The Effects of Cram Schooling on the Ethnic Learning Achievement Gap: Evidence from Elementary School Students in Taiwan

Abstract

For the last three decades, many studies have found an
obvious achievement gap between non-minority students and minority
students, which was mainly associated with a lower socioeconomic
status and a deficiency of family learning resources, such as learning
after school, of minority students. In many countries, cram schooling is
the most commonly extra learning activity which is believed to have
positive effects on learning achievement. However, there are few
empirical studies to explore the relationships between cram schooling
and the learning achievement gap of different ethnic students. This
study used 630 fifth-grade students in Taiwan as samples and carried
out a hierarchical regression analysis to discover the effects of cram
schooling on the ethnic learning achievement gap of Taiwan’s young
children. The results showed that cram schooling participation has
non-linear effects, first ascending and then descending, on students’
learning achievement. In addition, those students who participated in
privately tutored classes with higher fees charged demonstrated better
learning achievement, but students enrolling in after-school programs in
cram schools might not show the same outcomes. Further analysis
indicated that minority children had fewer and poorer cram schooling
resources than non-minority children. In addition, most minority
children have lower socioeconomic status, giving them less opportunity
to participate in cram schooling activities and after-class programs in
schools, so their learning achievement was significantly lower than
non-minority children.