What is it about?
Personal tutors are key in providing support to students and enhancing their experience of studying. Tutors deal with diverse students who present a range of issues. How confident and competent do tutors feel in their role? How are they supported to carry out this role? This paper explores the literature, and evaluates responses to research interviews with personal tutors.
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Why is it important?
Providing a positive student experience and promoting student retention are of particular importance to Higher Education. Personal tutors have a key role to play in relation to this agenda, as they provide an individual connection for students to the institution. Although tutors refer students on to appropriate helping services, effectively they are the front line in terms of dealing with students' personal problems. Tutors need appropriate support to enable them to carry out this role effectively, and there may be links to the supervision model within helping professions.
Perspectives
A particularly interesting feature of this research was the different impact of previous experience on personal tutors' perceived confidence and competence. While some found that professional and personal experience enhanced their confidence, for others it contributed to role confusion. The tutors' emotional response to their role was another key feature. A need for support emerged from the study; tutors suggested meeting other tutors, comparing experiences and a refresher course, all of which might have some links to the notion of supervision.
Ms Kathryn Jean McFarlane
Staffordshire University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Tutoring the tutors: Supporting effective personal tutoring, Active Learning in Higher Education, March 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1469787415616720.
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