Theoretical Perspectives on the Role of Parents in Shadow Education

Abstract

Scholarly interest in the topic of shadow education has increased in the past three decades, as evidenced by the number of publications in education journals. Alongside teachers, students, and tutors, shadow education scholars have considered parents as key actors and have explored their role using different theories. The purpose of this article is to investigate the existing literature on parental perspectives of shadow education and to identify several commonalities and differences among these perspectives. More specifically, this review includes theories about parents' socioeconomic backgrounds and parental decision making. We found that the commonly used concepts about parental backgrounds stem from Bourdieusian theories of social capital, class, and socioeconomic background. Decision-making theories are most frequently borrowed from economics (e.g., rational choice theory and consumer theory) and from psychology (e.g., Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory of human development). This article considers existing theories employed in the study of parental perspectives of shadow education that are currently at the forefront of this field, but it also identifies gaps. The article concludes with a suggestion of topics and perspectives for future research related both to new forms of parental involvement and to more conventional aspects of understanding parents that have been largely overlooked by shadow education scholars.