Shaping Future Leaders: A Transformative Impact of Tutorship Development Programme on Tutors in Higher Education

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-521-8_26How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Tutorship; professional development; mentoring; higher education; personal growth

Abstract

Tutorship Development Programmes (TDPs) are increasingly recognised as critical initiatives for fostering the personal development of tutors in higher education. While such programmes are often examined for their pedagogical or institutional impact, this study centres specifically on the transformative impact of a TDP on the personal growth of tutors at Walter Sisulu University. The programme was designed to cultivate a range of interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies, including communication, emotional intelligence, leadership potential, adaptability, and time management. A phenomenological research design was employed to explore the lived experiences of 15 tutors who participated in the programme. Data were collected via an online questionnaire comprising both closed and open-ended questions, facilitating the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative responses, while thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data to surface dominant themes in tutors’ narratives of personal transformation. The results of the study indicates a clear preference for interpersonal and communicative strategies over collaborative or systemic approaches. The study indicate that tutors experienced notable gains in self-confidence, emotional regulation, interpersonal communication, and reflective self-awareness. Communication emerged as the most frequently cited area of development, with many tutors reporting that the programme helped them overcome anxieties around public speaking and interpersonal engagement. Emotional intelligence and time management were also highlighted as key competencies fostered through structured tutorship engagements. Tutors described a renewed sense of motivation, a stronger commitment to continuous learning, and improved resilience in managing academic responsibilities. Nevertheless, challenges were identified, particularly in relation to the scale of responsibility tutors were expected to manage, often with limited institutional support and high student-to-tutor ratios. These constraints sometimes hindered the depth of personal engagement and reflection possible within the programme. This study contributes to ongoing conversations about student leadership and personal empowerment within higher education. It offers evidence that TDPs can serve as transformative spaces for tutor self-development, and recommends increased institutional investment in such initiatives as part of broader strategies for cultivating leadership from within.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Baseza W. Totobayo
AU  - Nelisa Tembani
AU  - Abongile Ngwabe
AU  - Sabelo Peter
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/29
TI  - Shaping Future Leaders: A Transformative Impact of Tutorship Development Programme on Tutors in Higher Education
BT  - Proceedings of The Focus Conference (TFC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 444
EP  - 469
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-521-8_26
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-521-8_26
ID  - Totobayo2025
ER  -