A Qualitative Study on the Purpose, Difficulties, Achievements, and Improvements of Peer Tutoring at University : From the Perspective of Tutors

The purpose of this study was to examine the practical purposes, difficulties, achievements, and improvements of peer tutoring, and to suggest effective peer tutoring strategies. In this study, the tutoring activities of 25 tutors who participated in the peer tutoring program hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning of A University in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in the first semester of 2019 were collected. In this study, interview data were collected from six tutors who participated in the tutoring program organized by the Center for Teaching and Learning of A University. In this study, two methods of qualitative data analysis were used to analyze and interpret collected qualitative data correctly. First, Colaizzi s analytical method was used to analyze and describe the lively voices of the tutors in the collected data and the meaning contained in them. In addition, Creswell s six-step qualitative data analysis was used to increase the reliability and rigor of the entire process of analysis and interpretation, from coding to categorization. Through this study, we could grasp the purpose, motivation, effectiveness, and satisfaction of peer tutoring. The results of the study were as follows. First, the purpose of the tutoring program participation of tutors in this study was to focus on the development of academic aspects. Second, the tutors who participated in this study were found to have difficulty in tutoring, coordination, and personal and administrative difficulties during peer tutoring. Third, the tutors who participated in this study showed a certain outcome through sharing activities based on the tutoring process with the tutees. Fourth, the tutors who participated in this study proposed the improvement methods necessary to minimize their difficulties and problems in the process of tutoring. In this study, based on the above contents, the theoretical and practical methods for peer tutoring conducted in university were examined.