Why do academic achievers turn to private tuition instead of self-study? An analysis of preferences

The literature says that in India, the assessment system promotes private tuition at the school level, and in order to retain their lead, academic achievers too rely on tuition. The literature also expresses concern over the impact of private tuition on higher education. However, it does not reveal the factors underlying academic achievers’ reliance on private tuition. This study examines the reliance, using a purposive sample of 276 grade XII students, who preferred private tuition to self-study even though they were achievers at the secondary level. Focus group interviews of the participants and thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that an interplay of four factors draws achievers to tutorials: The deeply entrenched trend towards receiving tuition; persuasive marketing strategies deployed by tutorials for targeting and hooking achievers; instructional strategies adopted by tutorials for reducing education to assessment-driven endeavors; and erosion of capacity for self-learning caused by tutorial-regulated learning. Even though this study has an Indian context, given the spread of private tuition across countries, its implications are wide.