Parental demand for shadow education: Contexts, processes, determinants and outcomes

Registration number: 22-01308S

The principal investigator: dr. Vít Šťastný

Implementation period: 01/01/2022 – 31/12/2024

Abstract:

Shadow education is the term used to describe various forms of fee-based private supplementary tutoring in academic subjects. The intensity of research on this topic is on the rise around the world due to the serious implications it has for pupils, education systems and equal access to education. Previous international research has paid only marginal attention to parents so far, even though they are considered to be the main decision-makers of private tutoring use. It is relatively uncharted though, how do parents make specific decisions about private tutoring. The proposed research project will thus focus on reducing this gap by examining parents’ demand for private tutoring for their children. Qualitative empirical research will draw on the design of grounded theory to investigate the decision-making process of parents of secondary school students regarding the use of different types of private tutoring. It will examine the influence of contexts and intervening factors on this decision-making and its consequences.