Researching Private Supplementary Tutoring

Private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education because of the way thatit mimics mainstream schooling, has greatly expanded worldwide. It consumes considerablefamily resources, provides employment for tutors, occupies the time of students, and has abackwash on regular schools.Although such tutoring has become a major industry and a daily activity for students,tutors and families, the research literature has been slow to catch up with the phenomenon.The topic is in some respects difficult to research, precisely because it is shadowy. Contoursare indistinct, and the actors may hesitate to share their experiences and perspectives.Presenting methodological lessons from diverse cultures, the book contains chaptersfrom both high-income and low-income settings in Asia, Caribbean, Europe and the MiddleEast. Separately and together, the chapters present valuable insights into the design andconduct of research.The book will assist both consumers and producers of research.Consumers will become better judges of the strengths, weaknesses and orientations ofliterature on the theme; and producers will gain insights for design of instruments, collectionof data, and interpretation of findings. The editors: Mark Bray is UNESCO Chair Professor in Comparative Education at theUniversity of Hong Kong. Ora Kwo is an Associate Professor in the Comparative EducationResearch Centre at the University of Hong Kong. Boris Joki? is a Scientific Associate in theCentre for Educational Research and Development at the Institute for Social Research inZagreb, Croatia.