‘I didn’t think I would ever recover from failing’: tutoring to reduce the poverty-related student attainment gap.

Abstract

This article adds to the developing contemporary research base on the provision of 1:1, or small group tutoring, to overcome the academic attainment gap for under-resourced young people. Using open-ended interviews this research explored the rich lived experience narratives of participating students, tutors, and stakeholders. The tutoring programme was designed and delivered against the background of COVID-19 and the policy focus, in Scotland, on the poverty-related attainment gap. Students reported a number of benefits; such as being able to make mistakes and ask questions they might not in the classroom; and the pace and atmosphere of tutoring was more conducive to their learning, compared to the classroom. This article adds to the developing contemporary research base on the provision of tutoring, to m the academic attainment gap for under-resourced young people. Using openended interviews, this research explored the rich lived experience narratives of participants in the programme. Analysis reveals that students were highly appreciative to be offered tutoring; that the importance of effective learning relationships between tutor and tutee is paramount; that good tutor/tutee/stakeholder relationships enabled misconceptions to be identified, monitored and individual learning needs met and supported. Attendance and engagement were particularly high for care-experienced, or previously non-attending students.