IMPACT OF PRIVATE TUTORING ON EQUALITY IN LEARNERS’ EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN LILONGWE URBAN

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out if learners who attend private tutoring significantly perform better than those who do not attend. The study was conducted in 3 schools in one of the zones in Lilongwe Urban. It involved 600 learners and 30 teachers from senior classes. Social reproduction theory anchored the study. The study used mixed methods and concurrent mixed methods design. Teachers’ and learners’ questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically in line with research questions while descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Although private tutoring is provided by different groups of people, it was found that many regular teachers provide private tutoring to their own learners. The need to improve learners’ performance and the need to supplement teachers’ salaries were found to be influencing the practice of private tutoring at schools under study. The findings indicated that means for learners who were attending private tutoring were higher than means for learners who were not. In addition, it was found that p-values were smaller than the level of significance (alpha) in all senior classes under study. This shows that learners who attend private tutoring significantly perform better than those who do not attend which leads to inequalities in learners’ educational achievements. The study recommends that education policy makers should minimize the inequalities in education in Malawi which are caused by private tutoring by promoting remedial lessons.