Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection

The present century has brought marked expansion of private supplementary tutoring across countries of all income levels. Tutoring is provided in diverse modes by commercial enterprises, full-time teachers seeking extra incomes, and informal suppliers ranging from senior-secondary students to retire...

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Main Author: Mark Bray
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1602842/full
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author Mark Bray
author_facet Mark Bray
author_sort Mark Bray
collection DOAJ
description The present century has brought marked expansion of private supplementary tutoring across countries of all income levels. Tutoring is provided in diverse modes by commercial enterprises, full-time teachers seeking extra incomes, and informal suppliers ranging from senior-secondary students to retirees. As tutorial enrolment rates rise, receipt increasingly becomes a necessity for keeping up with peers. However, this creates inequalities: the lowest-income families are excluded entirely, while those slightly higher in the income hierarchy cannot access the quantities and qualities of tutoring accessed by wealthier families. These patterns also raise multi-layered issues. At the level of the child are matters of the quality of tutoring and basic safety in inadequately-supervised environments. At the parental level are matters of fees, honesty in marketing, etc.; and at the broad social level are inequalities that challenge what UNESCO has called a desirable social contract. All these dimensions require effective regulation.
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spelling doaj-art-d35a0c08cadd40cd8535f2feb40939222025-08-20T02:03:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2025-06-011010.3389/feduc.2025.16028421602842Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protectionMark BrayThe present century has brought marked expansion of private supplementary tutoring across countries of all income levels. Tutoring is provided in diverse modes by commercial enterprises, full-time teachers seeking extra incomes, and informal suppliers ranging from senior-secondary students to retirees. As tutorial enrolment rates rise, receipt increasingly becomes a necessity for keeping up with peers. However, this creates inequalities: the lowest-income families are excluded entirely, while those slightly higher in the income hierarchy cannot access the quantities and qualities of tutoring accessed by wealthier families. These patterns also raise multi-layered issues. At the level of the child are matters of the quality of tutoring and basic safety in inadequately-supervised environments. At the parental level are matters of fees, honesty in marketing, etc.; and at the broad social level are inequalities that challenge what UNESCO has called a desirable social contract. All these dimensions require effective regulation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1602842/fullhuman rightsprivate tutoringregulationsshadow educationsocial inequalities
spellingShingle Mark Bray
Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
Frontiers in Education
human rights
private tutoring
regulations
shadow education
social inequalities
title Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
title_full Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
title_fullStr Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
title_full_unstemmed Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
title_short Regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring: international patterns and implications for social protection
title_sort regulatory gaps in private supplementary tutoring international patterns and implications for social protection
topic human rights
private tutoring
regulations
shadow education
social inequalities
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1602842/full
work_keys_str_mv AT markbray regulatorygapsinprivatesupplementarytutoringinternationalpatternsandimplicationsforsocialprotection