The Association between Private tutoring and Access to an Elite English-Medium University in Kazakhstan: Voices of Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The issue of equity for access to elite universities has been a major concern in many higher education systems worldwide. There are various admission practices in different countries, but most of them are based on university entrance exams. Consequently, families competing for access to prestigious higher education institutions sometimes hire private tutors. Private tutoring (PT), known as shadow education, has become a global phenomenon. It is provided for a fee and has various forms, including one-to-one and group tuition. In Kazakhstan, there is a dearth of research on PT and the only available study is Kalikova and Rakhimzhanova’s (2009) quantitative study. Therefore, the present mixed-methods study sought to address this lacuna by exploring the perceptions of students at a foundation year program of one elite Kazakhstani university to PT participation and its role in helping them gain a place at this university. The quantitative data were collected through a close-ended questionnaire from 144 participants to understand their socioeconomic background and PT experiences in terms of the nature of PT they received, its scope, types, parental expenditure and subjects involved. The subsequent qualitative data were collected through interviewing 8 participants to capture the impact of PT on their overall achievement. The study found that most participants had attended PT as an enrichment strategy to gain higher scores in high-stakes examinations and thus secure a place at the top universities, and some of them as a remedial strategy to keep up with the curriculum at mainstream schools. Some participants explained the disadvantages of PT, including the psychological and financial burdens on the family and being an unfair advantage in competition. The findings of the study are instructive for educators and policy makers in Kazakhstan to disentangle the limitations of statutory education. Pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research are suggested.