Fee-charging private tutoring and educational inequality: voices of secondary school students in Türkiye

This quantitative study, grounded in Entrich’s (2018) model of educational inequality, examines the nature and implications of fee-charging private tutoring among 623 Grade 12 students in Türkiye. The findings reveal that 76% of participants engaged in tutoring, primarily to prepare for university entrance examinations in subjects such as mathematics and physics. Regression analyses indicate that tutoring frequency and perceived effectiveness were associated with students’ views on tutor competence, exam-related motivations, and the role of families in arranging tutoring. While tutoring proved academically beneficial for some, it also placed financial pressure on nearly half of the participants’ families and disproportionately favoured students from more educated and economically advantaged households. These patterns suggest that private tutoring reinforces existing educational inequalities. The study contributes to the limited literature on students’ perspectives within Türkiye’s shadow education sector and offers valuable insights for education policymakers. Practical implications include the need for targeted regulation, financial support mechanisms for disadvantaged students, and improvements in public school quality to reduce reliance on private tutoring. Without coordinated reforms, the growth of fee-based tutoring may continue to undermine national and international goals for inclusive and equitable education.