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Vol.14, No.1, 2023 1766 

 

 

 

 

Urban-Rural Differences in Student Decision-Making 

Regarding Shadow Education: An Analysis Based on 

the Theory of Planned Behavior 

By Li, J. L. & Wu, W. 
Correspondence to: Wei Wu, Beijing Institute of Technology, China. E-mail: 

Williamwu19@163.com  

RIGINALLY, extracurricular tutoring was meant to help students to 

improve their academic performance and prospects for further educa-

tion. Yet, shadow education has now become an off-campus arena for the 

competition for additional educational resources, as it takes place outside 

formal schools and is a paid service.  

Based on the theory of planned behavior, this study analyzed the deci-

sion process in after-school tutoring consumption from the standpoint of de-

mand and explored the main factors in decision-making about students’ par-

ticipation in shadow education, in an effort to provide urban and rural fami-

lies with implications for making rational decisions regarding private sup-

plementary tutoring to reduce the burdens it brings on to children and parents. 

The study recruited 32 secondary school students between the ages of 

14 and 16 from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou Cities and Jiangsu Province. 

They were either senior students of middle schools or junior students of high 

schools. Among the subjects, there were 17 female and 15 male students, 

with 22 of them from urban schools and 10 from rural ones. Data were col-

lected through interviews. 

Research findings showed that the theory of planned behavior is ap-

plicable to the decision-making of all students choosing to participate in af-

ter-school tutoring. Students would deliberate and make decisions based on 

the following three aspects: attitudes (views on after-school tutoring), subjec-

tive norms (social pressure from parents, friends, and peer groups), and per-

ceived behavior control (objective conditions such as traffic distance be-

tween home and the off-campus training institution, tutoring fees, tutoring 

quality, etc.).  

There were significant differences in decision-making about shadow 

education between urban and rural students. Rural students could not access 

private tutoring, especially high-quality private tutoring due to economic 

constraints and/or traffic difficulties, while their urban peers can enjoy the 

dual educational advantages: better school education and high-quality extra-

curricular tutoring. Rural students played a more passive role in extracurricu-

O 

mailto:Williamwu19@163.com


 

Vol.14, No.1, 2023 1767 

lar tutoring participation and their decision-making were often the result of 

influences from their parents’ social connections, while urban students are 

more likely to make autonomous decisions based on their own needs. 

 

 

Source: Journal of Capital Normal University, 2022; 2022(6):172-180. 


