January 4 2018 – Convivium – Peter Stockland – Will private tutoring re-configure learning?
“Private tutoring is the ‘new normal’ for Canadian families,” Bennett told Convivium recently from his home base in Halifax, where he blogs on educational issues. “When you travel across the country, you see an incredible number of tutoring businesses. Every mall has one, all with slightly different names. Kumon is everywhere. And they’re growing by leaps and bounds in urban Canada, and in the fast-growing suburbs.”
“…estimates tutoring revenue at more than $1 billion a year in Canada alone. That’s a substantial industry based on helping children with what were once called the basic Three Rs of education. ”
“…surveys done by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) that show about 35 per cent of Ontario families now pay for tutoring to supplement their children’s education. That is up a full 10 per cent since OISE asked the question in 2002. The growth comes at a time when overall public school attendance is dropping sharply.”