Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Determinants of Middle School Students’ Participation in Shadow Education in Japan

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although previous studies have examined the likelihood of students’ participation in shadow education (private supplemental education), these studies have not explained the complex nature of shadow education. The author in the present study examined how eighth graders’ characteristics and their environments in Japan influenced the likelihood of advanced and remedial shadow education in learning mathematics compared to no participation. Data from 4745 8th graders from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 in Japan were used for statistical analyses. The theoretical framework was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory Results from multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that students’ background characteristics and their environments affected the likelihood of students’ enrolling in advanced and remedial shadow education. Females with higher mathematics scores were more likely to take part in advancement; however, higher educational aspirations, having Internet access, and parental importance of mathematics were negatively related to advancement. Contrarily, students with lower mathematics achievement, higher educational aspirations, having Internet access, and parental importance of mathematics were negatively associated with remediation. The implications for educational policy were addressed in order for the public officials to set up some guidelines for students’ use of the Internet.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baker, D. P., Akiba, M., LeTendre, G. K., & Wiseman, A. W. (2001). Worldwide shadow education: Outside-school learning, institutional quality of schooling, and cross-national mathematics achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(1), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benesse Educational Research and Developmental Institute. (2014). Kodomo no ICT riyō jittai cyosa [Report on children’s possession of computers]. Retrieved February 4, 2021 from http://berd.benesse.jp/berd/center/open/report/ict_riyou/hon/hon2_1.html.

  • Bray, M., & Kwok, P. (2003). Demand for private supplementary tutoring: Conceptual considerations, and socio-economic patterns in Hong Kong. Economics of Education Review, 22, 611–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bray, M., Zhan, S., Lykins, C., Wang, D., & Kwo, O. (2014). Differentiated demand for private supplementary tutoring: Patterns and implications in Hong Kong secondary education. Economics of Education Review, 38, 24–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International encyclopedia of education (Vol. 3, 2nd Ed.). Oxford: Elsevier. Reprinted in: M. Gauvain, and M. Cole (Eds)., Reading on the development of children (2nd ed.). (1993, pp. 37–43). NY: Freeman.

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1995). Developmental ecology through space and time: A future perspective. In P. Moen & G. H. Elder (Eds.), Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development (pp. 619–647). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, C., Condron, D. J., & Roscigno, V. J. (2010). Shadow education, American style: Test preparation, the SAT and college enrollment. Social Forces, 89(2), 435–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byun, S., & Baker, D. (2015). Shadow education. In R. Scott, S. Kosslyn, & N. Pinkerton (Eds.), Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (pp. 1–9). London: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2017). Report on teenagers’ Internet use in 2017. [Heisei 28 nendo seishōnen no Internet riyō kankyō jittai chōsa chōsa kekka] Tokyo: Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. Retrieved from http://www8.cao.go.jp/youth/youth-harm/chousa/h28/net-jittai/pdf/sokuhou.pdf

  • Chūgakusei wa itukara juku ni kayotteru? [When would be a good time to attend shadow education for middle school students?] (2019). Jukushiru. Retrieved February 4, 2021 from https://jukushiru.com/contents/23.

  • Dang, H. A. (2007). The determinants and impact of private tutoring classes in Vietnam. Economics of Education Review, 26, 684–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Entrich, R. S. (2015). The decision for shadow education in Japan: Students’ choice or parents’ pressure? Social Science Japan Journal, 18(2), 193–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gēmu 1 nichi 60 pun kagawa de jōrei seiritsu [Kagawa prefecture enacted a regulation indicating that students are allowed to play] (2020, March 18). Nikkei Shimbun. Retrieved February 4, 2021 from https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO56932160Y0A310C2LA0000/.

  • Heck, R. H., Thomas, S. L., & Tabata, L. N. (2012). Multilevel modeling of categorical outcomes using IBM SPSS. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute for Information and Communication Policy (2016). Chūgakusei no internet no riyōjyōkyo to izonkeikō ni kansuru chōsa [Report on middle school students’ internet usage and addiction]. Tokyo.

  • Kariya, T. (2008). Gakuryoku to kaisō: kyoiku no hokorobi wo do shusei suruka [academic achievement and social class: how do we fix the educational problems?]. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun Shuppan.

  • Lee, J. (2007). Two worlds of private tutoring: The prevalence and causes of after-school mathematics tutoring in Korea and the United States. Teachers College Record, 109(5), 1207–1234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. S. (2010). Parental educational investments and aspirations in Japan. Journal of Family Issues, 31(12), 1579–1603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepp, A., Barkley, J. E., & Karpinski, A. C. (2015). The relationship between cell phone use and academic performance in a sample of U.S. college students. Sage Open, 5, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y., Wu, A. D., & Zumbo, B. D. (2006). The relationship between outside of school factors and mathematics achievement: A cross-country study among the U.S. and five top-performing Asian countries. Journal of Educational Research & Policy Studies, 6(1), 1–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Institute for Educational Policy Research. (2003). Kokusai sugaku rika kyoiku doko chōsa no 2011 nen chōsa (TIMSS 2011) kokusai chōsa kekka hokoku (gaiyō) [A summary of TIMSS 2003]. Tokyo: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

  • Park, H., Buchmann, C., Choi, J., & Merry, J. J. (2016). Learning beyond the school walls: Trends and implications. The Annual Review of Sociology, 42, 231–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santrock, J. W. (2009). Educational psychology (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shōcyūgakko sumaho motikomi gensoki kinshi minaoshi, monnkashō [MEXT revises the ban of bringing smart phones to elementary and middle schools] (2019, February 19). Nikkei Shimbun. Retrieved February 4, 2021 from https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO41442680Z10C19A2CC0000/.

  • Southgate, D. (2013). Family capital: A determinant of supplementary education in 17 nations. In J. Aurini, S. Davies, & J. Dierkes (Eds.), Out of the shadows: The global intensification of supplementary education (pp. 245–58). Emerald Group: Bingley.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, D. L., & Baker, D. P. (1992). Shadow education and allocation in formal schooling: Transition to university in Japan. American Journal of Sociology, 97, 1639–1657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takashiro, N. (2018). Technology use and middle school students’ participation in shadow education in Japan. International Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 14–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2008). Kodomono gakkogai deno gakushū ni kansuru jittai chōsa hōkoku. [Reports on children’s outside school activities]. Tokyo

  • Tomul, E., & Savasci, H. S. (2012). Socioeconomic determinants of academic achievement. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 24, 175–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-012-9149-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tudge, J. R. H., Mokrova, I., Hatfield, B. E., & Karnik, R. B. (2009). Uses and misuses of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 1, 198–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yi, J. (2013). Tiger moms and liberal elephants: Private, supplemental education among Korean–Americans. Society, 50(2), 190–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author’s sincere appreciation goes to the anonymous reviewers who gave her insightful comments on an earlier manuscript. The author thanks her family members, Clifford H. Clarke, for editing her manuscript and her beloved cockatiel, Pata-Pata, who is in heaven, for his emotional support. The author is also immensely grateful for God’s support and guidance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Global Tourism, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, 6 Saiin Kasame-chō, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, 615-8558, Japan

    Naomi Takashiro

Authors
  1. Naomi Takashiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naomi Takashiro.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Takashiro, N. Determinants of Middle School Students’ Participation in Shadow Education in Japan. Soc Indic Res 155, 1119–1136 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02628-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02628-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation