Teachers’ perspectives on the demand and supply of private tuition in mathematics

In recent years private tuition has become a global phenomenon. Research has been conducted investigating the cause for the increase in the prevalence of private tuition as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this practice, with policymakers, Government agencies, and parents having opportunities to express their views. Very little research has considered this phenomenon from a teacher’s perspective. This paper seeks to address this gap. An online survey was distributed to secondary mathematics teachers in Ireland to gather their insights into the reasons behind the recent surge in the uptake of private tuition in mathematics and their reasons for providing/not providing private tuition. 305 teachers responded. Findings indicate that teachers believe the examination-driven nature of Irish mathematics curricula is the driving force behind the demand for private tuition. Furthermore, responding teachers had a mixed attitude towards the practice of providing private tuition. The primary reason offered by teachers who provided private tuition was to supplement income. Time was the main issue for those that did not provide private tuition. Some teachers also noted how they disagreed with private tuition as it masked issues in the teaching and learning of mathematics and exacerbated social and economic inequalities.