The demand for private tutoring in Turkey : unintended consequences of curriculum reform

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the private tutoring phenomenon in Turkey. It seeks to analyse the impact of the revision of primary school curriculum on the demand for private tutoring. It also outlines various academic, economic and social implications of private tutoring. Based on interviews with school management and teachers in eight public schools in Ankara, the chapter discusses the perceived contradictions and tensions in relation to the introduction of competency based curriculum in a highly exam-oriented education system. It highlights teachers’ concerns with regard to student learning and the implications of learning ‘less’ in mainstream schools on students’ further educational and career possibilities. The majority of teachers who participated in this study believed that the revised curriculum has inadvertently contributed to the intensification of the demand for private tutoring. The chapter underscores the importance of aligning education policies in order to avoid such unintended consequences.