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Measuring private tutoring: methodological lessons and insights from Francophone Africa

2023; Taylor & Francis; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03057925.2023.2246375

1469-3623

Mark Bray, Abdel Rahamane Baba-Moussa,

Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities

ABSTRACTThis paper examines and builds on an earlier contribution to this journal focusing on private supplementary tutoring – widely known as shadow education – in Francophone West and Central Africa. Drawing on wider literature about research methods in this domain, it examines the basis for the numerical estimates presented in the original article and supplements those statistics with data from a subsequent survey. The paper stresses the significance of the topic, and highlights methodological lessons not only for these African settings but also more widely. In this way it contributes to further research agendas relating not only to private tutoring but also to methods in cross-national surveys of educational achievement.KEYWORDS: Private tutoringshadow educationmethodologyAfricaPASEC AcknowledgmentsThe authors express appreciation to the PASEC team for discussions and assistance.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. At the time of writing, the paper had not been assigned to a specific issue of the journal. It was published online on 18 January 2022.2. PASEC may be translated as Programme for Analysis of the Education Systems of CONFEMEN, which in turn may be translated as the Conference of Ministers of Education in States and Governments of Francophonie.3. For information on these bodies, see https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/div, https://www.oecd.org/pisa/div, http://www.sacmeq.org/ and https://www.seaplm.org/.4. The five studies cited by Bray were Amouzou-Glikpa (Citation2018); Houessou (Citation2014); Napporn and Baba-Moussa [wrongly described by Bennell as Napporn and Rahamane] (Citation2013); Ouattara (Citation2016); and Paré-Kaboré (Citation2008). Four of these were recognised by Bennell, who added Yabouri et al. (Citation2010) and omitted Paré-Kaboré (Citation2008).5. Bray wrote (50) that the PASEC surveys to date had not included focus on private tutoring. He made that statement after having noted the absence of mention in the extensive analytical reports (PASEC Citation2015, 233; Citation2020, 441), and at that time was not aware that in fact data had been collected on the theme by the PASEC team.6. In the present paper, the data are simply described as Grades 2 and 6. However, readers should bear in mind that for Gabon (in 2019) they refer to Grade 5.7. In Burundi, Kirundi was the medium of instruction in Grade 2 but French was the medium in Grade 6. In Cameroon, the English-medium schools comprised 28% of the total. In Chad, Arabic-medium schools comprised 6% of the total alongside a further 5% using both Arabic and French, but for logistic reasons were not sampled in 2014 (PASEC Citation2016, 16).8. In Madagascar, the medium of instruction for Grade 2 was Malagasy, but for Grade 6 was French. The further adjustments in Niger were translations into Hausa and Zarma to help evaluate possible future shifts in language policy even though those languages were not official media of instruction at the time.9. Exceptions were 200 schools in Burkina Faso, 280 in Cameroon, and 190 in Togo (PASEC Citation2015, 162).10. Endnote 4 in Bennell's paper states that Burundi was not included 'since this country is not in West Africa'. However, Chad, Cameroon and Congo are also not in West Africa; and in any case the paper was entitled 'The Incidence and Patterns of Private Tuition Provision in Francophone West and Central Africa'.11. However, it must be recognised that the questionnaires were piloted in the context of the target countries and that during this process respondents seemed to understand that tuteur/tutrice should in this context mean guardian rather than tutor. Related, répétiteur is the much more common word for tutor; and the 2014 questionnaire used répétiteur only in the male form because the PASEC team did not at that time intend to consider gender differentiation at this level. Gender was given more prominence in 2019, with that version of the questionnaire referring to both répétiteur and répétitrice (male and female).12. Such factors were taken more strongly into account when finalising the wording for the 2019 version of the survey, though remained very pertinent.13. Bennell also presented data by rural and urban areas. These numbers are not presented here because of doubts about their accuracy. [Doubts also exist on the national figures, but at least they are more aggregated.] Bennell did not explain why Grade 6 for Côte d'Ivoire was 'na' [not available].14. But again with a parallel English version for Anglophone schools in Cameroon.15. Supplementary teaching in another school is especially likely to be high in countries with large numbers of private and community schools. In 2014, 36.2% of Grade 6 students in Congo attended private schools (PASEC Citation2015, 191). The proportions for Togo and Cameroon were 27.8% and 27.1%. At the other end of the scale, the proportions for Burundi and Niger were 2.9% and 2.7%. In Chad, 10.8% of Grade 6 students attended private schools and 12.2% attended community schools.16. However, the ambiguity was reduced in 2019 by the fact that two previous questions had used the words tuteur and tutrice in ways that could only mean 'guardian'. Question 4 asked who lived with the student at home; and Question 21 asked among the people who lived at home, who was able to read. The 2014 questionnaire had also had the latter question, but not the former.17. The English version of the questionnaire used in Anglophone schools in Cameroon, did use the word 'guardian', but for the last item used 'school master, house teacher' rather than teacher/tutor. The Arabic version used in Chad was even more problematic: for the last item it simply said 'others', without specifying who those others might be.18. The question was: 'During the last 12 months, have you attended extra lessons or tutoring not provided by the school in the following subjects? a) Mathematics … . b) Science … .'. Each iteration of TIMSS collects data from Grades 4 and 8, but in 2015 and 2019 this question was only asked to the Grade 8 students.19. More precisely, the PISA sample in each iteration has been 'students who were aged between 15 years and 3 (complete) months and 16 years and 2 (complete) months at the beginning of the assessment period, plus or minus a 1-month allowable variation, and who were enrolled in an educational institution with grade 7 or higher, regardless of the grade level or type of institution in which they were enrolled, and regardless of whether they were in full-time or part-time education' (OECD Citation2016, 288).20. Information from http://www.sacmeq.org/. For SACMEQ V, planning and piloting were accomplished in 2019 but were then overtaken by COVID-19 and other factors.21. Questionnaire reproduced in Paviot (Citation2015, 233–242.)22. Question 23: 'How much time do you typically spend per week studying the following subjects in regular lessons at school? Please tick one box in each row. Do not count any extra tuition you attend'.23. Information from SEA-PLM personnel.