Private Tutoring as a Space for Professional Fulfilment and Personal Renewal: How Dutch Teachers Navigate Dual Roles in a Changing Educational Landscape

Abstract

Private supplementary tutoring has become a widespread global phenomenon, with many schoolteachers providing fee-based tutoring after school hours. This study focuses on the Netherlands, where demand for private tutoring has grown substantially over time. It examines the entry routes, motivations, and experiences of Dutch schoolteachers involved in providing private tutoring, and how they balance their roles as both teachers and tutors. Based on 14 in-depth interviews, the study identifies several recurring entry routes into private tutoring, driven by professional, personal, economic, and moral motives. While teachers face moral dilemmas, many find professional fulfilment in tutoring, which allows them to reconnect with intrinsic motivations as educators and restore energy and engagement. The findings suggest that systemic constraints can push teachers to seek professional satisfaction or personal renewal outside formal education. The study reveals why tutoring appeals even in relatively well-resourced systems and provides implications to better support teacher well-being and retention.