Nachhilfe als Strategie zur Verwirklichung von Bildungszielen: eine empirische Untersuchung mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP)

Private paid tutoring is a subject that is not well recognised in education research. By using theories on educational choice one could argue that tutoring promotes inequalities in attaining qualifications. Empirical analyses based on the German Socio Economic Panel Study (SOEP) show that more than every fourth pupil has had private remedial teaching while attending school. In West Germany, paid lessons are obviously a means of achieving higher goals. However, this is not the case in Eastern Germany, where no tradition of paid tutoring exists. By looking at the social origin of the parents, it can be observed that a better income situation promotes the decision to choose private lessons. The hypothesis that highly educated parents, especially mothers, hinder the use of remedial teaching, as they are able to help the children on their own, can not be confirmed. There is no link between parents' education and rates of private paid lessons.