Who is More Likely to Participate in Private Tutoring and Does it Work?: Evidence from PISA (2015)

Abstract

Purpose: In recent years, private tutoring has become increasingly prevalent in China and has become both a dominant way for students to learn after school and a major component of family educational expenditure. This paper aims to analyze the factors that affect Chinese students’ participation in private tutoring and the effectiveness of private tutoring. Design/Approach/Methods: We use data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 of Mainland China area and focus specifically on science-related private tutoring. Multilevel logistic model and hierarchical linear model based on coarsened exact matching (CEM) are used to conduct the investigations. Findings: Empirical results show that individual level factors including student's interest in science, educational expectations, and school-level factors such as school autonomy, science-related learning resources and school size pose a significant influence on the likelihood of participation in private tutoring. Moreover, science-related private tutoring has not significantly improved the overall scientific literacy scores of students. In addition, private tutoring has widened the performance gap among students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, with students from socioeconomically advantaged family experiencing more significant gains from tutoring. Originality/Value: These findings suggest that providing free high-quality tutoring to students from disadvantaged families might be an effective way of promoting educational equity.