Shadow education in the context of early tracking: between-track differences in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Previous research on the implications of early-tracking education systems has not specifically focused on how studying in academic and non-academic tracks shapes the features and characteristics of shadow education (private tutoring) that students are involved in. The study compares the scale and features of private tutoring and the underlying factors of its reception among lower-secondary students in the two tracks. Analysing a representative sample of 1,280 senior grade students, the study found significant differences in scale, subjects and reasons for tutoring during their lower-secondary studies, which may partly explain the prevailing gaps in between-track student achievements. Early tracking is likely to contribute to increasing the overall scale of PT by introducing selective entrance examinations, which nurture the demand for PT. While parental education, books at home, city size and educational aspirations were significant predictors of private tutoring for regular-track students, they were insignificant for academic-track students.