Proactivity as a route to care in personal tutoring

Relationships are crucial in education. They are central to learning (Quinlan 2016) and have been shown to be vital to student engagement (Zepke and Leach 2010, Kuh, Kinzie et al. 2011, Wimpenny and Savin-Baden 2013) and institutional belonging (Thomas 2012, Maunder 2018). One of the key relationships students form at university is with their personal tutor. Having a good relationship with a personal tutor improves the overall student experience (Braine and Parnell 2011, McFarlane 2016), buffers against any challenges the student might face (Ross, Head et al. 2014), increases the sense of belonging at an institution (Thomas 2012), and improves retention (Cameron, Roxburgh et al. 2011), progression (Braine and Parnell 2011, What Works Clearinghouse 2021), and attainment (What Works Clearinghouse 2021). However, having a bad relationship with a personal tutor is worse than having no personal tutor at all (Ross, Head et al. 2014, Yale 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to get the relationship between students and their personal tutor right.
In this presentation, I will explore how we can ensure that personal tutors develop meaningful relationships with their tutees.
To this end, I will present an analysis of the views of Bristol undergraduate students on what makes a meaningful tutor-tutee relationship, and on how the relationship with their personal tutor developed over the course of two years. Data come from a larger longitudinal research project, in which I follow 55 undergraduate students throughout their degree at Bristol. In this presentation I will draw on data collected at four points over the first 2 years of the students’ degree. Data were collected through in-person and online focus groups and a survey. Data were analysed using thematic and statistical analysis.
I found that, for students, care and authenticity are key in the tutor-tutee relationship, and that proactivity in personal tutoring is a way to establish both. Having a proactive personal tutor makes students feel that their tutor is genuinely interested in them and that their tutor cares. Moreover, it prevents students feeling like a ‘burden’ and they are therefore more likely to approach their tutor. These aspects are important in the development of a meaningful relationship.
In the second half of the presentation I will explore in more detail what proactivity in personal tutoring looks like. In my conversations with students, we discussed what a proactive personal tutor is and what kind of things they do. I will make recommendations for schools and personal tutors on what they can do to make the tutor-tutee relationship more proactive.