What do students need from university tutoring? Validation of a measurement instrument through a multivariate analysis

Abstract

The relevance of tutoring in universities has increased in recent years. Its purpose is to offer training in parallel to the social and economic progress, and to create a common European system that is more competitive and of higher quality. Orientation and mentoring become essential and relevant processes for personalized teaching, which requires identification of student’s tutoring needs for implementation. This study aims to increase the knowledge of mentoring and student needs through the design and validation of an ad hoc questionnaire, applied to 572 students in the second, third and fourth year of the different Degrees in Educational Sciences. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis shows the validity of the five-dimensional structural model around which the tutorial content must revolve (adaptation to context, personal identity, integration, teaching-learning and professional development), with the development and professional insertion being the dimension where students state that they feel a greater need for accompaniment and support. Those related to adaptation to the university context and the development of personal identity are the least mentioned. The analyses performed show differences based on the year and degree of the participants and indicate the importance of developing an integral and comprehensive model of university tutoring, adapting the interventions to the real needs of the students.