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Shirley Zhao

Spending time with the family has a bigger impact on children's performances in English exams than hours of extra study in tutoring classes, a study has found.
More than 80 per cent of the 1,677 Primary 6 pupils who responded spent up to 16 hours a week being tutored after school and around 5 per cent spent between 17 and 25 hours a week in additional classes.
But the length of tutoring time was not a major factor on their performance in English exams, the study showed, and if their parents insisted they apply for secondary schools incompatible with their ability, it might even have a negative effect on their exam performance.
The survey was conducted by Caritas Youth and Community Service from March to May via questionnaires to Primary 6 pupils and their parents in 34 primary schools.
Marco Chan Wai-kit, a member of the service's counselling team on secondary school applications, said English was chosen because the researchers wanted to focus on a specific subject and many people were interested in pupils' English ability.
He said the results showed time with family was important and that parents should not force their wishes on children.
"Parents' and children's wishes are sometimes different, so… [parents] need to give children choices and explain to them why these are the best choices for them," said Chan.
Parents and pupils were asked to give levels of agreement - on a seven-point scale - on various descriptions that could gauge parents' wishes in choosing their children's secondary schools, the pupils' family support, pupils' ability to study alone, and how well parents conveyed their wishes to their children.
The study showed the ability to learn alone had the biggest impact on performance in exams, followed by parents' level of education. Time spent at tutoring classes was not in the top three.
Family support and how well parents could explain their wishes to their children were key for learning alone and, again, tutoring time was not in the top three.
Parents choosing schools based on reputation, without regard for their children's ability, was the only factor that scored negative results.


Hong Kong children benefit more from family time than after-school tutoring, study finds

More than 80 per cent of the 1,677 Primary 6 pupils who responded spent up to 16 hours a week being tutored after school. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

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