Compensatory advantage and the use of out-of-school-time tutorials: A cross-national study

Using data from several dozen countries, this study investigates the possibility that out-of-school-time (henceforth, OST) tutorials in academic subjects are used in a way that corresponds to theoretical predictions of the compensatory advantage model. I distinguish between fee-based and non-fee-based OST tutorials. Results suggest that fee-paying OST tutorials are used in a way that is predicted by the compensatory advantage model in many countries. This conclusion is based on the findings that low-ability children from socioeconomically advantaged families are more likely to use fee-paying OST tutorials than (a) those with a similarly low level of ability from less advantaged families, or (b) those with higher ability from similarly advantaged families. Such patterns, however, are rarely found in the use of fee-free OST tutorials.