Back to the basics: A qualitative study on the post-pandemic parental perceptions of online tutoring and their changing preference of tutoring

• In Event: Reimagining education: Educational improvement in digital societies across Southeast Asia

Proposal

In Hong Kong, shadow education is a well-established education industry. Students participate in private supplementary tutoring for various reasons ranging from seeking improvement in grades, receiving out-of-class additional academic support and conforming to peer pressure. The global COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted not just educational practices of formal schooling but those in the shadow. Tutorial centers adjusted their regular operations to comply with government measures aimed at curbing the pandemic, resulting in tutoring being delivered online or in small group settings with a restricted number of participants. The switch of mode has raised questions regarding parents’ perception of such change and their perceived effectiveness of online tutoring. More importantly, in the post-Covid period when more online learning opportunities are made available, whether parents embrace such flexibility, their views on what constitutes a good tutoring experience and how such perception differs among parents from various social groups may shed lights on the current parental preference and trend of tutoring in Hong Kong.

Drawing on Parentocracy as a theoretical concept – a notion first proposed by sociologist Philip Brown in 1990 to explain how parents use their wealth and wish to shape student’s educational outcomes – this study uses a qualitative research method to answer the research questions: How has the learning disruption brought by the COVID-19 pandemic changed the frequency and experience of private tutoring? To what extent has the pandemic influenced the way parents see the contribution of private tutoring in students’ educational success? 

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 parents from a local girls secondary school in Hong Kong. Interview questions allowed parents to recount their experiences of online tutoring during the pandemic, and express their preferences in choosing the kind of tutoring and tutors. An online survey adapted from Kobakhidze (2024) was administered to collect demographic data about the socio-economic, educational and cultural background of the families for categorizing participants into respective social groups. The combination of semi-structured interviews and demographic data facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping parental perceptions which are the focus of this study.

Findings reveal that a majority of parents in the study perceived online tutoring as less effective than face-to-face tutoring. Common-mentioned reasons for such perceived ineffectiveness include the increased distractions at the home environment, difficulties in maintaining students’ attention and engagement with the class and the limited opportunities for students to seek help from tutors during online sessions. Many parents expressed dissatisfaction with the online mode, reporting that it failed to replicate the personalized nature of face-to-face tutoring. Most middle-class parents interviewed indicated a strong preference and need for an in-person, small group or even one-on-one tutoring, with several stating that the online mode would no longer be a choice. Such strong preference underpinning the demand for personalized support, tutor’s effective pedagogy and a matching fit between tutors’ teaching approach with students’ personality and learning style.

In conclusion, this study argues that despite the ubiquitous online tutoring options available, online tutoring is still far from being considered a substitute for face-to-face tutoring. The findings highlight the perceived limitations of online tutoring in terms of engagement and personalized instruction. While this study contributes to the ongoing discourse of parent’s engagement and investment in Hong Kong shadow education scenes, it further highlights the issues of access to quality tutoring, in a context where private tutoring is becoming more available and affordable.

Authors

• Nutsa Magda Kobakhidze, The University of Hong Kong

• Yuk Tin Yvette Leung, The Education University of Hong Kong