Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2016 Shadow Education in China: What is the relationship between private tutoring and students’ National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) Performance? Ran Li Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons, and the Higher Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Li, Ran, "Shadow Education in China: What is the relationship between private tutoring and students’ National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) Performance?" (2016). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 15754. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15754 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Shadow education in China: What is the relationship between private tutoring and students’ National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) performance? by Ran Li A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Education (Educational Leadership) Program of Study Committee: Linda Serra Hagedorn, Major Professor Larry H Ebbers Yu (April) Chen Liang (Rebecca) Tang Amy Froelich Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2016 Copyright © Ran Li, 2016. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Education in China .................................................................................................................. 3 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 5 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 7 Methodological Approach ........................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Perspectives .............................................................................................................. 8 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 9 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................... 10 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 14 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 14 The Gaokao in China................................................................................................................. 14 History of the Gaokao............................................................................................................ 14 Evolving Format of the Gaokao ............................................................................................ 17 Debates on the Gaokao .......................................................................................................... 19 Influential factors of Student Achievement .............................................................................. 22 Influential factors of Student Achievement in other Countries ............................................. 22 Influential Factors of Student Achievement in China ........................................................... 24 Private Supplementary Tutoring ............................................................................................... 25 Overview of Private Tutoring ................................................................................................ 25 Demand for Private Tutoring ................................................................................................. 26 Private Tutoring in a Global Perspective ............................................................................... 26 Private Tutoring in China ...................................................................................................... 28 Influential Factors of Private Tutoring .................................................................................. 29 Effects of Private Tutoring on Student Achievement ............................................................ 30 iii Theoretical Perspectives ............................................................................................................ 31 Supply and Demand Framework in Education with Private Tutoring .................................. 31 Learning Theory and Learning Curve Model ........................................................................ 34 Educational Production Function .......................................................................................... 39 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 42 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 43 Hypothesis ................................................................................................................................. 43 Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 44 Data Sources .......................................................................................................................... 45 Survey Instrument.................................................................................................................. 46 Reliability and Validity ......................................................................................................... 47 Population and Sample .......................................................................................................... 48 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 49 Variables in this Study .............................................................................................................. 51 Endogenous/Dependent Variable .......................................................................................... 51 Exogenous/Independent Variables ........................................................................................ 51 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 53 Descriptive Analysis and Comparative Analysis .................................................................. 54 Multiple Linear Regression ................................................................................................... 54 Missing Data .......................................................................................................................... 56 Limitations ............................................................................................................................. 56 Ethical Issues ......................................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 59 Descriptive Analysis ................................................................................................................. 59 Comparative Analysis ............................................................................................................... 70 Results of Independent Samples T-tests ................................................................................ 70 Results of Chi-square Tests ................................................................................................... 71 Regression Analysis .................................................................................................................. 74 Path Analysis ............................................................................................................................