When the Shadow Threatens: The Rise of Private Supplementary Tutoring and Its Implications for Schooling

Private supplementary tutoring, long evident in such countries as Greece, Japan and Korea, has become a significant global phenomenon. In the academic literature, such tutoring is commonly called shadow education because it mimics aspects of schooling. It is not neutral, however, because tutoring can threaten dimensions of schooling. The paper notes commonalities and diversities around the world, paying particular attention to external shocks, peer pressures, ratchet effects, and changing cultural norms. The paper commences and concludes in the literary domain with Hans Christian Andersen’s story about The Shadow, remarking on possible parallels in the real world of private tutoring.