RAPPORT
Issue 5 (August 2020)
The International Journal for
Recording Achievement,
Planning and Portfolios
Organisation, leadership, support and development in personal
tutoring:
Abstract
an attempt to address the challenges.
Ricky Lowes
Senior Personal Tutor
Plymouth Business School, University of Plymouth
This chapter explores the views, challenges and frustrations of those who are have a
role in organising and leading personal tutoring at the local level. The role may be a set
institutional role, such as senior tutor, or it may be a temporary project leadership role.
Those in these roles attempt to support colleagues and guide the direction of personal
tutoring developments, and as such are an important element in maintaining and
developing personal tutoring systems in universities and colleges The leadership of
personal tutoring is a generally neglected area in both policy and research, and the
roles, whether permanent or transitory, lack recognition and reward. The chapter
provides examples of different approaches and initiatives taken by those with a leading
role in tutoring and reports the varying measures of success they encountered.
Introduction and overview
There is scant research enquiring into
the leadership and management of
personal tutoring systems, although
Neville (2007) draws on a research study
carried out at Worcester to set out
institutional responsibilities with regard to
personal tutoring. An effective personal
tutoring system that provides all students
with an optimal experience should be
grounded in a clear vision of what that
experience should be, along with
effective deployment and management of
people and resources. The aim must be
to provide tutoring which is useful,
equitable, and sustainable. There are a
number of prerequisites needed for this
to happen, and, at this point in the history
of personal tutoring in the UK, not all
institutions will have all of them in place.
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