Tutoring for success: Tutors’ experiences of a tutoring programme in a health sciences faculty

Student success in South African higher education institutions (HEIs) is poor and universities have not been successful in implementing strategies to improve students’ learning experiences. Tutoring has been identified as an effective strategy to improve student success but is often used inconsistently and without pedagogical justification. The present study formed part of a larger effort to review tutoring practices in a South African university’s health sciences faculty. In this article we illuminate tutors’ in-depth experiences as a component of pursuing student success and improving tutoring practice. A qualitative approach with an explorative research design was utilised and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. This data was analysed thematically, using Braun and Clarke’s six phase process. Four primary themes emerged in the study: (a) disciplinary content-driven engagements, (b) a theory-practice dilemma, (c) time and time-urgent behaviours, and (d) understandings of mentoring and tutoring. We found that tutors’ conceptions of tutoring were varied and that these perspectives impacted how they understood, operationalised their roles in the faculty and demonstrated the need for integrating disciplinary, practical learning with pedagogically guided approaches. Moreover, we identified a promising model of tutoring which seems to best address the challenges faced by the health sciences faculty with regard to tutoring practice. Our research provides support for valuing tutors as key role players in student academic success within the higher education (HE) context.