This document outlines a research proposal on college test preparation and shadow education systems in China and India. It begins with two main research questions focusing on the drivers of private tutoring demand and how shadow education relates to social status and university admissions. The literature review provides definitions of key terms like shadow education and discusses mixed findings on the impact of private tutoring on academic achievement. It also examines how family background and prestige-oriented views influence university attendance. Overall, the proposal aims to analyze the size and impact of shadow education in China and India in relation to academic performance and social outcomes.

1. College
Test
Prepara.on
and
Shadow
Educa.on
System
in
China
and
India
Roy
Y.
Chan
Ph.D.
student
Boston
College
Lynch
School
of
Educa.on
roy.chan@bc.edu
April
15,
2014

2. Outline
• Research
Ques+ons
• Literature
Review
– Overview
– Defini+on
of
Key
Terms
– Academic
Achievement
• Shadow
Educa+on
Expansion
– Pros
and
Cons
• Examples
of
Shadow
Educa+on
• Dataset
• Implica+ons
• Recommenda+ons
for
Policymakers
and
Planners
• Further
Research
• Q
&
A

3. Ques.on
of
the
Day
Which
two
countries
have
the
highest
rates
of
“private
tutoring
par.cipa.on”
in
the
world?
*HINT:
They’re
not
in
Asia!
J

4. GREECE
and
TURKEY!!!

7. Research
Ques.ons
• 1)
What
are
the
key
factors
that
drive
the
demand
for
private
tutoring
in
China
and
India?
– How
big
is
the
shadow
educa+on
industry
in
China
and
India?
– Does
shadow
educa+on
work
in
terms
of
enhancing
students’
knowledge,
grades,
or
test
scores?
• 2)
How
does
shadow
educa.on
serve
maintain
and
demonstrate
social
status
or
pres.ge
in
China
and
India?
– Does
college
test
prepara+on
pay
off
in
terms
of
higher
examina+on
scores
and
likelihood
of
admissions
into
pres+gious
universi+es
in
China
and
India?
– In
what
ways
do
family
background
(e.g.,
income,
class)
and
test
prepara+on
have
consequences
for
aSending
an
elite
higher
educa+on
ins+tu+on
in
China
and
India?

8. Literature
Review
Overview
• Shadow
educa+on
has
become
a
global
phenomenon
in
the
21st
century
(Bray,
2009;
Mori
&
Baker,
2010;
Aurini
et
al.,
2013).
• Driven
by
the
intensifica+on
of
globaliza+on
as
a
result
to
marke+za+on
in
the
educa+on
sector.
• A
“hidden”
form
of
priva+za+on.
• Expected
to
be
a
$102.8
billion
USD
industry
by
2018
(Global
Industry
Analysts,
Inc.,
2012).
• Parents
will
con+nue
to
pay
for
shadow
educa+on
ac+vi+es
as
long
as
examina+on
serves
as
a
gatekeeper
to
higher
educa+on
ins+tu+ons

9. Literature
Review
Defini.on
of
Key
Terms
• Private
supplementary
tutoring:
outside
tutoring
service
offered
by
the
private
sector
and
paid
for
by
families
designed
to
improve
student’s
chances
of
successfully
moving
through
the
alloca+on
process
(Stevenson
&
Baker,
1992).
• Shadow
educa9on:
private
supplementary
tutoring
that
mimics
and
closely
parallels
curriculum
in
mainstream
educa+on,
and
offer
homework
support
or
test
prepara+on
(Bray,
2009).
• Cram
schools:
learning
centers
or
ins+tutes
that
prepare
students
for
beSer
examina+on
performance
(Bray,
2007).

10. Literature
Review
Effects
of
private
tutoring
on
academic
achievement
• UNESCO’s
most
recent
2013/2014
EFA
Global
Monitoring
Report
states
that
“private
tutoring,
if
unchecked
or
uncontrolled,
can
be
detriment
to
learning
outcomes,
especially
for
the
poorest
students
who
are
unable
to
afford
it”
(p.
271).
• Past
studies
on
the
effec+veness
of
private
tutoring
on
student
academic
achievement
is
ofen
inconclusive.
– For
example,
some
studies
report
a
posi+ve
impact
of
private
tutoring
in
Japan
(Stevenson
&
Baker,
1992),
Taiwan
(Liu,
2012),
Kenya
(Buchmann,
2002),
but
other
studies,
however,
found
nega+ve
impacts
on
achievement
in
Korea
(Lee,
Kim,
&
Yoon,
2004)
Singapore
(Cheo
&
Quah,
2005),
and
Nepal
(Thapa,
2011).

11. Literature
Review
Shadow
educa.on
and
pres.ge-­‐oriented
views
• Students’
pres+ge-­‐oriented
views
affects
parental
spending
on
shadow
educa+on,
and
that
shadow
educa+on
par+cipa+on
serves
not
just
a
func+onal
purpose
but
also
a
symbolic
purpose
(e.g.,
to
aSend
pres+gious
universi+es)
(Lee
&
Shouse,
2011;
Baker
&
LeTende,
2005;
Stevenson
&
Baker,
1992).
• Karen
(2002)
suggests
that
familial
background
affect
the
students’
aSendance
at
pres+gious
higher
educa+on
ins+tu+on.
• Guppy
(1997)
conclude
that
high
school
graduates
from
low-­‐resourced
families
are
less
likely
to
aSend
highly
selec+ve
universi+es
than
affluent
families

12. Why
Shadow
Educa.on
Has
Expanded?
• 1)
Compe++ve
high-­‐stakes
entrance
examina+ons
• 2)
Intense
compe++on
to
compete
with
other
students
in
the
classroom
• 3)
Parents
believe
formal
schooling
(e.g.,
instruc+on
and
curriculum)
is
inadequate
• 4)
Teachers
do
not
teach
examina+on
skills
in
schools
• 5)
Friends
are
enrolling
in
private
tutoring,
so
students
enroll
(i.e.,
fear
of
not
par+cipa+ng)
• 6)
Pressure
to
aSend
pres+gious
universi+es
• 7)
High
cultural
value
(e.g.,
Chinese
parents
value
educa+on)
• 8)
The
rise
of
stra+fied
educa+on
systems
• 9)
Desire
to
study
overseas
(e.g.,
United
States,
UK,
Australia
• 10)
Planned-­‐based
economic
to
a
market-­‐driven
economy

13. Shadow
Educa.on
–
Pros/Cons
on
the
Private
Tutoring
Industries
Advantages
• Assists
low-­‐performing
students
work
at
their
own
pace
(e.g.,
increase
students
self-­‐esteem
and
sense
of
achievement)
• Lessons
are
ofen
individualized
to
student
needs/demands
• Provide
decent
income
to
tutors
• Students
gain
human
capital
which
can
contribute
to
economic
development
• Student
gain
confidence
and
mo+va+on
to
take
high-­‐stakes
examina+ons
Disadvantages
• Very
Expensive
• Exacerbates
social
and
geographical
inequali+es
• Widen
inequali+es
in
college
access
and
readiness
• Increase
pressure
for
students
to
perform
well
in
examina+ons
• Decrease
students’
engagement
and
concentra+on
in
classroom
• Damage
students’
independent
leaning
abili+es
• Restricts
students’
leisure
+me
• Distorts
teaching
and
learning
• Place
economic
pressure
on
households,
especially
rural
ci+es

14. So the question arises:
Does shadow education work
in terms of enhancing
students’ knowledge, grades,
or test scores?
LET’S
LOOK
AT
SOME
DATA!!
(:

15. CHINA:
Private
tutoring
on
academic
achievement

16. CHINA:
Urban
students
PAY
more
for
private
tutoring
than
rural
students

17. INDIA:
Wealthy
families
PAY
more
for
tutoring
than
poor
families

18. INDIA:
Urban
students
receive
more
private
tutoring
than
rural
students

19. PARENT
INCOME
and
PRIVATE
TUTORING
SPENDING

20. PRIVATE
TUTORING
SPENDING
AND
PRESTIEGE
ORIENTED
VIEWS

21. CHINA:
Examples
of
Shadow
Educa.on
• Over
20
million
students
have
studied
in
New
Oriental
• Offers
SAT,
ACT,
GRE,
TOEFL
prep
courses
• Consults
students
on
study
abroad
• 70%
of
Chinese
students
in
the
U.S.
and
Canada
took
an
English
class
in
New
Oriental
• Face-­‐to-­‐Face
and
Online
tutoring
is
available

25. INDIA:
Examples
of
Shadow
Educa.on

26. UNITED
STATES:
Examples
of
Shadow
educa.on

27. Implica.ons
• The
expansion
of
shadow
educa+on
in
China
and
India
has
both
posi+ve
and
nega+ve
implica+ons
in
theory
and
in
prac+ce.
• Private
tutoring
plays
a
posi+ve
role
in
raising
student
learning
outcomes
outside
of
the
mainstream
educa+on
system.
• However,
private
tutoring
can
place
lower-­‐class
students
at
greater
disadvantage
on
college
entrance
examina+on
achievement
and
their
desire
to
aSend
an
elite
higher
educa+on
ins+tu+ons
in
China
and
India.
• Private
tutoring
exacerbates
social
inequali+es
in
educa+onal
opportunity
in
China
and
India.

28. Recommenda.ons
for
Policymakers
and
Planners
• Tighten
regula+on
and
control
between
schools
and
tutoring
ins+tu+ons.
• Finance
tutoring
programs
in
rural
ci+es
as
a
flexible
means
of
educa+ng
disadvantaged
adolescents.
• Implement
policies
aimed
at
reducing
the
growing
parent
expenditure
on
private
tutoring.
– Fund
afer-­‐school
programs;
Start
English-­‐language
television
programs
aimed
at
developing
students’
examina+on
skills
so
that
private
tutoring
does
not
replace
mainstream
curriculum
and
instruc+on.
– Create
management
policies
that
requires
teachers
to
cover
the
whole
curriculum
so
that
private
tutoring
does
not
displace
classroom
teaching

29. Further
Research
• The
effects
of
private
tutoring
on
student
academic
achievement
in
China
and
India
(e.g.,
using
casual
research
designs)
• The
impact
of
private
tutoring
on
students’
well-­‐being
(e.g.,
student
sa+sfac+on
levels,
health
status,
labor-­‐
market
outcomes)
• Examine
how
social-­‐psychological
and
non-­‐cogni+ve
factors
influence
behavior
norms
suppor+ve
of
the
shadow
educa+on
industry
• Inves+gate
the
ins+tu+onaliza+on
of
shadow
educa+on
within
China
and
India
–
the
extent
to
which
it
has
become
“infused
with
value”
(Selznick,
1957).

30. Recommended
Books

31. Ques.ons?
Comments?
*NOTE:
This
Powerpoint
is
available
for
download
at:
hNp://www.rychan.com