Private tutoring in secondary and higher education in Portugal: presentation of a piece of research

Abstract

In this article we present some of the work that is currently being undertaken as part of a PhD dissertation. This research has as its goal to study the private tutoring phenomenon in secondary and higher education. To deepen our knowledge about this phenomenon we decided to explore the reasons that lead students to use this type of service, the existing legislation that regulates this activity in different countries and how this service is used by students. To attain these goals we will make use of different methods: reading specific bibliography, undertaking a questionnaire directed at higher education students and conducting interviews with students, individuals in charge of private tutoring centres and private tutors. In this text we present some preliminary results obtained through the questionnaires undertaken with higher education students attending two Portuguese universities that were collected in the 2008/2009 academic year. This preliminary analysis shows that the use of private tutoring is a practice that occurs in both secondary and higher education, although the attendance registered in the former case is about six times that of the latter.

Key words: Private tutoring, secondary education, higher education, Portugal