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Hell to touch the sky? Private tutoring and academic achievement in Korea

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Listed:
  • Álvaro Choi

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB)

  • Jorge Calero

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB)

  • Josep-Oriol Escardíbul

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB)

Abstract

Although not exclusive to the Republic of Korea’s educational system, the pervasiveness of private tutoring, and its consequences, serve to distinguish it from systems operated in other countries. However, the identification of inefficiencies linked to this phenomenon have seen the educational authorities struggling against private tutoring since the 1980s. Yet, public policies have systematically failed because of the widely held belief that private tutoring services increase students’ academic performance. This paper quantifies the impact of time spent in private tutoring on the performance of students in the three competence fields assessed in the PISA-2006 (Programme for International Student Assessment). Instrumental variables are applied in a multilevel model framework in an attempt at addressing the endogeneity of the effects of private tutoring on academic performance. Our results indicate that the impact of time dedicated to private tutoring on academic performance depends on the particular competence: positive for mathematics, positive but decreasing for reading, and non-significant for science.

Suggested Citation

  • Álvaro Choi & Jorge Calero & Josep-Oriol Escardíbul, 2011. "Hell to touch the sky? Private tutoring and academic achievement in Korea," Working Papers 2011/10, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    • Handle: RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2011-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Shawn Cole & Esther Duflo & Leigh Linden, 2007. "Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1235-1264.
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    5. Ono, Hiroshi, 2007. "Does examination hell pay off ? A cost-benefit analysis of "ronin" and college education in Japan," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 271-284, June.
    6. Daniel Suryadarma & Asep Suryahadi & Sudarno Sumarto & F. Halsey Rogers, 2006. "Improving Student Performance in Public Primary Schools in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 401-429.
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    Cited by:

    1. Héctor Gertel & Florencia Cámara & Guillermo A. Coseani, 2014. "Private Tutoring: a necessary supplement to admission in Higher Education?," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 9, in: Adela García Aracil & Isabel Neira Gómez (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 9, edition 1, volume 9, chapter 9, pages 205-222, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    private tutoring; demand for schooling; academic performance; PISA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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