Negative Effects of Private Tutoring on Stakeholders from Teachers' Perspective

Abstract

Private lessons, also known as shadow education, are an auxiliary element of the education system both in the world and in our country. The fact that mathematics course requires using many high-level cognitive skills at the same time and the current state of mathematics achievement in central exams are among the reasons why the demand for private lessons for mathematics is higher than for other courses. Conducted studies generally focus on the reasons why students take private lessons. The purpose of this research is to determine the negative effects of the private lesson process on teachers, students, and parents from the perspective of teachers who give private lessons. In the study, descriptive research model was used because of revealing an existing situation. The study group consists of 108 mathematics teachers, who were determined by using the convenient sampling method and had private tutoring experience. The data collection process was carried out with 3 open-ended questions developed by the researchers asking the opinions of the teachers about the negative effects of private lessons on teachers, students and parents. The data of the research were collected online using "Google Form" in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The obtained data were analyzed by content analysis method. According to the data obtained, the teachers stated that private lessons can reduce the self-esteem, motivation and interest of the teacher. It has been determined that the private lesson process can cause negativities such as the teacher's being away from formal education, experiencing various health problems, and feeling stress and anxiety. It was determined that the students who took private lessons could not find enough time for their social environment, their stress/anxiety levels increased, and they could distance themselves from formal education and alienate themselves from private lessons. The most common negative effect of private tutoring on parents is temporal and financial difficulties. In addition, private lessons can cause anxiety and stress on the parents. These results were compared with the results of similar studies in the literature and the study was completed by making various suggestions.