Analysis of the Academic Literature on Tutorial Action and Self-Regulation Variables in Higher Education: A Critical Review

This review article presents a critical analysis of academic literature on tutoring in higher education, with a special focus on its conceptual development, main modalities and its relationship with educational quality and self-regulated learning. Based on a broad conceptual framework, the study examines the different definitions of university tutoring, the role of tutors and tutees, and the characteristics of the tutorial relationship from a humanistic, formative and guidance-oriented perspective. It also describes the main tutoring modalities—teaching-based, individual, group and peer tutoring—and their contribution to academic, socio-emotional and professional support for students. The analysis incorporates contributions from international organizations and national policies that position tutoring as a key strategy to enhance retention, academic performance and holistic student development in higher education institutions. The state of the art shows significant production on tutoring, study habits and learning strategies, but reveals a specific gap regarding the evaluation of tutorial action through observable variables in tutees, such as organization, availability, responsibility, attention, fulfilment, importance and reality. The main contribution of this article is to systematize and articulate this theoretical corpus, providing a solid basis for future research aimed at operationalizing and assessing tutorial action in university contexts.