The Role of a Peer Tutor Development Programme in an Academic Literacies Module

• Main Author: Underhill, Jenni Lynne
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2009
• Subjects: African American Studies; American studies; Black students; Black studies; Classrooms; Cognitive Development; Collaborative learning; Curricula; Data Analysis; Discipline; Economics; Education; Employment; Empowerment; English for Special Purposes; Higher education; Identity; Individualized Instruction; Labor economics; Labor relations; Language; Language Acquisition; Learning Processes; Learning Theories; Peer tutoring; Regional Studies; Self evaluation; Socialization; Sociology; Student Development; Student Diversity; Student Needs; Student writing; Success; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Training; Tutor Training
• ISBN: 9798738602740

This study focuses on a tutor development programme within an academic literacies module called Language for the Economic Sciences (LES). Coordination of the LES module encompasses tutor development as tutors are the primary facilitators of the module. LES forms part of an Extended Degree Programme within the Faculty of Economic Sciences devised to meet the needs of “underprepared” first year students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). To this end, LES falls within the ambit of academic development at UJ as it is designed and coordinated by an Academic Development practitioner.Higher Education in South Africa has in the recent past shifted from relatively elitist to a mass system of education with the aim to foster democratic nation building. One of the major changes that has occurred is the merger of a number of institutions of higher learning. As a result of the mergers, a new type of comprehensive institution offering a broad spectrum of academic formative, as well as vocationally oriented programmes, has been established. This study focuses on the UJ, as an example of a merged institution, and will examine how teaching and learning has been effected by the changes at UJ. This research is informed by the notion that the interface between tutor and student is vital for students to attain literacy as well as academic language and skills proficiency in their chosen field.Thus, the research problem posed in this study is: What is the role of tutor development in an academic literacies module? Much of the literature on tutoring practice discusses the need to train tutors and offers various means through which this can be done. Using an Action Research design and a global analysis of the data collected, the findings of this study suggest that in addition to the appropriate, focused and rigorous training of tutors, they also need to be developed for effective tutoring to occur. Moreover, the sustained support and mentorship of both individual tutors and tutor groups allows for the maximum benefits of tutoring to be realized by all stakeholders.