The functions of a tutor at school

Abstract

This research work aims to understand if a group of students of the third year of a Middle School would agree to introduce a tutor in their Institute and which characteristics he/she requires. The main research problem is the fact that several authors have claimed that a tutor would be useful for the learning process and for the relational aspect, but in Italy this figure is not widely used. Indeed, tutors are present for short periods of time and they are not present in every scholastic Institute. This statement is demonstrated by the fact that a great percentage of the surveyed students have asserted that they do not know this figure or they have just heard about tutor. Adolescents that have had an experience of tutoring would agree to introduce a tutor in their scholastic Institute. The question that regards the professional qualification of an ideal tutor has received different answers but the majority of the participants have asserted that they would prefer a university student instead of another teacher or a student of the High School. Analyzing the answers, it is possible to understand that they consider professional skills more important than relational skills. In addition, most of them have affirmed that tutoring activity would be more useful to the students than the teachers. This survey could be the starting point to do further research using students of different ages in different regions, considering the opinion of the teachers to understand if they share the point of view of the students.