Shadow Education
Title
Shadow Education
Author
Byun, Soo‐Yong
Baker, David P.
Research Area
Social Institutions
Topic
Educational Institutions
Abstract
Over the past few decades shadow education has expanded worldwide and become a multi‐billion dollar global service‐industry offering many different and costly tutoring services from after‐school classes to a host of on‐line options. While much remains to be explored as to why this transformation is occurring, the worldwide expansion of shadow education is now a substantial topic in the sociology of education. This essay briefly describes the foundational research on shadow education; outlines the cutting‐edge research on shadow education effects; and discusses key issues for future research. This essay concludes that shadow education becomes more normative to the point of being a partner institution to formal education itself and as an educational phenomenon it will continue to be a topic of study and policy analysis.