Enhancing Student Engagement through Structured Personal Tutoring: A Critical Literature Review

Abstract

Structured personal tutoring has become a central mechanism through which universities seek to support student engagement, retention and success. Yet the evidence base underpinning this practice remains fragmented across disciplinary silos, institutional case studies and loosely related theoretical traditions. This review synthesises the literature on structured personal tutoring and its relationship to student engagement, drawing together research on student engagement theory, self-determination theory, sense of belonging, mentoring and peer tutoring, and the practical implementation of tutoring schemes in higher education. The review finds consistent, if moderate, evidence that structured and curriculum-embedded tutoring arrangements are associated with improved engagement, a stronger sense of belonging and better retention outcomes, particularly for first-generation and widening-participation students, although effect sizes vary considerably according to programme design, frequency of contact and tutor training. The review also identifies persistent weaknesses in the field: heavy reliance on single-institution qualitative studies, limited experimental evidence specific to personal tutoring as distinct from peer tutoring or academic advising, and unresolved tension between the pastoral and professional dimensions of the tutor role. Tutor confidence, workload recognition and the boundary between academic support and mental health gatekeeping emerge as recurring points of institutional strain. The review concludes that structured personal tutoring is a promising but underspecified intervention whose future development depends on clearer theorisation, better-designed evaluation studies and more explicit attention to equity of provision across diverse student populations.