Primary School Students’ Experiences of English Private Tutoring in Uzbekistan Using Participatory Methods

Private tutoring (PT) has significantly expanded worldwide in recent decades. Despite its popularity and implications for the operation of formal education systems and cultural and social development, research on English private tutoring (EPT) is still in its infancy. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (1994), this mixed-methods study is the first to explore the EPT experiences of primary school students (ages 11–12) in Uzbekistan using a closed-ended questionnaire and two qualitative participatory methods—group interviews and children’s drawings. The questionnaire data suggest that out of 1024 students, 574 (56%) and 321 (32%) had received PT and EPT, respectively, to improve their examination scores in English and/or expand their knowledge. The 50 interviewees acted agentively by reflecting on the benefits of EPT and externalising their decreasing trust in school English teaching both verbally and visually. Furthermore, EPT did not seem to constitute financial pressure on most families because 62% indicated that their parents spent 50,000–100,000 Uzbek sum ($5–10) per month on EPT, which was largely conducted in groups in tutorial centres or within schools. To produce the desired policy effects, this study urges policymakers to enhance the quality of teaching in mainstream schooling and issue effective PT regulatory measures.