Why the need for private tuition in mathematics? Investigating shadow education in Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

There have been significant interests in investigating the phenomenon of shadow education in the past few decades. Globally, it is known as shadow education, in some countries they prefer to use private supplementary tutoring, meanwhile for Brunei Darussalam, it is commonly called private tuition or simply tuition. Private tuition in Brunei is not a new phenomenon and the number of students who participate in private tuition has increased. Typically, students who perform below average are more prevalent in choosing private tuition in order to keep up with the school curriculum. Interestingly, students with above average performance are also taking part in private tuition, either to maintain their achievements or to be more advance than their peers. The overarching aim of this study is to gain in-depth understanding into the reasons why some students choose to get tuition, specifically for the Mathematics subject. Responses from the semi-structured interview questions that were posed to ten selected students ranging from Year 6 to Year 13 were categorized according to themes, which were tuition experience, why the need for tuition, location and provider, pedagogy and learning, and future expectations. Some of findings revealed that parental motivation and performing well in tests and examinations were among the common reasons for taking tuition classes. As far as is concern, there is only few research evidences gathered that shows students’ involvement in shadow education for Mathematics in Brunei. Through this study, teachers, parents and policy makers may find it beneficial to understand the needs of the students and may use it as a guide in improving a student’s academic achievements. Building on the results of this study, the relationship between private tuition and a student’s achievements can be further explored in future researches.