Private tutoring at transition points in the English education system: its nature, extent and purpose

Motivation for having a tutor

A list of reasons for having a tutor was compiled from students’ answers to open ended
questionnaire items during the pilot phase of the research and during the first wave of data
collection with year 11 students in 7 schools. This list was presented to students who were
asked to tick reasons for having a tutor and to add any other reasons. Responses from students
in the first wave were excluded from the analysis presented below. Similarly, the parent
questionnaire contained a list of reasons for employing tutors, developed from pilot work, and
parents were asked to tick the main reasons for arranging extra tuition for their child.

Most students (71%) indicated that they had tutors to help them do well in examinations and
tests (Table 7). This option was worded slightly differently in the primary and secondary
students’ questionnaires. Primary students were asked to indicate if they had tutoring to help
them pass an exam or entry test for secondary school, while year 11 and year 13 students were
asked to indicate if tutoring was to enable them to obtain high grades in examinations.

Slightly more year 11 (77%) and year 13 (71%) students than year 6 students (68%) had
tutors for this reason however the difference was not statistically significant. Some of these
students also indicated that the tutor would help them learn subjects more quickly and others
indicated that they needed extra help with their work. The percentage of primary school
students having tutoring to help them do well in tests and examinations for entry into
secondary school was high and supports the suggestion made above that tutoring in literacy
and mathematics was to help make a successful transition into the secondary phase of
education.

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