Academic mentoring in higher education. A research based on interviews and discussion groups at the University of Cantabria (Spain)

• Main Authors: Carlos Rodríguez-Hoyos, Adelina Calvo Salvador, Ignacio Haya Salmón
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Complutense de Madrid 2015-03-01
• Series: Revista Complutense de Educación
• Subjects: Tutoría académica en la universidad; mejora de la docencia; entrevistas; grupos de discusión
• Online Access: http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/RCED/article/view/43745

<p>This paper shows the main results of an ongoing research aimed to understand the view that students have about mentoring at university, in their first year degree. More specifically, this work focuses on the analysis of academic mentoring. To do this we used a qualitative research design and selected a sample of students from the five areas of knowledge offered in our university. The results allow us to identify some problems in the development of mentoring and the weaknesses related to the academic orientation in the transition from secondary school to university, the need to integrate it into the classroom space or its potential use in order to improve the assessment of teaching and learning. Academic mentoring is presented as a tool that could promote the improvement and innovation of higher education processes. The work has been developed at the University of Cantabria during the academic years 2011-12 and 2012-13.</p>