Private supplementary education and Chinese adolescents' development: The moderating effects of family socioeconomic status.

Abstract

Using the data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study estimated the effects of two types of private supplementary education, namely, cram school and hobby class, on the development of Chinese junior high school students and the moderating effects of family socioeconomic status (SES). First, we found that cram schools and hobby classes both positively correlate with some dimensions of adolescents' development while negatively correlating with others. Attending cram schools is positively associated with students' academic achievement but negatively related to their noncognitive skills. Participating in hobby classes is positively associated with noncognitive abilities but negatively related to cognitive abilities. Second, the negative correlations between cram schools and noncognitive abilities and between hobby classes and cognitive abilities are stronger for low-SES students than their affluent counterparts. The current study's findings shed new light on the role of private supplementary education in educational inequality and social stratification in China.