Recent years have brought global expansion of private supplementary tutoring, providing out-of-school support in academic subjects on a fee-charging basis. Much of the demand for this tutoring is driven by uncertainty. Families feel that by itself schooling may not be adequate in changing technological, economic and social circumstances, and societies have become increasingly competitive. Companies exploit these environments by providing tutoring to secure their own prosperity. Yet, companies may themselves experience precarious circumstances and changing times. This article examines patterns with examples from China, India and Australia.

Focusing on the shadow education system of private supplementary tutoring, this paper contains comparisons over time and place in the distinctive circumstances of the Soviet Union and the 15 independent countries that emerged following its collapse in 1991. The paper uses the lenses of politics and economics to understand changing tides in the scale and nature of shadow education. The phenomenon did not fit the official ideologies of the Soviet era, but became evident particularly in the decades from the 1970s. In the post-Soviet era, shadow education expanded markedly, but with diversity across the 15 countries and with changing features as the decades progressed. The paper shows the broad contours in this diversity while also highlighting significant research gaps.

Private supplementary tutoring, long evident in such countries as Greece, Japan and Korea, has become a significant global phenomenon. In the academic literature, such tutoring is commonly called shadow education because it mimics aspects of schooling. It is not neutral, however, because tutoring can threaten dimensions of schooling. The paper notes commonalities and diversities around the world, paying particular attention to external shocks, peer pressures, ratchet effects, and changing cultural norms. The paper commences and concludes in the literary domain with Hans Christian Andersen's story about The Shadow, remarking on possible parallels in the real world of private tutoring.

This article analyses trends over the last seven decades in the domains of educational planning, privatisation and neoliberalism. It does this by focusing, in particular, on literature published in the International Review of Education. In educational planning, the 1960s saw a convergence of opinion among economists and educators with a particular focus on workforce needs. Subsequent decades saw shifts in the relative roles of state and private actors. From the 1980s onwards, many significant players in the field of education became advocates for neoliberal approaches. They made claims about innovation, efficiency and responsiveness in education systems, though these were not universally accepted. This article also highlights the phenomenon of privatisation by default rather than by government policy. Among the most prominent examples is the provision of private supplementary tutoring, also known as “shadow education”. The article also considers the roles of international agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank, and the challenges faced by educational planners in pursuing their remit to protect the common good.

The present century has brought marked expansion of private supplementary tutoring across countries of all income levels. Tutoring is provided in diverse modes by commercial enterprises, full-time teachers seeking extra incomes, and informal suppliers ranging from senior-secondary students to retirees. As tutorial enrolment rates rise, receipt increasingly becomes a necessity for keeping up with peers. However, this creates inequalities: the lowest-income families are excluded entirely, while those slightly higher in the income hierarchy cannot access the quantities and qualities of tutoring accessed by wealthier families. These patterns also raise multi-layered issues. At the level of the child are matters of the quality of tutoring and basic safety in inadequately-supervised environments. At the parental level are matters of fees, honesty in marketing, etc.; and at the broad social level are inequalities that challenge what UNESCO has called a desirable social contract. All these dimensions require effective regulation.

During the initial decades of the present century, China was among countries known for their high enrolment rates in private tutoring alongside schooling. In 2021, government policy brought the tutorial sector to an abrupt and dramatic contraction. The policy was known as ‘double reduction’ since it targeted both out-of-school tutoring and school-administered homework. Among factors underlying the policy were the study burdens on young people and social inequalities arising from the fact that prosperous households could afford tutoring more easily than lower-income counterparts. Although some parents welcomed the policy, others persisted with demand for tutoring through hidden channels at higher prices. Developments thus demonstrated considerable continuity despite broader change. This article examines patterns based on mixed-methods research, paying particular attention to the heuristics through which parents made decisions about continuing demand for tutoring amidst changing equilibria. Showing the limits even of fierce government efforts, the paper has implications not only for China but also for other countries in which authorities desire to reduce the scale and ameliorate the implications of private tutoring.

Private supplementary tutoring, widely described as shadow education in the academic literature, takes place outside regular school hours. It is widespread across the globe, but with diverse structures. Drawing on insights from Myanmar, this article examines how different forms of capital shape tutoring demand and supply. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study was conducted in Mandalay Region and Chin State. Survey data were collected from 1,366 students and 97 teachers, and interviews were conducted with 110 Grade 11 students, 34 high school teachers, 30 parents, 29 tutoring providers, and two private school owners. The article highlights economic, cultural and social capital, noting distinctive features in Myanmar but also commonalities with other societies. The article contributes to conceptual understanding of the forces that shape private tutoring in different settings.

Purpose Private supplementary tutoring—widely known as shadow education because of the ways in which it mimics regular schooling—is increasingly visible across the globe. The Middle East is no exception, though the phenomenon has received relatively little attention in the English-language literature. This article maps some key features of shadow education, identifying ways in which contextual forces have shaped it. Design/Approach/Methods The article focuses on patterns across and within the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It draws on literature in both Arabic and English and shows the value of multiple units of comparison. Findings Private tutoring has a long history as a significant phenomenon in some GCC countries, but in others developed more recently. Some governments have had active policies to dampen the phenomenon, but with little success. Factors in the complex dynamics include social, economic and cultural forces. Originality/Value The article assembles literature from around the region, noting both commonalities and diversities among GCC members. It contributes to the global literature by providing the regional mapping from this specific part of the world and by showing comparisons with other world regions.

Abstract Around the world, growing attention focuses on the scale, nature, and implications of private supplementary tutoring. This phenomenon has long been especially visible in East Asia and is now global. Some tutoring is provided by commercial enterprises, but other tutoring is provided by regular teachers seeking to supplement their incomes. University students and other informal suppliers are also evident. In contrast to government-led initiatives, most shadow education has developed despite rather than because of government policies. Indeed it could be described as privatization by default. The tutoring sector has grown in response to demand from students and their families and through the entrepreneurial initiatives of companies, teachers, and informal providers. From the perspective of mainstream schooling, private tutoring is not simply a parallel supplement; it has far-reaching implications for mainstream schooling as well as for wider social and economic development.