What is Private Tuition Really Doing to - or for - Education?
A survey by The Straits Times found that nearly 80% of parents with primary school children and nearly 60% of parents with secondary school children paid for private tuition. The tuition phenomenon is not unique to Singapore but is found in equal or increasing measure in other parts of Asia and around the world. Should private tuition be welcomed as a way to expand human capital in a competitive world, or should private tuition be discouraged because it exacerbates social inequalities, increases stress, and has a problematic backwash on regular schooling? This seminar will highlight experiences and patterns around the world, discuss the implications of this global trend, raise questions about government regulations, and consider some implications for educational practice in Singapore.
.MEET THE SPEAKER
Professor Mark Bray
UNESCO Chair Professor in Comparative Education;
Director, Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong
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Professor Bray is the Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC) and the UNESCO Chair Professor in Comparative Education at the University of Hong Kong. He has published and lectured widely on private tuition, which is also known as shadow education. He is a multiple-award-winning and highly accomplished scholar who has served as Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning and President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. He is the author/editor of over 40 books and 200 articles. Many of his books have been translated into multiple languages. His publications on private tuition include Confronting the Shadow Education System: What Government Policies for What Private Tutoring?, which has been translated into 18 languages, Private tutoring across the Mediterranean: Power Dynamics and Implications for Learning and Equity, Education in a Hidden Marketplace: Monitoring of Private Tutoring, and The Challenge of Shadow Education: Private Tutoring and its Implications for Policy Makers in the European Union. |
This free lecture is presented by the HEAD Foundation, a Singapore-based think tank focused on education and leadership for development in Asia.
