A Review of Mentorship in Spanish Higher Education: The Case of Writing Tutorials

Abstract

Mentoring and tutoring have been recognised as central in the development of higher education students, at academic, social and personal levels in the Anglo-Saxon countries for decades (Lobato, Arbizu, and del Castillo, Papeles salmantinos de educación, 4, 65-79, 2005). In Spanish universities, however, the trajectory is rather short and has been determined by a series of cultural and social factors, such as insufficient orientation at university, student massification and Spain’s adherence to the European higher education Area and Bologna Process in 2010/2011 (see Macías, de Miguel, Jiménez, and Rodríguez, Contextos educativos. Revista de educación, 6, 87-112, 2004). Here, we describe how mentoring and tutoring are understood in the Spanish higher education context and what forms it might take. Some relevant programmes are described, which provide insight into the nature of mentoring and the challenges faced. Finally, we discuss the novel case of writing tutorials.