in the formal education system and strive for improved academic outcomes. The theory of Cultural and Social Capital helps us understand how students' access to educational resources, academic credentials, and social networks can impact their performance in standard tests. We also consider the influence of socioeconomic status, self-efficacy, and teaching quality on the decision to attend extra math lessons, which are critical factors in the broader context of educational protests, highlighting issues of equity and access to quality education. By connecting Bourdieu’s theory to our research, we gain valuable insights into the role of cultural and social capital in shaping educational opportunities and outcomes, and its potential implications for fostering more just and empowering educational futures in Singapore.

Data collection and analysis

The sources of information are from the latest TIMSS results, TIMSS 2019; and we focused on what information we can obtain from the dataset. Given the scores and background information provided, our interest lies in understanding the connection between the additional math lessons and the math scores of students in Singapore, especially considering that it is the best-performing country and the introverted context. Compared with many studies which focus on social status and cultural capital, we choose the student’s confidence in math as one of the variables. According to Jameson et al. (2022), holding positive attitudes and productive dispositions toward math leads to better learning and grades, while negative attitudes and unproductive dispositions can hinder math performance. We think it is significant to take some internal factors of students, besides external factors like social status, and gender, into account.

Research methods and results

We adopt descriptive statistics and multiple regression to conduct the analysis, after which we perform post-regression diagnostics to ensure that the model satisfies the necessary consumption.
From the results, we found students who did not attend extra math lessons performed best among all students, while attending additional math lessons for a longer duration positively correlates with improved math scores, narrowing the performance gap between students who attend extra lessons and those who don’t. Consequently, supplementary tutoring as a way of protesting the inadequacies in the formal educational system has a positive effect on students’ learning performance to some extent but is not the decisive factor.

Contribution and significance

The conclusion and contribution are original, according to what we can find in the database. When doing the literature review, we found that few researchers adopted empirical methods to demonstrate the relationship between shadow education and the scores, as it is not easy to obtain the appropriate data for analysis. In addition, we found even shadow education has a positive impact on students’ learning performance, students who did not take extra lessons performed best. Our research provides a new perspective on understanding the dynamics between the formal educational system and supplementary tutoring.

Authors

• Haoyue Wang, Columbia University Teachers College

• Diya Xing, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Tianyi Yan, Columbia University Teachers College

• Xinyan Zeng, Columbia University Teachers Colleg