Search Results (7)

Shadow education refers to supplementary educational activities outside of the formal school system, typically provided by private institutions to enhance students’ academic performance. This phenomenon has become increasingly prominent worldwide, drawing significant attention from both scholars and the public. While shadow education is often associated with improved academic outcomes, its potential mental health implications for adolescents remain underexplored. Based on four large-scale surveys conducted in China from 2016 to 2022, this study examines the association between the duration of shadow education and adolescent depressive symptoms, with particular attention being paid to differences across family backgrounds and policy environments. Utilizing multilevel regression models that incorporate individual, family, and community factors, as well as inverse probability weighting regression adjustment and sensitivity analyses, this study yields three main findings. First, the relationship between shadow education duration and adolescent depressive symptoms demonstrates a U-shaped pattern: moderate engagement is associated with lower depressive symptoms, while both limited and excessive participation are linked to higher symptom levels. Second, adolescents from higher-income families are more likely to maintain shadow education participation within an optimal range and report fewer depressive symptoms. Third, following the implementation of regulatory policies on shadow education in China after 2021, the duration of shadow education among adolescents has generally shifted toward a more balanced level, accompanied by a decrease in depressive symptoms. These results underscore the need to consider the nonlinear mental health effects of shadow education in both research and policymaking. In particular, contextual factors, such as socioeconomic background and policy interventions, should be taken into account when formulating and regulating supplementary educational activities. By addressing these dimensions, policymakers can better balance the academic benefits of shadow education with its potential risks for adolescent mental health. Full article

As pension benefits from statutory public schemes become less generous, and many countries face pension-savings crises, the willingness to participate in supplementary retirement saving instruments becomes crucial for sustainable financial well-being. The main objective of this article is to present how trust and financial literacy influence the choice of sustainable auto-enrolment pension scheme as a private and supplementary pension savings. The study highlighted factors influencing participation in auto-enrollment and private supplementary pension savings. The study focuses mainly on financial literacy and trust. We used the CAWI method with 857 interviews in Poland—the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to introduce an auto-enrolment pension system. Our study uses multivariable data-mining tools, and several regression models were applied. We used Logistic Regression (LR), Multivariate Linear Regression (MLR), and Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) to support the LR analysis. We propose four regression models. Our findings present that: 1. The lower the consumer’s knowledge level, the more their decisions are based on trust. 2. Trust in the state, rather than trust in financial institutions, plays a crucial role for people with low financial literacy, which is a critical factor in choosing the auto-enrolment option for pension savings. 3. Men had higher odds of auto-enrolment pension saving than women. 4. Employees of economic universities and academics had higher odds of participating in capital pension plans than those of general universities and non-academics. Our findings can signal to governments and policymakers about factors influencing the choice of auto-enrolment supplementary retirement savings. These findings strengthen the role of sustainable economic education. Full article

Private supplementary tutoring (PST) is a flourishing market for edupreneurs whose services relate closely to mainstream education. While international research elaborates on geographical variations in PST and edupreneurs’ marketing strategies, the PST market in Switzerland has been largely understudied. This paper contributes to fill this research gap by presenting a thematic analysis of the websites of edupreneurs offering preparation programmes for the highly selective central entrance examination (CEE) to the academically focused public school track of Gymnasium in Zurich. Conceptually, we draw on “problematization” and “commodificiation” as key terms elaborated by “geographies of marketization”. With this performative conceptualisation of the education market, we examine the marketing strategies of the edupreneurs offering CEE preparation courses. We offer two contributions to the existing research. First, the analysis elaborates that private CEE preparation courses are advertised as a market solution that compensates for an omission caused by public education. Second, we show how edupreneurs use rational and emotional arguments to convince families of the need of booking CEE preparation courses for their children. In the discussion, we engage with the findings of our local case study and argue that selective educational transitions have much wider relevance for policy and society elsewhere. Full article

As a private supplementary education activity outside the formal education system, shadow education aims to help students pass exams smoothly and obtain better educational resources. In 2021, The Chinese Government issued “Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Students’ Homework and Off-campus Training in Compulsory Education” (referred to as the “double reduction” policy for short). We aim to strengthen the standardization of out-of-school training institutions and stimulate public debate on the Internet. However, research on the double reduction policy and how to guide the reform of shadow education in combination with online public opinion is still lacking. Based on this, the text of the double reduction policy and the popular spots for the development of online public opinion were selected for a text analysis, and a diversified and standardized governance mechanism of China’s shadow education was constructed. The results of this study show that the shadow education reforms need to pay attention to government policy documents and network public opinion, and develop public opinion warning lines. This study can provide the international academic community with information on China’s shadow education reform, providing valuable experience and a reference. Full article

During pregnancy, women tend to improve their lifestyle habits and refine their dietary intake. Quite often, however, these dietary improvements take an unhealthy turn, with orthorexia nervosa (ON) practices being apparent. The aim of the present pilot cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of ON tendencies and the incidence of pica and record diet practices in a sample of pregnant women. A total of 157 pregnant women were recruited through private practice gynecologists during the first months of 2021. Nutrition-related practices were recorded, orthorexic tendencies were assessed using the translated and culturally adapted Greek version of the ORTO-15 questionnaire, pica practices were evaluated with a binary question and nausea and emesis during pregnancy (NVP) was evaluated using the translated modified Pregnancy—Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea (mPUQE). Only two women reported pica tendencies, with ice and snow being the consumed items. The majority (61.1%) of women reported improving their diet since conception was achieved. Folic acid and iron oral nutrient supplements (ONS) were reportedly consumed by the majority of participants (87.9% and 72.6%, respectively) and 9.6% reported using herbal medicine products. The ORTO-15 score was reduced with tertiary education attainment, ART conception, being in the third trimester of pregnancy, consumption of folic acid and MV supplements and was only increased among women who were at their first pregnancy. The majority of participants experienced severe NVP and the remaining experienced moderate NVP. NVP was associated with lower hemoglobin levels, lack of supplementary iron intake, avoidance of gluten-containing foods, as well as with increased gestational weight gain. The results highlight the need to screen pregnant women for disturbed eating behaviors and nutrition-related problems, in order to ensure a healthy pregnancy outcome. Full article

In the digital age, education through the Internet becomes a new form of teaching and learning, which leaves many challenges as well as possibilities for teachers and students. In this study, we analyzed the effective practices for online learning comparing schools and private supplementary tutoring. South Korea is an appropriate country for this investigation, as public and private education sectors have attempted to advance online teaching and learning and approximately 80% of Korean elementary and secondary school students take online courses provided by private tutoring institutes. This qualitative study reveals that online learning in private supplementary tutoring, commonly known as shadow education, is highly advanced and favored by students and parents compared to that of schools. The features of online learning in shadow education include individualized learning, effective communication skills under post-human space, attention skills for cyber learning, and advanced Internet technologies and tools. The study results have practical implications for educational administrators and schoolteachers concerning effective online teaching and learning. In addition, we suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of online learning is needed to guide schoolteachers and policymakers. Full article

The effect of shadow education or private supplementary education (PSE) on school achievement has been prolifically studied, but its impact on well-being remains understudied. This study examines the heterogeneous effect of PSE participation on school achievement and depression symptoms among high schoolers in Taiwan. The study uses panel data of the Taiwan Upper Secondary Database (TUSD) in the 2014 and 2015 academic years. We join the inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting (IPTW) approach and the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model to estimate the effects of PSE participation patterns on two correlated outcomes, comprehensive assessment of high school entrance examination and self-reported depression symptoms in the 11th grade. The latent class analysis identifies five PSE participation patterns: always-taker, early-adopter, dropout, late-adopter, and explorer, to predict the effect of PSE on the scores of entrance examination and later depression symptoms in high school (n = 7708, mean age = 15.33). The findings suggest that PSE participation in junior high is positively associated with academic achievement. However, PSE participation also increases depression symptoms, particularly in the case of always-takers. In other words, while always-takers increase their school achievement in transition into high school, their risks of suffering from depression are also higher than their peers. Full article