Good practices across two education faculties’ tutor programs: a comparative case study

Abstract

This comparative case study examines in rich detail the context and features of tutor programs at two faculties of education in South Africa. The aim of using the comparative case study is to discover contrasts, similarities, and patterns that emerge in tutor programs across the two cases. Tutorial systems in higher education play a very crucial role in supporting the large class size. The use of tutorials can be regarded as a pedagogical tool to enhance learning and teaching. Tutoring can also be regarded as interventions aimed at minimizing the deteriorating academic performance of students and promoting active learning. The focus of the study is to identify good practices in tutor programs at a traditional university and a university of technology in South Africa, which can inform tutor models in faculties. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and one-on-one interviews conducted with lecturers who have tutorials as part of their teaching program. The study reveals that very different tutor models emerged at the two faculties with regard to design and implementation. Education lecturers adapted tutor practices that best cater to their needs in enhancing student learning. The findings highlight the diversity and complexity of identifying a standard tutor model for education faculties and in this regard offer some principle guidelines to good practices that should be included in a tutoring model.