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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2096531119890142
Article Information
Article first published online: January 13, 2020
Received: August 30, 2019; Accepted: November 01, 2019
Author
Mark Bray
East China Normal University
Abstract
Purpose: Private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education, has long been visible in East Asia, and now has spread to other parts of the world including Europe. This article maps the phenomenon, showing variations within Europe and analyzing its growth, underlying forces, and policy implications.
Design/Approach/Methods: The article assembles a regional picture from available national sources. It focuses on the 28 members of the European Union.
Findings: Within Europe, four subregions may be identified. Most prominent for the longest duration has been Southern Europe, pushed by political forces and cultural factors. In Eastern Europe, shadow education became prominent following the collapse of the Soviet Union and accompanying economic and social structures during which teachers and others had to earn extra incomes. In Western Europe, the advent of marketization alongside government schooling has fueled the growth of shadow education. Only in Northern Europe does shadow education remain modest in scale, but it is growing there too.
Originality/Value: The article identifies forces underlying the growth of shadow education in Europe and highlights policy implications. By contributing this regional perspective to the wider literature on shadow education, the article permits juxtaposition with patterns in East Asia and elsewhere.
Keywords
Europe, market forces, policies, privatization, private tutoring, shadow education