Chemistry private tutoring in Malaysia

Abstract

The unsatisfactory result obtained by Malaysian secondary students in international assessment has caused the Ministry of Education to put much effort in structuring the curriculum. Variety of teaching pedagogies has been suggested but not all the approaches are applicable in the formal education classroom with many constraints. It leads students to enrol in extra private tutoring classes after their regular school hours and believes that it helps them to gain more exceptional learning experiences and to improve their results academically. While most research on private tutoring focuses on finding the reason for enrolling in a tuition class, it often loses sight of the exploration of pedagogies being used in helping students to cater their learning needs. Hence this research aimed 1. To identify the reason why students attend Chemistry private tutoring, 2. To explore the teaching pedagogies used in Chemistry private tutoring, and 3. To identify the perceptions of students on the pedagogies used in Chemistry private tutoring. This research is an exploratory qualitative study to identify the needs of tutoring, to explore the teaching pedagogies used and its perception in Chemistry private tutoring, among 4 tutor and 5 students who teach or receive tuition in a registered tuition centre in Malaysia. The result was analysed through thematic analysis. Interestingly, the study has indicated that despite improving their academic results, students attend tuition to enhance their understanding and knowledge of Chemistry as they were exposed to a variety of teaching methods by their tutor. A new insight on pedagogies used in private tutoring lessons were also being determined, for instance inductive learning, inquiry-based teaching and contextualisation. In conclusion, it is found out that students’ learning needs are highly emphasized in tuition class. Tutor tailor their lesson based on students’ needs, meanwhile tutoring lesson would also complement the regular lesson by providing more exposure on experiment and practice. Students experience a more meaningful learning and obtain interesting learning experience in tuition, driving them further to their learning goals and promotes lifelong learning.