Assisting UK university teachers in the provision of tutor support to students

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents an overview of the functions of teachers who were involved in the provision of tutor support to students and thus had to learn how to perform this process to solve the problem of individualization of the learning process in UK universities. The aim of the article is to identify the ways of assisting British teachers who provided tutor support to students during the process of planning and realization of their personal development. Materials and Methods. The study employed the following methods: the theoretical analysis of international scientific literature; the method of comparison of the cultural and educational environments of universities; the method of summarizing the difficulties of university teachers and the ways of supporting them. Results. The authors have found out the main reasons which influenced the level of involvement of university teachers in the provision of tutor support to students; have summarized the difficulties of the teachers connected with adopting this pedagogical innovative practice; have identified the ways of supporting the teachers, which helped them to overcome difficulties. The conducted analysis of the experience of UK universities concerning the implementation of students’ personal development planning may be of use to Russian universities in realizing students’ individual educational paths as well as the governing bodies of the system of higher education in developing the ways of supporting teachers in performing their tutor duties. Conclusions. The authors conclude that university teachers play a major role in the provision of tutor support to students who are planning their personal development. The authors have shown that in order to perform this function successfully UK universities have developed a number of ways of supporting university teachers.