BECE. Newsletter 

BECE, Vol.9, No.2, 2021 1281 

 

 

 

 

The Determinants and Impacts of Private Tutoring in 

and out of School in Hong Kong 

By Li, J.L., & Pan, D.D. 
Correspondence to: Li, J.L, Shanghai Normal University, China. E-mail: 

duhappycharlie@163.com  

STUDY published in the Education & Economy uses the datasets of 

PISA 2015 of Hong Kong as an analysis sample. This study attempts to 

identify the factors that explain the demand for on-campus and off-campus 

private tutoring by using two-level Bernoulli Model, and to analyze the effect 

of private tutoring by using Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) and Propensi-

ty Score Matching (PSM), hoping to provide some references to the imple-

mentation of “After School Service” program in Mainland China. The results 

are as follows: 

 After School Program in Hong Kong intended to serve poor students 

are mainly for poor performance students instead of poor students. 

According to the two-level Bernoulli Model, students with poor aca-

demic performance are more likely to attend After School Program. 

At the same time, combined with the results of HLM model, under 

the condition of controlling family ESCS background, family ESCS 

has no significant impact on students’ scores in science, mathemat-

ics and reading. Therefore, schools provide After School Program 

based on students’ academic performance rather than family condi-

tions, which deviate from the original intention of serving poor fami-

lies and turns into, serve poor performance students. 

 The effect of on-campus and off-campus private tutoring t on stu-

dents’ academic performance differs in different subjects. According 

to the results of PSM, on-campus tutoring has a significantly nega-

tive effect on students’ achievement in Science, Math, and Reading. 

Off-campus tutoring has a negative impact on students’ Math 

achievement, but has no impact on reading and science achievement.  

 
 

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A 

mailto:duhappycharlie@163.com


 

BECE, Vol.9, No.2, 2021 1282 

 The After School tutoring provided by different teachers has differ-

ent effects on students’ academic performance. Combined with the 

results of HLM model, on campus tutoring are mainly provided by 

students’ regular teachers or teachers working for a business or or-

ganization specialized in extracurricular instruction. And no matter 

who provide the tutoring, on-campus tutoring would damage stu-

dents’ achievements. Off-campus tutoring provided by regular 

teachers in school has significantly negative impacts on students’ 

math and reading achievements. 

The upgrading and adjustment of After School Program in Mainland 

China cannot do without the guidance of theory, while the After School Ser-

vice study in Hong Kong provides positive and beneficial experience for it. 

Based on the research findings, the author pointed out that the implementa-

tion of “After School Service” program in Mainland China should pay more 

attention to the choice of students, selection of tutors and service methods. 

Specifically, After School Service should follow the selection criteria for the 

poor students or students with learning difficulties, allowing students to 

choose freely whether to participate; meanwhile, the contents, forms and 

methods of academic After School Service should be standardized. In addi-

tion, the After School Service mode of “school-auxiliary assistance” from 

schools and professional tutoring institutions should be appropriately adopted 

to provide services for students in Mainland China. 

 

Source: Education & Economy, 2020; 2020(2):49-59.