18th December 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Despite changes to the curriculum which have made exams the main form of assessment for many courses, coursework still plays a significant role in both arts and science subjects. It is very common for parents to a tutor’s help with coursework, whether they already had a tutor to help generally with the subject, or whether they hire a tutor specifically to help with coursework. Tutors can help explain the course content, and encourage students to develop their ideas, but when helping specifically with coursework, there is a limit to how much they should really help. Despite guidelines offered by schools, the reality is that the practice of private tuition and coursework can be very murky indeed.
One of the consequences of the tuition industry being largely unregulated is that there are no rules for tutors when deciding how much to help their students with coursework. Of course the exam board sets guidelines as to the guidance that teachers can give, but if a tutor misinterprets or ignores these guidelines there are few consequences for them. Some tutors have their own strict policies regarding this issue, and will simply not help with coursework at all. This is a clear way to ensure that they are not breaking any rules, and will also shield students from any suggestion that they violated the exam board’s policy. Others will provide general help, and will allow students to discuss their ideas with them.
However, there are some parents who expect tutors to provide more help than the regulations permit, and feel that in paying for private tuition they are circumventing the problem of teachers not being able to give extensive help with coursework. This can put tutors in a difficult position. Some tutors deal with this by stating at the outset that they do not help with coursework, whilst others approach the issue on a case by case basis. Sadly, there are some tutors who will provide help far beyond the allowances made by the exam board regulations in exchange for the right fee. What tutors and parents need to remember is that whilst there is nothing wrong in allowing students to discuss their ideas and explaining difficult concepts to them, doing work for them will not help them learn, and may jeopardise their entire result.